The current applicable minimum wage for workers in the Leather and Tanneries employment in West Bengal is shown below, set out by skill category as notified by the West Bengal government. Employers and workers across tanning, footwear and leather goods units can use it to check what is payable in West Bengal.
Minimum wage rates for Leather and Tanneries in West Bengal
| Skill category | Zone A / month | Zone A / day | Zone B / month | Zone B / day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹10,558 | ₹406 | ₹9,760 | ₹375 |
| Semi-skilled | ₹11,615 | ₹447 | ₹10,733 | ₹413 |
| Skilled | ₹12,777 | ₹491 | ₹11,807 | ₹454 |
| Highly-skilled | ₹14,054 | ₹541 | ₹12,990 | ₹500 |
Rates effective 1 July to 31 December 2026.
What counts as Leather and Tanneries
The Leather and Tanneries scheduled employment covers the tanning and processing of raw hides and skins into finished leather, together with the manufacture of leather products such as footwear, bags, belts and garments. It spans the wet-end tanning operations, dyeing and finishing work, and the effluent handling that these processes require.
- Tanneries carrying out chrome or vegetable tanning of hides and skins
- Leather footwear and shoe-upper manufacturing units
- Leather goods factories making bags, wallets, belts and gloves
- Leather garment and upholstery workshops
- Standalone leather dyeing and finishing units
- Raw hide and skin curing, sorting and warehousing yards
- Common effluent treatment plants serving tannery clusters
Typical roles and skill categories
- Soaking and liming operator
- Fleshing and dehairing machine operator
- Drum (tanning) operator
- Shaving and splitting machine operator
- Dyeing and fatliquoring operator
- Buffing and finishing operator
- Leather sorter and grader
- Footwear clicker, cutter and stitcher
- Effluent treatment plant and boiler attendant
In tanneries and leather units, the unskilled category typically covers helpers, loaders and soaking-yard hands, while semi-skilled covers machine feeders such as fleshing and buffing operators. Skilled roles cover drum operators, dyers and finishers who control the tanning recipe, and highly-skilled covers leather graders, pattern masters and finishing supervisors who set quality and process standards.
Who fixes this wage
Leather and Tanneries is a notified scheduled employment for which the West Bengal government fixes minimum wages by skill category, and these rates often vary by geographical zone or area classification. Any employer engaging workers in tanning, leather goods or finishing units in West Bengal is required to pay at least the notified rate for the relevant category.
How West Bengal sets minimum wages
West Bengal's Labour Commissionerate splits the state into two zones, A and B, and gives four figures for each skill category: a monthly and a daily rate in Zone A and again in Zone B. Four skill grades are covered, and the schedule runs for the half-year from 1 July to 31 December 2026. Revision comes through periodic notification rather than a variable dearness allowance.
Common questions
What is the current minimum wage for Leather and Tanneries in West Bengal?
In West Bengal, the minimum wage for Leather and Tanneries currently runs from about ₹375 to ₹541 per day and ₹9760 to ₹14054 per month, depending on skill category and zone, effective 1 July to 31 December 2026. The exact figure by category is in the table below. Confirm the exact rate for your worker's skill category and zone in the table above, and against the latest official notification.
Does the Leather and Tanneries minimum wage cover both tannery workers and leather goods workers in West Bengal?
Yes, the notified schedule generally applies across the leather value chain in West Bengal, from raw-hide and tanning operations through to footwear, bags and garment manufacturing, unless a worker's unit falls under a separate notified employment. Employers should classify each worker by the actual work performed and pay the rate fixed for that skill category.
How should a worker who handles tanning chemicals be classified?
Classification depends on the skill and responsibility of the task, not the hazard alone. A worker who only carries or loads chemicals is usually treated as unskilled or semi-skilled, whereas one who mixes and controls the tanning or dyeing bath is generally a skilled operator, so the skill definitions in the West Bengal notification should be used to decide.
Do contract and piece-rate workers in leather units in West Bengal get the minimum wage?
Yes, minimum wage protection applies whether a worker is on the direct payroll, engaged through a contractor, or paid on a piece-rate basis. For piece-rated leather work such as cutting or stitching, total earnings for a normal working day must not fall below the notified daily minimum for the relevant skill category in West Bengal.
Never underpay in West Bengal
ZeniaHR maps every worker to the correct minimum-wage notification by state, skill and zone, and flags anyone paid below it.
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