A Study on Occupational Health and Safety Practices in Bangladeshi Leather Industry

Most of the people know the most common rules and regulation but very few obey them. Different injuries are the common scenario in small, medium and big industries. Statistics show 50% - 60%, 5% - 10% and 35% - 40% of injuries occurred due to the unconsciousness of workers, mechanical problems and carelessness of owners respectively. This paper based on some practical working report of Re-Tie Bangladesh, UNIDO and finally some recommendations are provided for policy management in health and safety issues in industries. To improve Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) situation in the industries in an effective way there should set some specific target for owners and workers. The main reason for injuries or accidents in workplace is both workers and owners are not habituated with some rules, regulations and moral duties. The study finds out that minimum treatment expenses for an injured worker is 0.05 - 0.2 million BDT which is 9 to 36 times more than yearly expenses for PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) required for each worker [1]. Though it is quite impossible to change the practice and tradition of a long time over night, it is high time to think of the matter to compete in international market with international standards. The cost to promote good working environment and OHS status has an effect on production cost but one thing needs to keep in mind that, good workplace; skilled, safe and healthy workers are profitable in the long run.