Occupational health and safety of workers and challenges in

implementing in workplace- An overview of Bangladesh RMG sector

Submitted by

Iftia Wahab

ID no: 170116

WMES, Jahangirnagar University

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Table of content:

1.1 Introduction and Background 03

1.2 Global Context of Occupational Safety and Health: 04

1.3 History of Garments industries in Bangladesh 08

1.6 Workers growth in Bangladesh 09

1.7 Rational of the Study 11

1.8 Justification of the study: 12

1.9 What is occupational health and environmental safety? 13

1.10 Evolution of occupational health and safety 14

1.12 Overcoming occupational health and hygiene problems 16

1.13 Safety committee 17

1.14 Health, safety and security 18

1.15 Safety management 19

1.16 Organizational commitment and safety culture 19

1.7 Safety training and communication 20

1.19 Objectives of the Study 21

2.1 Methodology: 23

2.2 The study area 23

2.3 Limitation of the study 23

3.1 Present condition of health safety situation (on workers perspective) 25

3.2 Workers views on the safety measure and monitoring of the organization: 29

3.3 Present health and safety condition on walk through visit: 30

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3.3 Going through the workers interview and walkthrough visit I found the below findings
32

3.4 Recommendation: 33

References: 34

Appendix 35

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Declaration

I am Iftia Wahab presenting this Project in partial fulfillment of the required degree of
M.Sc in Environmental Sciences and Management. I, hereby declare that, the work
described in this Project has been carried out under supervision of Dr. Shafi Mohammad
Tareq, FRSC, C.Env. (UK) Professor Department of Environmental Sciences
Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka-1342.

The work presented here is true and original. No part of this work has been submitted to
any university or institute before for an award or degree.

Iftia Wahab Dr. Shafi Mohammad Tareq,

ID: 170116 FRSC, C.Env. (UK)
1st Batch, Session: 2017-18 Professor Department of
Masters in Environmental Sciences and Environmental Sciences.
Management
Department of Environmental Sciences,
Jahangirnagar University.

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1.1 Introduction and Background

The occupational safety and health (OSH) service in Bangladesh is still in the learning stage.
Here the occupational health & safety refers mainly to needs of workers of industries or some
manufacturing processes but does not completely cover all occupations in the country. The main
laws related to occupational health & safety in this country is the Factory Act 1965, the Factory
Rule of 1979, Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and amendment Law 2013 and OSH policy 2013.
There are a number of other laws and regulations that also have provisions related to OSH. These
laws have provisions on occupational hygiene, occupational diseases, industrial accidents,
protection of women and young persons in dangerous occupations and also cover conditions of
work, working hours, welfare facilities, holidays, leave etc. But most of the laws are lacking in
standard values and not specific rather general in nature.

Moreover, the enforcement department, the Department of Inspections and Factories, which has
serious lacking in terms of capacity and manpower, which could not effectively enforce
occupational safety and health in Bangladesh. Currently, Bangladesh Government and
development agencies has taken initiative and providing support to strengthen on Occupational
Safety and Health at the Garments factories. In Bangladesh, as in most countries in the west the
responsibility for health and safety at work is placed on the employer, although the government
has some occupational health care services and safety standards. Occupational health services are
provided as benefits by employers and generally are separate from other community health
services. The labour laws in Bangladesh have been framed which requires employers to
undertake corrective measures on occupational safety and health. Lack of awareness, training,
non- compliances of the OSH standards by the employers, the low involvement of the workers
could not achieve the goal of providing safety and health to the workers as intended by the laws.

Time has come to consider the Occupational Health in its true spirit in a holistic way. The policy
makers, legislators, employers, and all other members of the society require to understand the
relationship of true social development with economic development through a system of good
practices of occupational safety and health in work places so that the fruit of industrial
development actuates the social goals. There should be awareness about consequences of not
addressing and non-implementations of occupational safety and health standards. However, in

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recommending amendments to the existing Labour Act this study will address the concerns of all
the stakeholders.

Occupational Health and Safety as mentioned earlier, a safe and healthy workplace is considered
to be a right for any worker/employee. Since people spend significant portions of their days in
workplaces, the nature and scope of safety and security remain a major issue for discussion and
debate. The question of a worker’s safety is not only based on considerations of productivity but
also on to the ability of employees to sustain themselves and earn for his/her family. Whereas,
employment and income help us survive, unemployment on the other hand brings significant
negative consequences for the family. Often cited as characteristics of the many “sweatshops”
which operate in developing countries (Robertson et al 2011) are: poor wages; long working
hours; risky working environments with few safeguard mechanisms; unhygienic working
environments with no or little air flow, no daylight, high temperatures, excessive noise, and poor
indoor air quality; and both verbal and physical abuse. These sweatshop characteristics can result
in death or mild, moderate and severe injuries, long or short term work related 5
sickness/diseases of workers which can have significant economic consequences for the family
and society.

