The leather industry, has contributed greatly to Bangladesh’s overall economic development. It possesses one of the oldest leather businesses worldwide, considerably impacting its economy by satisfying 10% of global leather demand. Currently, the leather industry is the second-largest contributor as foreign exchange earner for Bangladesh following the exporting of leather and leather goods. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported leather and leather goods worth $941.67 million in the fiscal year 2020-2021, accounting for around 2.43 percent of the country’s overall export revenues ($38.758 billion) at the time. Additionally, exports reached a 10-year-high in FY 2021-22, as the leather sector earned a total of $1.25 billion. Recently, it makes up 0.5% of GDP and 4% of all exports, contributing $1.4 billion to the overall country’s economy (EPB, 2023). Though there is a capacious potentiality of growth of this industry worldwide, there is still inadequacy in fair labour practices, including lack of minimum wage implementation, safe working conditions and respect for workers’ rights.

The Minimum Wage Board has announced the minimum wage for Bangladesh’s tannery industry. In a gazette issued on November 21, 2024, the board set the new minimum wage at Tk 18,001 for Savar and divisional areas, and Tk 17,048 for other regions, effective from 2024. This marks an approximate 34% increase from the previous minimum wage of Tk 13,500 in urban areas and Tk 12,800 in non-urban areas, which remained unchanged since 2018. Additionally, the provision for a five percent annual wage increase, based on the basic salary, will continue.

The implementation of minimum wage is crucial for recruiting and keeping skilled labour needed for labour-intensive activities. But a significant number of tannery workers lack awareness regarding their payment and are ignorant about the minimum wage. On the contrary, The Tannery Workers Union (TWU) lacks the capacity to prepare a comprehensive charter of demands and struggles to incorporate grade-wise government-declared minimum wages effectively.