‘Compensation for workers’ deaths below per capita income’

The compensation for worker deaths due to factory accidents in Bangladesh is still lower than the per capita income of its nationals, according to the leader of a workers' rights body.

At present, the family of a worker would be entitled to just Tk 200,000 as compensation in case of their death owing to any factory incident.

The amount of compensation would be around $2,000 in terms of US dollars, which is far below the per capita income estimated at $2,793 in fiscal year 2021-22 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

"The Rana Plaza incident showed us how insecure the life of a worker is. It also showed the meagre worth their lives," said Razequzzaman Ratan, president of the Socialist Labour Front, a left-leaning labour rights body.

Some 10 years ago on April 24, more than 1,130 workers died and thousands more were injured when the Rana Plaza building that housed a number of factories caved in.

He then said that in the amended labour law, the amount of compensation for the death of a worker for workplace accidents has been fixed at Tk 200,000.

"The worth of life of a person is much lower than the per capita income," he said in an interview with The Daily Star.

Ratan also said the provision for compensation equal to the whole working life of a departed worker has not been addressed in the labour law.

There are provisions for small amounts of compensation for injury but if a worker becomes physically challenged after sustaining injury for workplace accident, there is a provision of only Tk 250,000 compensation.

Besides, there is no provision for the rehabilitation of injured workers.

"So, we demanded of inclusion of such a provision in the labour law. We also urged for employment insurance schemes but these are yet to be implemented," Ratan said.

Above all, the provision of punishment for death and injury workers because of owners' negligence is very low, he added.

Section-309 of the labour law says that an owner will face four years in jail and a Tk 100,000 fine in case of a worker's death. If the worker becomes permanently disabled for negligence on the owner's part, they will face Tk 10,000 penalty and two years in jail.

"This is not a punishment at all. And we have not seen any owner facing any punishment until now," he said.

Ratan also spoke on minimum wages. He said there is no national minimum wage in Bangladesh while the sector-wise minimum wage is fixed for 44 sectors while that of others not been fixed after 2013.

Besides, in determining wages, per capita income, cost of living, worker productivity and comparative review of wages in the same sector of other countries are not taken into consideration, he said.

This is why the wages of workers in the garment industry of Bangladesh are some of the lowest in the world, he added.

Ratan also talked about people working in the informal sector.

Nearly 90 per cent of the workforce work in the informal sector and they do not have set working hours, any guarantee of wages or assurance of workplace safety.

So, on the 137th year since the struggle of workers to establish the right to 8-hour workdays, the workers have to struggle for just wages, workplace safety and a dignified and decent life as well.