As the construction sector booms in Dhaka, the need for brick kiln workers has increased, but little heed is paid by authorities to these labourers who work under dire conditions in extreme heat and rain. The plight of people who work amid climate extremes is a topic highlighted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) at COP29, the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Baku from November 11 to 22. For developing countries in particular, climate change impacts and sustainable development measures both can have a severe impact on workers' livelihoods. Hence, “just transition” is crucial for a low-carbon economy under decent work conditions according to the ILO.
“Just transition” is a framework proposed by labour unions in many parts of the world to ensure that, as the natural environment around us is prioritized in the development of a sustainable and eco-friendly economy of the future, rights are protected for workers who are victims of both the changing climate and the changing economies.
Sajeda Begum’s day starts early, even before there is an inkling of light in the dark night sky. At 3am, she starts to cook for a group of workers at a brick kiln, workers whose days have somehow started even before hers. By 5am, she has to serve the first meal of the day, followed by lunch service at 12, and finally dinner in the evening.
She is a mother of three at 35, so her family obligations cannot be ignored. Her husband, Alamgir Borhan, works at the same brick kiln, and his days are almost as long as hers. Their workplace in the southern district of Barishal is around 160km miles away from Satkhira in the southwest, where they are originally from. Here, they live in makeshift housing attached to the kiln, and they have no other option than to bring along their six-year-old daughter to work every day because there is no one else to look after her.
In sickness and in health, Sajeda and Alamgir keep working, even as their child bakes with them in the oppressive heat of an active brick kiln in the middle of summer.
“We are poor people, so we have to go through with the hardship in life,” said Sajeda, resigned to her fate.
Brick manufacturing is a massive industry in Bangladesh. According to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), there are about 15,000 kilns across the country, employing over a million workers who provide the building blocks for an economy that has seen rapid, sustained growth in the decade before the Covid-19 pandemic.
But work conditions within these kilns can get extremely uncomfortable. Brick kiln workers are regularly exposed to dangerous working conditions exacerbated by irregular weather patterns. Summers have become hotter in recent years, and the Bangladesh Meteorological Department also issued successive heatwave alerts during April this year.
Adding to the workers’ health-related vulnerabilities caused by heat exposure is the economic vulnerability of working in an industry that is weather-dependent, with many kilns staying shut during the months from May to September because of heavy rainfall. This pushes workers into a state of temporary unemployment, or sends them seeking “seasonal” employment.
Sajeda speaks of her physical discomfort, “When I feel bad, I cannot work. In extreme heat, I sweat a lot. I feel nauseous, and lightheaded. During my menstruation, I have to work in any condition. I feel extremely bad during that time. They do not let anyone sit and rest without work. This is what happens to poor people.”
As for the off-season, Sajeda and her husband go back home to Barisal. Sajeda stays home for those six months, while her husband works in sand mining.
Similarly, Muhammad Zahidul Islam, 35, is a victim of each of these externalities too. He works 16-and-a-half hour days at a brick kiln in Satkhira, from the dead of night at 2:30am to 7pm. He suffers from pain in different parts of the body due to the physical nature of his work, and when the pain gets unbearable, he goes to the doctor for painkillers. In extreme heat, uncontrollable sweating leads to dizziness, for which he is sometimes given oral saline solutions, and sometimes he does not get any.
For the six months that he can find employment in the brick kiln, however, Zahidul takes the opportunity with both hands. These six months will allow him to make between Tk1.1-1.2 lakh ($1,100-1,200). The rest of the year, he works for what he can get as a paddy farmer in Gopalganj, another southern district of the country.
“Prolonged exposure to airborne pollutants like particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide primarily due to the burning of coals in the brick kilns leads to respiratory diseases such as asthma, skin conditions and cardiovascular problems among workers,” says Dr Syeed Ahmed Mahbub, a physician who practices at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital. “Furthermore, different types of heavy metal pollutants are ejected due to brick field activity which adversely affects the environment as well as worker health.”
Dr Mahbub says climate change exacerbates these issues with rising temperatures and extreme heat increasing the prevalence of heat stress, dehydration and heat-related illness. “This extreme heat combined with strenuous labour is a silent killer for brickfield workers, pushing their bodies to dangerous limits,” he explains.
However, the process of producing bricks, involving fire and earth, leaves its impact not only on the people involved in it but also the surrounding environment.
Prof Mohammed Jamal Uddin, chairman of the Department of Environmental Sciences at Jahangirnagar University, explains the science behind how brick kilns are working overtime to exacerbate climate change and the greenhouse effect.
