Moon Desk: Speakers at a programme called upon all concerned to work together to ensure the occupational safety of tannery workers in the interest of the tannery sector.
If their right is ignored, the tannery sector may not thrive. Hence it is needed to ensure their right, they remarked while addressing a coalition building and advocacy meeting at a hotel at Topkhana Road in the capital.
The programme was jointly organized by the Tannery Workers Union and Solidarity Center-Bangladesh (SC-B) office on Sunday night.
Tannery Workers Union President Abul Kalam Azad presided over the meeting while Mohammad Nazrul Islam, program officer of SC-B, delivered the keynote speech on the occupational safety of tannery workers.
A 10-point recommendation raised in the keynote are: Taking quick and effective steps to implement all labor law provisions in tanneries; forming safety committees and strengthening activities to improve the occupational safety and security of workers and strengthening inspection activities; establishing a 50-bed hospital in tannery industrial estate; ensuring full implementation of maternity welfare benefits;
It also include ensuring social compliance and developing eco-friendly and modern tannery industrial estate by fully implementing common effluent treatment plant (CETP) and graduating towards leather working group (LWG) certification; implementing minimum wage structure announced by the government in every factory; checking the dismissal of skilled and experienced workers; stopping employment through illegal contractors; restoring tannery sector to the continuity of the formal working sectors; and checking interference with the freedom to join trade unions.
In his address, General Secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Center Dr. Wajedul Islam Khan said, “In every sector in our country, we formed a lot of committees. But we cannot maintain the consistency of work. We need to be careful about that first”.
AKM Nasim, Country Program Director of the Solidarity Center-Bangladesh office, said, “Our work is aimed at realizing the demands and ensuring the rights of the workers. It is necessary to form alliances for that”.
“It is to be applauded that many employers now agree on workers’ rights. But many still oppose all rights of workers. Still, there is no alternative to working as a coalition to bring about change”, he observed.
