709 killed in workplace accidents, 301 faced atrocities in 2023

FE Team | Published: December 31, 2023 22:11:06

FE REPORT
A total of 709 workers were killed and 482 were injured in workplace accidents in 2023, according to a survey titled "Newspaper based BILS survey on labour and workplace situations in Bangladesh-2023,"
The BILS survey also revealed that in the last year, 301 workers, including 273 males and 28 females, experienced atrocities at their workplaces.
In accidents the highest number of deaths, 246, was reported in the transport sector, followed by 113 in the construction sector and 97 in the agriculture sector.
The survey was conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), which analyzed newspaper reports published between January 1 and December 15 of the previous year.
The survey also revealed that specific sectors were affected, with 44 rickshaw pullers, 35 expatriate workers, 29 day labourers, 26 in the fisheries sector, 15 in the power sector, 15 in the shipping sector, 11 in the steel mill sector, and 78 workers in other sectors being killed.
According to estimations by BILS, the number of deaths caused by workplace incidents decreased by 31 per cent compared to 2022.
However, another non-government organisation Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) foundation in a recent report said workplace fatality marked 48 per cent increase in 2023.
The OSHE foundation analysis revealed 1,432 workers were killed in 2023 which was 967 in the previous year (2022).
The BILS report identified road accident, dropping from a higher place, explosion, blaze, earthquake, electrocution, lightning, storm at sea, vessel capsize and cylinder explosion have been the dominant causes of workplace tragedies.
According to BILS report the workplace atrocities included physical abuse, rape, stabbing, murder, kidnapping, and other forms of physical abuse.
Among them, 153 were killed, 126 were injured, 16 were reported missing, three were reported as having committed suicide, and the remaining three were rescued by the police after being abducted.
Additionally, the survey found that a total of 169 labour unrests occurred in various sectors in 2023. The garment sector had the highest number of labour unrests at 108, followed by the bidi industry, agriculture sector, and railway sector.
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