Construction, transport sectors the riskiest, survey finds
Nawaz Farhin Antara: Legal protection for workers in the informal sector remains a far cry away even though hundreds of such workers have died in workplaces over the last decade.
In addition to a lack of both legal protection and occupational safety, a tendency for these workers to be overworked is also behind the increasing number of workplace deaths.
According to Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) survey, as many as 6,101 workers have died and 3,956 have been injured in workplace accidents between 2011 and 2020. The highest 1,200 workers died in 2019, and there were 1,053 workplace accident deaths in 2021.
Hazrat Ali, a 50-year-old former construction worker with three daughters, has been unable to work in his profession for the last three years after losing his right leg in a workplace accident. A pillar fell on him while he was working at a construction site in Savar.
The only thing he was wearing for protection at the time was his lungi, he said.
The authorities paid him Tk80,000 in compensation, but this was insufficient for his treatment and his leg had to be amputated. Hazrat Ali is now working a low-paying job at a tea stall.
“My youngest daughter was in grade 6, but I have not been able to manage the expenses of the family since the accident. She is working with her mother as a domestic worker now. My other two daughters are with their husbands,” he said.
He added that he had earned Tk15,000-20,000 each month in construction, but now he makes just Tk6,000 a month.
According to the BILS survey, the highest proportion of the workplace deaths were in the transport, construction, and agriculture sectors.
“The workers are still being deprived of proper wages and labour rights. They remain unsure of the minimum standard of living. The riskiest sector is the construction industry, with 1,102 workers killed in this sector in the last 10 years,” it added.
The National Building Code provides detailed information on the safety measures to be taken by a working worker, but in most cases, it is not complied with. According to the 2014 National Building Construction Rules, workers are required to wear helmets, gloves, goggles, safety boots, aprons, gas cutters and using belts. However, none of this can be seen in reality.
Md Shakil Akhter Chowdhury, member of the Executive Council of BILS and secretary general of the Bangladesh Labour Federation, told Dhaka Tribune: “Law, health and safety, and security rules are not being implemented. The safety rules are mentioned in the labour law to prevent occupational accidents, but they need to be updated.”
In the wake of the Rana Plaza accident in 2013, the government amended the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 to make sections related to occupational health and safety more up-to-date. At the same time, the importance of occupational health and safety, the role and responsibilities of the stakeholders were clarified, and the national occupational health and a safety policy was formulated.
Shakil said: “If the inspectors of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) supervise construction sites or workplace safety through their mechanisms, and give punishment where they are not complied with, then it will go a long way towards reducing workplace accidents.”
He also emphasized the importance of compiling data on workers in the informal sector.
BILS Director Kohinoor Mahmood said improper implementation of safety measures puts workers at risk of long-term harm, especially in factories that are congested, improperly ventilated and lit, or used to store chemicals.
“In various cases, the fertility of these female workers is declining. Hearing and vision are impaired gradually, babies are born malnourished and sick,” she said.
An official Ministry of Labour and Employment told the Dhaka Tribune DIFE’s manpower for monitoring purposes has been gradually increased in the last few years. “They are monitoring regularly, but we still have less manpower. It is also difficult because the informal sector is very big and untidy.”
He added that they have already formed the Bangladesh Labor Welfare Foundation to stand by the workers who died or were injured in workplace hazards or accidents. However, the foundation does not cater to any specific sector.
The minister of labour and employment could not be reached for comment, while a secretary declined to do so.
