From factory fires to road crashes to construction accidents, there is no shortage of the ways our workers have needlessly lost their lives
Firemen work to extinguish the flames on a burning bus after an agitating mob put several buses on fire following the death of a student in Rampura, Dhaka on Monday, November 29, 2021 Bangla Tribune
Publish : 02 Jan 2022, 09:50 AMUpdate : 02 Jan 2022, 09:52 AM
It is shocking to learn that, as per the Safety and Rights Society (SRS), at least 538 labour workers were killed in 399 workplace accidents across the country in 2021. What is even more worrisome is that these are only the reported numbers, and it is likely that the real numbers are far higher.
Workplace safety has long been an issue for Bangladesh, and despite the many strides we have made as a nation, when it comes to rights for our labourers, particularly those who work in high risk conditions, we remain woefully behind. From factory fires to road crashes to construction accidents, there is no shortage of the ways our workers have needlessly lost their lives.
Indeed, it is the same old reasons, of taking advantage of the poor and subjecting them to extremely risky or unsavoury working conditions, while paying little heed to their safety and rights, and knowing that the real perpetrators will get away with literal murder, that continue to plague us, resulting in the hundreds, possibly thousands of deaths we see every year.
This cannot be the reality of a nation which is looking to not only become a prosperous economy, but an equitable one, where it ensures the safety and rights of every citizen, regardless of their socio-economic background.
To that end, we hope that the authorities take a long, hard look at the issue of safety and rights of our workers, and make a concerted effort to rectify them. This country would be nowhere without our workers and it is about time we stopped taking them for granted and treated them better.
Taking them for granted
It is shocking to learn that, as per the Safety and Rights Society (SRS), at least 538 labour workers were killed in 399 workplace accidents across the country in 2021. What is even more worrisome is that these are only the reported numbers, and it is likely that the real numbers are far higher.
Workplace safety has long been an issue for Bangladesh, and despite the many strides we have made as a nation, when it comes to rights for our labourers, particularly those who work in high risk conditions, we remain woefully behind. From factory fires to road crashes to construction accidents, there is no shortage of the ways our workers have needlessly lost their lives.
Indeed, it is the same old reasons, of taking advantage of the poor and subjecting them to extremely risky or unsavoury working conditions, while paying little heed to their safety and rights, and knowing that the real perpetrators will get away with literal murder, that continue to plague us, resulting in the hundreds, possibly thousands of deaths we see every year.
This cannot be the reality of a nation which is looking to not only become a prosperous economy, but an equitable one, where it ensures the safety and rights of every citizen, regardless of their socio-economic background.
To that end, we hope that the authorities take a long, hard look at the issue of safety and rights of our workers, and make a concerted effort to rectify them. This country would be nowhere without our workers and it is about time we stopped taking them for granted and treated them better.