“Coal and biomass fired brick industry has environmental impacts, especially on air quality. This type of industry produces hazardous gasses like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, suspended particulate matter, PM10 and PM2.5, volatile organic carbon, etc. This industry produces greenhouse gasses which are creating global warming through heat absorbing into the near-surface atmosphere and changing the hydrological cycle as well as changing the local climate and regional climate patterns,” he says.
Yet, the environmental impact of the industry that employs them may not be near the top of the list of priorities in the lives of Sajeda, Alamgir, or Zahidul. Nevertheless, policymakers have identified this sector as one needing specific attention, both in terms of reducing its environmental impact and mitigating the adverse working and social welfare conditions that workers like them have to suffer.
The concept of “just transition,” no matter how alien, is one that has the potential to drastically improve the lives of people like Sajeda, Alamgir, and Zahidul, if the political and economic challenges can be sufficiently addressed to ensure its implementation.
But is just transition a realistic dream for labourers? Does it have the economic viability that must be the bedrock of any environmental justice initiative?
Sakib bin Amin, associate professor of economics at North South University in Dhaka, provides some answers.
“Economically speaking, the costs of a just transition could include temporary disruptions in established industries, possible job losses, and the cost to governments of funding social safety nets and retraining programs. Nonetheless, there can be significant advantages, such as increased employment, with investments in green sectors predicted to generate 24 million new jobs by 2030, as well as improved GDP and a more robust economy. Just transition policies can ensure that the transition to a low-carbon economy is equitable and sustainable growth, especially in vulnerable sectors like agriculture,” he says.
In Serbia and India, Amin says, noteworthy instances of just transition programs have been successful. The Indian government, with assistance from the UNDP, has started initiatives to develop solar energy and electric car infrastructure in coal-rich regions like Jharkhand and Odisha.
In the meantime, Serbia is following the EU's Just Transition Mechanism to shift its economy from one based primarily on coal to one based on renewables. The nation has created a thorough plan that mobilizes investments in green technology while addressing social, economic, and environmental concerns through broad stakeholder discussions.
When it comes to the brick kilns of Bangladesh, one notable effort to ensure a level of just transition was made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2012, when it gave the Bangladeshi government a $50 million loan for a project aimed at improving the efficiency of brick kilns in the country. The overarching goal of the project was to improve the environmental condition of the country, by creating a financial structure with readily available credit facilities to help businesses move away from highly polluting fixed chimney kilns towards more efficient facilities. Another of the project’s stated planned outcomes was to mitigate the adverse working and social conditions faced by workers.
A 2022 ADB report evaluated the performance of this project, and the main issues it pointed out were field-level concerns which have a lot to do with the specificities of the Bangladesh economy. The lack of demand for financing of brick kiln upgrades and environment-friendly brick kiln construction, the slow processing of loans by financial intermediaries in Bangladesh, and the lack of technical and commercial know-how among local businesses about environment-friendly brick kiln construction and maintenance were pointed out.
While the ADB called its project successful, it also evaluated its roll-out as “less than efficient,” suggesting future projects such as these need better stakeholder consultation and highlighting the need for the government to follow up on the initiatives taken by development organizations.
Amin echoes these thoughts and stresses ensuring the inclusivity and equitability of just transition policies, especially for a country like Bangladesh where such policies are yet to be undertaken on a large enough scale for people to naturally buy into them.
“To ensure just transition policies for energy are inclusive and equitable, policymakers must prioritize diverse representation from marginalized communities, especially in least developed countries (LDCs). Providing financial support for their participation in decision-making processes is essential. Targeted investments should focus on infrastructure and skills training for affected workers, alongside compensation mechanisms for those transitioning from fossil fuels,” he says.
The challenges of adopting just transition policies, no matter how acquiescent or radical, face significant challenges. According to Amin, economic disparities, political resistance, funding gaps, and the complexity of coordinating multi-sectoral efforts stand out, hindering the uniform adoption of just transition principles, particularly in developing countries.
“However, significant opportunities also exist, such as leveraging international frameworks like the Paris Agreement to promote inclusive climate action, harnessing technological innovations that create new jobs, and capitalizing on growing public support for climate justice. Additionally, fostering partnerships among governments, the private sector, and civil society can enhance resource mobilization and knowledge sharing. By addressing these challenges and seizing opportunities, the global community can effectively promote equity alongside climate resilience,” he adds, speaking a language of hope.