1,432 killed in accident at workplace in 2023

DE News Report
According to the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment Foundation (OSHE), 1,432 workers lost their lives and 502 others sustained injuries across diverse sectors in the country during 2023 due to hazardous working conditions.
A survey says, 967 individuals lost their lives and 228 others were injured due to workplace incidents in 2022.
The survey, unveiled by Dr. SM Morshed, vice-chairman of the OSHE Foundation, during a press conference at the Nasrul Hamid Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity, indicates a notable surge this year. Comparatively, there has been an increase of 465 fatalities and 274 injuries in contrast to the previous year. Dr. Morshed highlighted that the report’s data was compiled from 15 newspapers and field-level sources.”
“In 2023, the number of workers killed in the formal sector is 329 and the number of injured workers is 277 and the number of workers killed in the informal sector is 1,103 and the number of injured workers is 225.”
The report cited road accidents, electrocution, fire, building collapse, lightning, gas cylinder explosion, violence, physical torture of domestic workers and landslides as major causes of workplace casualties.
According to the report, the highest number of labourers died in the transport sector. In 2023, 637 died and 127 got injured although 105 died and 29 got injured in 2022.
According to the sector-wise data, 220 day-labourers were killed and 76 injured while 149 killed and 72 injured in the construction sector, 146, including 71 in lightning strikes, killed and 10 injured in the agriculture sector in 2023.
Besides, 64 killed were and 89 injured in RMG, 94 killed and 15 injured in manufacturing, 53 killed and 22 injured in fisheries, 26 killed and 22 injured in service, 17 killed and 9 injured in ceramic, 4 killed and 17 injured in the tannery sector.
Furthermore, 11 were killed and 6 injured in brickfield, 7 killed and 29 injured in shipbreaking, 1 killed and 6 injured in tea sector and 3 killed and 2 injured at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
OSHE has recommended improving workplace safety, enforcing the Bangladesh Labour Act-2006 (Amendment-2018) and the Bangladesh Labour Rules (2015), stepping up monitoring on health and safety provisions as per the laws, forming safety committees in various sectors, and providing Tk 10 lakh compensation for dead worker and Tk 5 lakh for injured worker.
It has proposed incorporating rehabilitation of injured workers into the labour law and initiating the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) unit for proper data management related to workplace accidents.
They have advocated for a public pension scheme for workers affected by workplace accidents, modernising shipbreaking yards under government management, ensuring the use of appropriate personal protective equipment for workers, and providing orientation on the National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health 2013.
OSHE chairperson Saki Rezwana, research and monitoring officer Nur Alam, and case management officer Nusrat Jahan were also present at the press conference.