Workplace deaths jump in Bangladesh as safety conditions continue to deteriorate

Workplace safety in Bangladesh worsened sharply in 2025, with at least 1,190 workers killed and 222 injured in job-related accidents across the country, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

The death toll marks a significant rise from 2024, when 905 workers were killed and 218 injured. The increase of 285 fatalities in a single year points to deep and unresolved problems in how workplace safety is managed.

The findings come from an annual monitoring report by the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) Foundation. The report was unveiled at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on December 30.

OSHE Foundation said the report was prepared using information from national and local newspapers, electronic and online media, trade union sources, and verified field-level data collected by the organisation. Project Coordinator Mahmuda Sultana Snigdha presented the findings.

One of the most troubling findings is the fatality rate itself. More than eight out of every ten reported workplace accidents in 2025 ended in death. This suggests that when accidents happen, workers often do not survive. The report links this to weak preventive safety systems, delayed rescue efforts, and limited access to emergency medical care.

The report also shows that most accidents occurred in the informal sector. Around 84 per cent of workplace accidents took place in jobs that fall outside effective labour law coverage. OSHE Foundation described this as the single biggest structural challenge to improving workplace safety, warning that meaningful progress will remain difficult unless informal workers are brought under labour law enforcement and social protection schemes.

As in previous years, the transport sector recorded the highest number of accidents. It was followed by the industrial and manufacturing sector, the service sector, agriculture, and construction and infrastructure. Jobs involving long hours, heavy machinery, high mobility, and informal employment were found to be especially risky.

Road accidents were the leading cause of workplace deaths, followed by electrocution, falls from height, fires and explosions, lightning strikes, and incidents of violence and harassment. The report notes that most of these accidents could be prevented with basic safety planning and supervision.

OSHE Foundation placed several recommendations at the press conference. These include strengthening labour inspections, forming safety committees at workplaces with worker participation, ensuring minimum compensation for families of workers killed on the job, conducting regular safety audits in high-risk sectors, creating a government-run national database on workplace accidents, and extending social protection to informal sector workers affected by accidents.

Without serious attention to workplace safety, OSHE Foundation warned, it will be difficult to protect workers’ lives, sustain productivity, or support long-term development. The organisation stressed that preventing accidents must take priority over responding to them after the damage is already done.

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