FROZEN food sector is the country's second highest export earner. Despite this reality, the exporters of foreign shrimps, allegedly, deprive the labourers working in shrimp farms of their proper wages. It is reported that Khulna district itself has about 20,000 labourers and the number of such labourers in other shrimp producing districts including Bagerhat are much higher than this district. Of the total labourers, 80 per cent are women who, however, get wages lower than that of male workers. But all the workers have to work for 12 to 18 hours a day instead of eight hours as stipulated in the labour law. They are afflicted with different kinds of diseases, including skin diseases; working in shrimp farms has also some health hazards.
All these labour-related problems exist in the sector in the absence of proper implementation of related laws. The workers are neither given appointment letters nor are provided with identity cards. It is true that the shrimp farm owners do often face different kinds of crisis at local and international levels. But they also earn profit by exporting frozen foods. But they need to keep in mind that the labourers are making a great contribution to their profit earnings. If they want to keep up the sector's growth steady, they have no other option but to meet the basic rights of their workers. The exporters should give minimum wage to their labourers and provide appointment letters in recognition of their hard works.
Shahinur Ahmed
Khulna
Shrimp workers' rights
FE Team | Published: September 05, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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