Clearly the factory owners are riding roughshod on rules regarding the security of the labourers and that too in spite of the repeated demands of the various labour and human rights organisations in Bangladesh. There are many contributory factors that result in the large number of industrial accidents in our country and much of the blame must rest on the shoulders of governments that allowed such conditions to persist. To say that there is not enough manpower in the relevant agencies of the government to exercise control and oversight of the factories is just not acceptable. It is the collusive arrangement of government agencies and the factory owners, who cut cost at the expense of safety of the workers, that is the cause of so many deaths and injuries in this sector. There are specific and clear-cut rules that, if insisted upon before the factory is allowed to operate, would save many lives every year.

It appears that the garments sector is the biggest defaulter of all. One of the reasons for it is that these have mushroomed in an unplanned manner without fulfilling the criteria. It is a pity that while the maximum is derived from the labourers, and it is a pittance that they get for it, not enough is done to ensure that a modicum of safe working conditions is provided them.

It is the negligence of both the employers and the government that result in so many industrial casualties every year, and it is they that must gear up their efforts to ensure that risks to lives of the workers are eliminated by following the provisions of the existing industrial and labour laws.

No nation can endure such a plight of its workers.