A survey conducted by the non-governmental organization Safety and Rights Society (SRS) based on newspaper reports found that 333 workers (including 49 killed in Sitakunda incident) were killed in 241 workplace accidents across Bangladesh in the last six months.
In 2021, as many as 306 workers were killed in 220 workplace accidents across the country, said a press release issued on Thursday.
SRS closely monitored 26 daily newspapers (15 national and 11 local newspapers) from January 1 to June 30, 2022.
The report, however, did not include deaths of workers outside their workplace, or in road accidents that may have occurred on their way to work.
The survey found that in the first six months, the highest number of worker fatality is at the transport sector, as 138 transport-workers were killed in road crashes.
Next number goes for the service sector, where at least 100 workers were killed at workplaces like hotels, automobile servicing workshops and power supply sectors.
Besides, 48 workers were killed in construction sector, 26 workers in manufacturing sector (like garment, plastic factory, ship breaking, steel/re-rolling mill, etc), and 21 in the agriculture sector, reads the press release.
The analysis shows that road accident is top among the causes of workplace accidents with 153 workers death.
It further found that 57 workers were killed in fire incidents, 25 died from electrocution, 23 died being crushed into falling machinery or heavy objects, 19 died after falling from heights.
In addition, 15 workers died because of lightning or thunder, 15 workers died in explosions, nine workers died in building, wall, or roof collapses, and nine workers were suffocated to death by inhaling poisonous gas at septic or water tanks. The rest of the eight workers died from drowning.
Executive Director of SRS Sekender Ali Mina said death in workplace accidents was not desirable, adding: “We have only observed deaths of drivers and helpers in road accidents.”
He noted: “The authorities concerned with controlling the transport sector would have to step up surveillance otherwise accidents would continue to increase. One of the reasons for the increase in accidents is the negligence of employers in the safety of workers in the workplace and the lack of proper inspection of government departments.”
“We have seen the negligence of the concerned authorities in the Shitakunda accident. I hope that the concerned authorities will soon take action on how to identify the causes of these accidents and reduce them,” Sekender said, adding that decent working environment is must for sustainable development and every expenditure for ensuring safety of workers should be treated as an investment.
According to the survey, uncontrolled transportation system, obstruction of law enforcement, reckless driving and incompetent drivers are the main causes of transport accidents.
The press release cited lack of firefighting system in the factory, inefficiency and negligence in chemical storage, lack of emergency exit in the factory building, non-receipt of permission from the concerned department for construction of the factory and non-training of the workers as the reasons for the recent increase in fire deaths.
SRS identified the cause of the accident as electrical connection without any safety measures such as turning on the motor with wet hands, working under the overhead power line, lifting the iron rod along the side of the electric wire flowing through the building.
Moreover, these accidents are happening due to not using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the press release added.
SRS proposed that safety measures should be extended to all the sectors with proper enforcement of the laws by government regulatory bodies which include RAJUK, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, as well as the garment sectors employers.
Industrial employers must establish health and safety policies for their respective organizations, make a safety plan before undertaking construction work, provide proper PPE at free of cost and ensure holding of a regular fire drill and health and safety training irrespective to all the industrial-workers, the press release added.
