Bangladesh's CPD proposes $207.57 minimum wage for tannery workers

It proposed BDT 25,980 (~$236.84) for grade 4 workers, BDT 29,184 (~$266) for grade 3, BDT 33,641 (~$306.68) for grade 2 and BDT 39,270 (~$358) for grade 1 workers.

In arriving at the figure, CPD took into consideration various factors like food costs, non-food expenses, family size and the number of income earners in a family.

To streamline and ensure consistency in grading practices across the tannery industry, CPD advocated adopting a unified grading system, which would integrate all existing wage board and collective bargaining agreements-based grades into a cohesive framework comprising five primary grades.

CPD carried out a study along with OSHE Foundation with support from the European Union (EU), Solidar Suisse and the Leather Development Forum (LDF). Its objective was to propose a benchmark minimum wage for Bangladesh tannery workers for this year.

Members involved in the study briefed the media recently in Dhaka on the study findings and their proposals.

In the existing grading system in the tannery sector, workers are unable to progress to a higher grade once they commence working within a specific grade, noted CPD senior research associate Tamim Ahmed. Instead, the sole means of wage enhancement is through nationally-set minimum wage hikes, community-based adaptation and annual increments, he said.

Drawing inspiration from the practices outlined by the US office of personnel management, CPD has proposed an approach that allows employees to advance from a lower sub-grade to a higher sub-grade while remaining within the same overall grade through within-grade increases (WGI). Such a method fosters career progression within the same grade level, enabling upward mobility for workers, Ahmed was quoted as saying by a CPD release.

CPD also recommended determining housing allowances and other wage components as a percentage of the basic wage rather than fixed amounts so that these are more reflective of economic fluctuations and the cost of living.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)