Workplace accidents took 729 lives in 2020
Says BILS study Staff Correspondent Staff Correspondent
Some 732 workers died in events such as accidents, torture and labour unrest last year, according to a new study of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).
The highest number of deaths, 348, were in the transport sector, and the second highest, 84, in the construction sector.
BILS deputy director Yousuf Al Mamun, shared the findings in an event at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday.
The BILS data said some 433 workers, 387 men and 46 women, were injured in 2020. The highest number of injuries, 68, were in the fisheries sector.
The survey, made from newspaper reports and articles, said 596 workers were victims of different incidents of torture last year. Among the tortured, 316 died, 229 were injured, eight went missing, 24 died by suicide, 14 were rescued from kidnappers; five others cases were not mentioned.
Flashback in Outgoing 2020: Corona hits hard RMG sector
31st December, 2020 09:38:45
The ready-made garment (RMG) sector, the lifeline of the country’s exports, has faced its toughest year in 2020 as the entire apparel supply chain collapsed due to the economic fallout caused by coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic that erupted at the beginning of the outgoing year pushed the RMG sector into a great uncertainty with widespread order cancellation, fall in export prices, factory closure, lay offs and job losses.
During the February-April period, apparel makers faced cancellation of export orders worth about $3.18 billion that slightly started rebounding from July.
Though the export orders came back, the global buyers shockingly reduced their price which put the exporters into double trouble.
Keep Informal Sector on the Agenda for Inclusive Growth
Z A M Khairuzzaman
26th December, 2020 10:27:58
Every morning, around 150-200 day labourers wait for work on a footpath in the capital’s Malibagh rail gate intersection. Each of them carries a shovel and a basket. They gather on the footpath in the hope of getting to be hired on contractual basis. Similar scene of worried day labourers can be seen in different places in the capital city. They are uncertain of getting any job. In fact, they have little or nothing to protect them if they are unable to go to work. They live from hand to mouth and struggle every day merely to survive. It is also difficult for them to take leave from work.