A new study report has revealed that 87% of people working in transport, retail, hotels and restaurants lost their jobs over a period of five months during the Covid-19 lockdown last year.
Among them, seven out of every 100 have not yet been able to get out of the post-Covid income loss.
The average income of these workers decreased by 8% during April-August 2021, according to the report published by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) on Thursday.
The report, titled "Assessing the Impact of the Recent Lockdown on Workers in the Transport, Retail Shops and Hotel-Restaurant Sectors in Dhaka City”, was unveiled at the BILS Seminar Hall in Dhanmondi.
BILS Deputy Director (Research) Md. Manirul Islam presented the findings during a media call.
The research found that average monthly income dropped to Tk2,524 from Tk13,578 during the lockdown. While it did bounce back to Tk12,529 after the government lifted the restrictions, an income deficit of 8% still remained.
It also found that employment, income and social security were affected mostly in the transport, retail and hotel and restaurant sectors.
The study found that, in the lockdown (April 5 to August 10, 2021), 95% of workers in the transport sector, 83% retail shop workers and 82% in hotel and restaurant workers lost their jobs.
After the lockdown, 93% of the workers were reinstated in their positions but the employment of part-time workers in these sectors increased by 215% after the lockdown was lifted.
The research institute interviewed 400 workers in the course of the study and found that many had been living hard lives due to the pandemic shutdown.
Saddam Hussain is one such worker who was approached for a 30-minute interview last September.
“Look at me, this is my get-up nowadays, dirty clothes, no shoes on my feet,” said Saddam, who turned into a fuchka seller from the position of employer he had been earlier.
“I started a push-cart business along with my elder brothers. We gradually saved up, learnt skills and opened a small fuckha shop,” he told the correspondent.
He said that their profit grew to over Tk3,50,000 and they invested their savings to open up a coffee shop.
“A little later, we further invested and opened up a grocery shop,” he said.
During the second phase of the lockdowns, all three of their shops needed to be shut down and they lost their hard-earned capital.
The three brothers went back to their home in Rangpur where two of Saddam’s elder brothers started pulling autorickshaws.
Saddam returned to Dhaka in the last phase of the 2nd lockdown to work at the fuchka shop he owned under a third-party employer.
According to him, he works from 1pm-11pm daily and then makes fuchka at his house until 2am at night.
Similar to Saddam, Robin, a salesman survived only on rice, potatoes, and some lentils throughout the entire lockdown.
According to transport employer Mahmud Hossain, 80% of employers have been severely affected.
“No one cares about employers. I know of at least two employers who now pull auto-rickshaws,” he told the correspondent.
The study said that the number of working days in lockdown had been reduced by 73% in three sectors. The transport sector was reduced the most by 92% in terms of working days. However, working hours increased after the lockdown ended.
It said that 20% of the working families met family expenses by selling property, reducing food and sending children out to work.
In addition, less than 1% of these workers received various kinds of government assistance. According to the study, 36% of workers have been vaccinated against Covid and 64% of workers are still outside the vaccination programs.
BILS Chairman Amirul Haque Amin recommended a 10-point outline to protect private sector workers.
The recommendation includes an initiative on preparing a complete database of the workers, Issuance of identity cards under a comprehensive plan, along with job descriptions and creating a proper and effective institutional framework for disaster relief.