Poor safety measures result in casualty at construction sites

The construction workers said they were often deprived of their due compensation following an accident. As per Bangladesh Labour Law 2006, the compensation for a workplace death is Tk1 lakh and for permanent injury it is Tk1.25 lakh. The available casualty reports published in different newspapers in the last few years reveal that the construction workers most often die after falling off building, wall collapse and electrocution. Poorly-made scaffolds and lack of ropes and harnesses are the main reasons behind workers fall from high places. Besides, most electrocutions occur when iron rods carried by construction workers come into contact with live electric wires. The construction workers complained that they fell victim to the fatal accidents as they are not provided any necessary safety gear like helmet, gloves and shoes at work. As per Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), headgears must be worn by the construction workers at workplace. According to Chittagong District Construction Workers’ Union, around 150,000 construction labourers work in Chittagong. The construction work includes piling, earth cutting, electrical wiring, painting, plastering, putting tiles on the wall and floor and setting rods. Abdur Rahim, general secretary of Chittagong District Construction Workers’ Union, alleged that labour laws were hardly followed in the construction sector. “If the construction workers demand safety harness, the employers refuse to recruit them or ask them to buy the gears on themselves,” alleged the leader of the construction workers. Tapan Dutta, president of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre, Chittagong, said: “Construction is now emerging as a high-casualty sector. Nevertheless, the construction workers are not provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by the employers.” “The number of high-rise building is increasing in the port city. However, it is a matter of regret that the construction is yet to be considered as a formal sector. The number of accident might come down if the construction workers are provided with formal training,” said the veteran labour leader who is also a member of 1st Labour Court, Chittagong. “The compensation for any workplace death should be more than Tk5 lakh instead of existing Tk1 lakh. In case of any permanent injury at workplace, a worker is to obtain a certificate from a Civil Surgeon. Therefore, an injured worker negotiates with his her employer in order to avoid the hassle of obtaining certificate,” said Tapan. The labour rights activists also call for an enhanced monitoring by the concerned government agencies, including Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments for preventing the frequent accidents. Earlier, on September 30 of this year, a construction worker identified as Rakib, 18, died after falling off the fourth floor of an under-construction building in Cosmopolitan area of the city. On August 26 of 2016, a construction worker identified as Md Momin, 27, also died after falling from the first floor of an under-construction building at Faridarpara area of the city. On August 9, 2016, a worker identified as Sumon Barua, 36, died after falling off a seven-storey under-construction building at Nayahat Bank Colony of the city’s EPZ area. The ill-fated worker fell while working on bamboo scaffolding on the seventh floor of the building. On January 17 of 2016, a construction worker identified as Sher Ali Sajib died after falling off an under-construction building in Bagar Bill area under Bakalia police station of the city. Ismail Chowdhury, 22, a construction worker died from falling off an under-construction building at Chawkbazar on November 6, 2015. On August 23 of 2015, a construction worker identified as Samirul islam, 20, died after falling from an under-construction building at South Khulshi area of the city.