Hapless informal Workers

The state of the country's labour sector is highlighted at rallies and seminars every May Day. Appraisals of the progresses made in fulfilling the demands of the workers are carried out. On most occasions, the authorities are reminded of movements and agitations if the workers' demands are not met by certain deadlines. There are trade unions, and left parties that back them. Compared to these mostly factory-based labourers, workers in the informal labour sector seem to be left to rot in their abysmal conditions. They cannot raise demands as the labour law provisions do not bring them under any coverage of safety and welfare. These workers include those engaged in all sectors outside factories and the domains recognised by the country's labour law. In fact, the whole country is a vast workplace employing people to occupations of every conceivable kind. They include males, females, children and elderly people.

It's the whim and convenience of the employers on which the work condition and wages of the workers' occupations are dependent. These people are not enrolled formally as they do not receive weekly or monthly wages. The amount of their payments varies from one individual employer to another. Frequently they are not given their due wages. Apart from their backbreaking works fraught with risks and deadly hazards, they are often rudely declared unwanted. The most alarming aspect of the informal labour sector is the shocking absence safety measures required for a number of assignments. Newspaper photographs of skilled and unskilled labourers working in precarious conditions in the construction sector are now commonplace. Areas such as brick kilns, ship-breaking, manufacturing etc have been singled out as being highly worker-hostile. The same applies to deep-sea fishing, honey collection, quarrying, and even farming. Deaths of hapless workers in these sectors are a normal occurrence.

The Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2013 has put great emphasis on workplace safety. Workers at all recognised factory units are entitled to be covered by the Act's provisions. The informal labour sector remains out of the protective measures stipulated in the Act. Workers in civilised and democratic nations enjoy the basic state supports. Bangladesh cannot be an exception.

Pradip Ghoshal

Rampura, Dhaka