Negligent employers, unaware workers major hurdle: Study

Negligence of employers in informal sectors and lack of awareness of their workers are major impediments to protecting the rights of workers through ensuring decent work environment and safety at workplace, found a recent study.

More than 98 percent of the employers in the sector do not provide any employment contract to their workers. Moreover, 56 percent of the employers and 44 percent of the workers do not have any knowledge about labour rights and decent workplace practices.

B-SkillFUL conducted the study, funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the European Union.

Findings of the study were revealed at a discussion organised jointly by National Skills Development Council (NSDC), Informal Sector Industry Skills Council (IS-ISC) and B-SkillFUL at NSDC office in the capital yesterday.

The survey, implemented by Switzerland-based organisation Swisscontact, was conducted between September 2017 and December 2017 in Gazipur, Tangail, Jessore, Bogra, Dinajpur and Joypurhat.

A total of 368 informal enterprises including different types of workshops (automobile, metal work, electronics, mobile phone and furniture), tiles fitters, tailors, boutiques and beauty parlours were surveyed. 

The study also found that about 68 percent of workers in the sector have no knowledge about legal work hours and 70 percent of the workers have to work more than eight hours -- the maximum daily work hour permitted by the labour law.

Around 75 percent workers in the sector do not have any training on occupational safety and health hazards, according to the survey.

Dr Jakir Hossain, lead researcher of the survey project and also a professor at Rajshahi University, said employers in the sector deprive their workers of necessary facilities such as hygienic toilets and clean and ventilated workplace. As such, about 79 percent of them do not recruit female workers -- an act of gender discrimination. The ones still hire female workers do not even allow them any maternity leave.

ABM Khorshed Alam, chief executive officer of NSDC; Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, president of IS-ISC; and Matiur Rahaman, team leader of B-SkillFUL project; spoke, among others.