A 10-point recommendations, including establishing a 50-bed hospital in tannery industrial estate, has been raised for the occupational safety of tannery workers.

Different stake holders, including trade bodies, raised the recommendations at a coalition building and advocacy meeting held in a capital hotel on Sunday night.

Other recommendations 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; ensuring full implementation of maternity welfare benefits; 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.

Tannery Workers Union, the collective bargaining body between such workers and employers, and Solidarity Center-Bangladesh (SC-B) office arranged the meeting.

Tannery Workers Union President Abul Kalam Azad presided over the meeting while Mohammad Nazrul Islam, program officer of SC-B, delivered the keynote speech.

General Secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Center Dr. Wajedul Islam Khan said, “In every sector in our country, we form 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 realising 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.”