Expecting employees to work excessive overtime is common practice in developing countries,

particularly in the manufacturing industry (Dawson et al 2004). There is evidence that workers
who work long hours show poorer performance and suffer an increased rate of accidents, due to
the strong connection between working time and fatigue (Harrington, 2001). Health and safety at
work is strongly affected by overtime, and several studies have found a high correlation between
excessive overtime and higher incidences of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, on-the-
job injuries and repetitive strain injuries due to poor occupational health and safety conditions
(Spurgeon, 2003).

1.2 Global Context of Occupational Safety and Health:

Workplace/occupational injuries are increasingly becoming a public health concern in all

developing countries as they cause insecurity, poverty, and sickness. Occupational injuries alone

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account for more than 10 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost each year globally
(DCP, 2007). On the other hand, quantifying the global burden of disability due to occupational
injury and illness is difficult because of the fragmented and often anecdotal nature of the data
from developing countries (Emmett & Alant, 2006).

ILO estimates death of 2.3 million workers as a result of occupational accidents and work-related
diseases. 337 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases occur each
year globally. Financial losses of occupational health related death, injuries and diseases could
rise even up to 10-15% of the country’s national product if all the factors are taken into account
(Niu 2010). Conservative estimates show that occupational risk factors are responsible for
312,000 fatal unintentional occupational injuries globally and 8.8% of the global burden of
mortality. Fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries resulted in about 10.5 million DALYs; which
means that about 3.5 years of healthy life are lost per 1,000 workers every year globally
(Concha-Barrientos et al, 2005).

Developing countries’ population bear more than 80 percent of the global burden of occupational
disease and injury (DCP 2007) and less than 10 percent of the working populations in these
countries are covered by occupational safety and health standards at workplace (La dou 2003).

1.3 Contextual Frames, Rights Obligations, and Legal Setting Bangladesh is a densely populated
country located in South Asia. Often identified as one of the ‘Next Eleven’ developing country,
the country has achieved significant human and social development over the last decades such as
progress in gender equity, promoting universal primary education, sufficiency in food
production, better health service and population control. However the country still suffers from
various socio- economic, demographic and labour market challenges. These contexts have wider
implications in terms of country’s obligation to promoting and protecting rights of the workers in
general and promoting occupational and safety at workplaces in particular.

This chapter is mainly devoted to provide a general overview of the economic, demographic and
labour context of Bangladesh along with country’s obligation to occupational safety and health.
Brief contextual analysis of the demographic, economic and labour issues in the country is
presented below. The chapter is followed by identification of country’s obligations to
occupational safety and health drawing from internationally recognized human and labour rights

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instruments. The final section outlines the legal setting of the country to promote and protect
OSH related obligations.

The constitution is the highest legislation of Bangladesh, and provides its citizens the right to
collective bargaining and freedom of association, reasonable wages, equal opportunity in
employment, social security and prohibits forced labour (Articles 7, 14 and 20). The constitution
has indicated work as a right and duty of the citizen (Art. 20) Bangladesh’s laws related to
workers had been in the process of development too.6The evolving nature of the standards
makes it difficult to establish causal relations between whether the international obligations have
particular outcomes in terms of the changing dynamics of national legal standards. The reflection
of the major standards prevailing in the internationally recognized labour rights are expected in
the current Bangladesh labor law because, first, it is a recent (2006 with latest amendment in
2013) compilation of previous laws which were in operation into a single act of law—BLA
2006,7 and second, it is widely considered to be comprehensive in nature; broad aspects of
worker rights, and labor and industrial relations including special provisions for specific worker
groups are under its purview. The BLA regulates trade unions, working hours, minimum wages
employment and industrial relations. It sets occupational safety and health standards,
compensation for injury and accidents in the workplace, maternity benefits, factory inspectorate
and restrictions in child labour. The act also established the National Wage Board, the Labour
Court, and the National Council for Industrial Health and Safety, the mechanisms to solve
industrial disputes such as strikes and lockouts. However several provisions of the Labour Act
such as provision of freedom of association, collective bargaining, and occupational safety and
health are not applied for the workers of the Export Processing Zones, and those are regulated
through separate laws. The provisions related to EPZs enterprises are within the EPZ Workers
Association and Industrial Relations Act (2010) (EWAIRA 2010). Factory Rules 1979
(currently under consideration for a new Rules) elaborates the legal framework for the country.
Numerous other laws including the Fire Prevention and & Extinguishing Act 2003, Bangladesh
National Building Code 2006, Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation Act 2006, and Ship
Breaking and Ship Recycling Rules 2011 have provisions related to OSH.

Through the legal provisions on OSH related issues, Bangladesh established tripartite National
Council for Industrial Health and Safety in 2009. The Council has formulated a National

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Occupational Safety and Health Policy in 2013 and working towards implementation of the
policy in every industrial sector. Numerous other policies of the country including National
Labour Policy, National Child Labour Elimination Policy, Industrial Policy and Children Policy
provide guidelines on OSH in respected field of policy. An analysis of the country’s policy
landscape and the regulatory framework by juxtaposing provisions of human and labour rights
instruments will provide not only the state of current coverage but also will provide pointers of
future direction in relation to OSH regulatory frame, to which we turn next.

