As Bangladesh looks to continue its journey towards rebuilding as a nation, there are certain persistent issues that demand attention with immediate effect.
One such issue is workplace safety; a survey conducted by the non-governmental organization Safety and Rights Society (SRS) based on news published in newspapers found that a total of 758 workers were killed in 639 accidents across the country in 2024.
While we may be encouraged by the fact that in 2023, 875 workers were killed in 772 workplace accidents across the country - representing a significant decrease in accidents and deaths - it is important for us as a nation to continue on this path towards eliminating any and all such accidents for good.
It is unfortunately no surprise that of all these deaths, over 60% lost their lives in road accidents, once again revealing the dire state of road safety in the country, and the need to invest significant time and resources to finally bring meaningful change to road safety - something we continue to struggle with.
However, while road safety is the largest culprit, that we had 81 workers succumb to electrocution, 30 to fires and various explosions, and 50 dying by falling shows that we have plenty of work to do when it comes to ensuring safety standards for workers.
Many of these workers have little to no support, and are often seen doing dangerous jobs with little to no safety equipment. While this has been the norm in our country throughout our history, it is time to change this narrative for good.
Every Bangladeshi deserves to be safe at their workplace, regardless of their occupation. With 2025 looking to be a turning point for our nation, we hope our policymakers also pay attention to making Bangladesh a safer nation this year.