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Bangladesh is pursuing a growth strategy where the economy is expected to rely more on industry. Currently, industry accounts for around 32 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of which around 22 per cent comes from manufacturing. Industry sector has been growing at double-digit rate for the last few years. This growth is associated with various challenges including a range of issues related to occupational safety and health (OSH). Nature and extent of occupational injury is one important indicator of the condition of OSH in a factory.
Some of the occupational injuries are caused by accidents at workplace where precautions were not possible. However, many injuries could be avoided if the possible hazard of a workplace could be identified in advance and precautions taken. The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse and the death toll caused by that accident have exposed the importance of OSH for avoiding such a terrible incident. According to the Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2015, as many as 716,000 workers working in the industry sector reported occupational injuries or illness in the previous one year. This means 6.0 per cent of employed workers in the industry sector faced occupational injuries or illness.
Because of the varying nature of activities in different manufacturing sectors, the nature of accident also varies across sectors. Accidents in different sectors take place for various reasons. Given the nature of activities, sources of accidents differ across industries. The source of an accident could be very simple like sticking of needles in fingers (mostly in textile or garment industries) or it could be serious like being hit by heavy objects or fall of objects on a person. Falling from heights and fall of objects are some common sources of accidents. As a result, knee and ankle injuries are common in most manufacturing sectors. Workers in industries also face incidences of bone fractures, injuries of spinal cord etc. According to the Labour Force Survey 2013, around 49 per cent of persons encountering occupational injuries (in all sectors including agriculture and services) faces superficial injuries (bruises, lacerations, cuts, abrasions etc.), 27 per cent encountered dislocation, sprain, strain and amputation, while 11 per cent faced fracture. Other common forms of occupational injuries include burn, corrosion, scald, frost bite (6.0 per cent), acute poisoning or infection (2.0 per cent).
The extent to which workers suffer after an injury varies according to the severity of injury. Consequence may take the form of missing one shift of work or even death. Employers usually compensate for deaths or fatal injuries (permanent or temporary), though the amount varies. The compensation is made directly (money transfer) or indirectly through hospitals or medical centres run by the employers.
Factories in the manufacturing sector usually take several common preventive measures to protect their workers from accidents and injuries. However, workers in different industries are also exposed to a variety of health hazards and risks owing to the nature of operations. Common sources of hazards in the industry sector include dust, fumes, fire, gas, flames, chemicals/explosives, dangerous tools or machines etc. Risks of accidents increase when machineries are inadequately guarded or fenced. Workers who are not very familiar with the operations of certain types of machines may come closer to those machines than advised otherwise. Many manufacturing establishments involve activities of handling/lifting heavy materials/objects, and exposed workers to chemicals, especially corrosive, flammable or poisonous ones. Close contacts of these chemicals may leave lesion, burn on skin, or may harm vital organs of workers. Various manufacturing sectors have certain types of activities that involve handling of moving vehicles, plants or equipment. Such activities may cause fatal injuries if handled carelessly. Exposure to electricity is also a cause of serious accidents. As machines, tools, and appliances are usually run by electricity, exposure to it is unavoidable. However, not many workers within various sectors are involved in direct handling of activities related to electricity. Consequently, exposure of workers to this hazard is low. However for poor maintenance of electricity connections and wirings, fatal fire incidences may occur in a workplace, which may cause injuries to the employees.
In Bangladesh, workers are legally quite well protected against occupation-related accidents and injuries through Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006, and Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2013. The Labour (Amendment) Act 2013 has made a large number of amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006. It has also introduced several provisions for improving workplace safety. Apart from domestic regulations, international buyers of export industries (like ready-made garments, leather, footwear etc.) are putting constant pressure on the manufacturers to improve OSH in the factories. Still, there occur injuries in the manufacturing sector many of which could be avoided by adopting various safety measures.
To ensure adoption and regular monitoring of OSH condition, Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2013 has included several provisions. According to this Act, factories with 50 workers or more have to create safety committees; workplaces with over 5,000 workers have to establish Health Centres and safety welfare officers should be appointed in workplaces with more than 500 workers. Before adoption of this Amendment Act, compensation for work-related deaths was provided after three years. Now the compensation will be provided within two years. Workplaces of over 500 employees are also required to arrange for and cover the cost of treatment of occupational diseases. The new Act has given new responsibilities to the Labour Inspectorate to inspect safety and health conditions of workplaces and conduct on-the-spot inspections. Some other notable amendments include issues related to hazardous work for children; emergency exits; access to gangways and stairs for workers; mandatory use of personal safety equipment; notification to competent authority in case of accident; and provisions on social dialogue, trade unions and dispute resolution; and responsibilities of employers.
When an injury occurs, the compensation mechanism is often not sufficient to cover the loss, either loss of working hours, consequences of minor or major injuries or even death. According to the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (2013), maximum amount of compensation which may be given for any death in workplace is Tk. 100,000 (one hundred thousand). If a worker suffers permanent impairment because of an occupational injury, the amount of compensation will be Tk 125,000 (one hundred twenty five thousand) only. In case of workers facing temporary impairment, compensation may be calculated for the period of their impairment or one year whichever is less. Thus, during the first two months, the workers will be paid a compensation of their respective full monthly wage, the amount of compensation for the next two months will be two-thirds of the monthly wages and for the remaining months, it will be half of the monthly wages. These sums are often inadequate to cover the actual losses incurred. As in most cases insurance or protection services are not well placed. More proactive measures to remove occupational health and safety hazards should be undertaken so that the incidents and fatality of accidents are minimised.
There is no denying the fact that occupational safety and overall compliance situation in manufacturing industries has improved a lot, especially after the Rana Plaza tragedy. Not only ready-made garment sector, but also other export oriented sectors are going through major changes. Domestic market oriented industries are still reluctant to take serious measures for ensuring OSH. Many export-oriented manufacturing factories have already formed safety committees to ensure OSH. The role of such committees is crucial for ensuring safety at work.
Following measures could be taken to lessen occupational injuries: i) at the beginning of employment, every employee should be made aware of possible hazards of the activities of their respective occupation; ii) where necessary, the employees should be supplied with proper safety gadgets; iii) fire drill should take place regularly; iv) employees should be compensated adequately for occupational accidents they face; v) every factory should have functional safety committee; vi) safe technology should be adopted in industries, and workers should get proper training.
We all understand and expect that development path should be as smooth as possible. While the country is encouraging industrial growth, we cannot ignore the issue of workplace safety. For export industries compliance with regard to OSH has already become a major factor of competitiveness and productivity. Let us all work for a safe, productive industry sector.
Nazneen Ahmed, PhD is Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).