Battery rickshaws causing labour shortage

The manufacturing sector relies heavily on physical labour. While large conglomerate of industries embracing cutting-edge technology for automation, reducing manual effort, small and medium enterprises still operate large-scale production processes under direct worker supervision.

Battery-powered auto rickshaws are being blamed as the recent cause of the labour crisis. Since the current free movement of battery-powered auto rickshaws, coupled with a lack of regulation, is not only reducing the number of factory workers but also adversely affecting manufacturing industries' wage policies. Previously, it was observed that the management authority had control over the determination of employees' salaries, but this is now exceeding those limits. Because these workers involved with industrial production are no longer being retained as they used to be, they are now shifting to battery-powered rickshaws as a means of easy income. Even within the existing labour community, many are seen giving up their jobs and increasingly opting to drive these auto-rickshaws.

Small manufacturing organisations are particularly affected, as management has to pay high salaries or wages to retain workers despite limited profits in a competitive market. On top of that, the employee turnover rate is substantially higher than in the previous situation. Thus, hiring personnel related to goods production and overseeing industrial processes have become more challenging. Eventually, these battery-powered rickshaws are not only slowing down the country's labour community but are also silently keeping labour out of the workforce.

Muntasir Mahmud

Student

North South University