Status of Basic Labor Rights in Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturing (LGFM) Sector in Bangladesh

Abstract

The Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturing (LGFM) sector is emerging as the fastest-growing sector next to Ready Made Garment (RMG) sector in regard to export-oriented revenue earning in Bangladesh. The demand for LGFM is increasing day by day equally across the global and domestic markets. LGFM is mainly a labour-intensive manufacturing sector. It is facing challenges in managing employees and maintaining social compliances at this moment, which is also the concern of international buyers. Though the history of labour unrest in the LGFM sector is very little, the existence of grievances is good in numbers. This paper aims in identifying the practices of the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) 2006 in the LGFM sector. It also finds out the areas of discrepancies that workers encounter in regards to their employment rights. This is a qualitative study and primary data have been collected mainly through four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The main finding of the study is the violation of employment rights and non-adherence to BLA 2006 by the management of LGFM. The study also speculates the possibility of labour unrest like RMG in this sector as addressed by the respondents. Therefore, this study can draw the attention of policymakers and employers to be concerned in ensuring the legal employment rights of LGFM workers. A recommendation has been made at the end of this study about the importance and ways of improvement in practising BLA 2006 in the LGFM sector.