Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
A total of 758 workers were killed in 639 accidents across the country in the last one year (January 1 - December 31, 2024).
The data comes from a survey conducted by the non-governmental organization Safety and Rights Society (SRS) based on news published in newspapers (15 national and 11 local).
Executive Director Sekender Ali Mina officially presented the survey report of 2024 of workers killed in workplace accidents in the SRS conference room at 11am on Tuesday.
In the same period in 2023, 875 workers were killed in 772 workplace accidents across the country.
This year the number of workplace deaths has decreased slightly since last year.
Workers who died in road accidents on their way to work were also included in the survey.
Based on an analysis of workplace accident data obtained from the survey, the transport sector recorded the highest number of worker fatalities, totalling 379 individuals.
Following closely are service establishments, including workshops, gas and electricity supply establishments, etc, with 129 reported fatalities.
Construction ranks third, with 92 workers killed, and followed by 70 fatalities in factories and other productive establishments. The agriculture sector recorded 86 worker fatalities.
Upon reviewing the causes of death, it is evident that 464 individuals perished in road accidents, 81 succumbed to electrocution, 30 lost their lives in fires and various explosions, 50 met their demise by falling from a floor or above, 69 were struck by lightning, 21 were either hit or crushed by hard or heavy objects, seven perished due to the collapse of mountains, ground, bridges, buildings, roofs, or walls, 11 were exposed to chemicals or toxic gases from septic tanks or water tanks, 17 drowned in water, and eight passed away from other causes.
The survey found that road structure, unfit vehicles, incompetent drivers, uncontrolled transport systems, obstruction in law enforcement, reckless driving, etc were cited as causes of accidents in the transport sector.
Causes of accidents in the manufacturing sector include not taking permission from the concerned department for construction of factories, not training the workers on safety issues, inefficiency in the use of chemicals and connecting electrical lines without any safety measures in the construction sector, working on scaffolding without using safety belts and septic tanks or SRS identified the lack of necessary precautions in working on water tanks.
While publishing the survey data, Executive Director of SRS Sekender Ali Mina said that the actual number of workers killed in this accident at the workplace is more because the number of those who died here is only reported in the newspaper, but in many workplaces, the news of the deceased is not reported in the newspaper.
Many workers were shot dead on their way to work during the July-August uprising this year and were not included in this survey.
He said that although the number of deaths at work has decreased this year, the number of deaths due to road accidents and lightning has increased compared to last year.
There is a need to provide social security for agricultural labourers who die due to lightning and do not get any compensation.
Most of the workers who have died this year are between the ages of 1 and 40, i.e. the youth force.
The financial loss caused by these deaths due to work accidents is not estimated.
He called on the current interim government to take appropriate initiatives to ensure social security of workers in addition to workplace safety.