According to the latest labor force survey of Bangladesh published in 2009, 51 million people
are employed in Bangladesh, of whom 22.2 million are involved in agriculture, forestry and
fisheries sector, 7.8 million in trade, hotel and restaurant service occupations, about 7 million in
manufacturing, 2 million in construction sector, and 4.2 million in transport, storage and
communication sector. Most of these employees operate under poor working conditions, where
occupational health and safety standards are missing. A study conducted in Bangladesh revealed
that 79.52% of the injured (occupational injuries) workers were in the 40–59 age group; and
73.26% of accidents caused injury to hands, feet, torso, arms and eyes resulting in different
forms of disability (Khan et al 2006), This study covers a small sample size which might not be
representative of the global data but still gives us an impression of the vulnerability of the
workers. Real picture of occupational health in Bangladesh can be inferred if we take into
account the regular media reports concerning workplace accidents. A media scan report of 2007
showed that almost half of all worker deaths took place in the construction sector, with 164
separate incidents resulting in a combined total of 222 deaths (Safety and Rights, 2007). Another
report revealed that at least 388 workers were killed in workplace accidents across the country in
2011. The reports excluded deaths of workers outside the workplace or deaths of workers as a
result of road traffic incidents. Electrocution at workplace was the cause of the highest number of
deaths followed by falling from heights (e.g. scaffolds) (Safety and Rights, 2011).

Statistics from the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation
(OSHE) revealed that some 1,310 workers were killed and 899 others injured during the first six
months of 2010 (OSHEBD 2010) and some 622 workers were killed and 395 others injured in
various work related incidents across the country in the first six months of 2011 (OSHEBD

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2011). The statistics appear to show that, as Bangladesh industrializes, work related injuries are
increasing, implying that occupational safety has not risen in line with industrial expansion.

The booming readymade garments industry, which employs about 3.6 million factory workers
(McKinsey & Company 2011), is increasingly becoming an unsafe working environment. With
an absence of minimum safety standards, the factories are often housed in buildings that are
poorly maintained and inadequately ventilated, cooled, heated or lit. Unsuitable domestic
premises, overcrowding and improper storage of flammable materials, frequently creates serious
fire hazards (ILO 2011). Inadequate exit points, inadequate fire extinguishers and no proper
training make the workplace more dangerous. The recent incidents in factories in Savar (nearest
sub-district of Dhaka) highlight the extreme danger and immeasurable costs of a lack of
workplace safety. In November 2012 a fire caused the death of 111 workers (AMRC 2013), and
just five months later, in April 2013, a building collapse killed a further 1143 workers (WHO
2013) while leaving thousands injured.

All this evidence portrays the overall situation of the occupation health and safety issue, yet it is
strongly suspected that the numbers of work related injuries or illness in Bangladesh are higher
than those reported or published. Employers in Bangladesh show little or no responsibility to
protect workers. As long as a worker gives their consent to work it is assumed that they are
willing to risk their lives without any compensation, an assertion supported by our research
findings.

1.5 History of Garments industries in Bangladesh

1950 was the beginning of RMG in the Western world. In order to control the level of imported
RMG products from developing countries into developed countries, the Multi Fibre Agreement
(MFA) was made in 1974. The MFA agreement imposed an export rate 6 percent increase every
year from a developing country to a developed country. In the early 1980s Bangladesh started
receiving investment in the RMG sector. Some Bangladeshis received free training from the
Korean Company Daewoo. After these workers came back to Bangladesh, many of them broke
ties with the factory they were working for and started their own factories.

Growth of Garments Industry in Bangladesh: Since the 1980s, the ready-made garment (RMG)
industry in Bangladesh has grown exponentially. The industry is now ranked 6th largest in the

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world. The number of export-oriented garment factories has grown from 9 in 1979 to about 5200
factories in 2013. Out of the 5200 factories registered with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufactures and Exporters
Association (BKMEA), an estimated 3500 factories are in operations today. The RMG industry
has made a substantial contribution to the economy and society women. Despite such a rapid
growth, there are significant challenges concerning a range of labour stand by primarily
providing a source of employment for approximately three and a half million workers, mostly
standards compliance issues.

Financial growth in the garments sector in Bangladesh In the 1980s, 50 there were only factories
employing only a few thousand people. Currently, there are 4490 manufacturing units. The RMG
sector contributes around 76 percent to the total export earnings. In 2007 it earned $9.35 billion.
This sector also contributes around 13 percent to the GDP, which was only around 3 percent in
1991. Of the estimated 4.2 million people employed in this sector, about 50 percent of them are
women from rural areas. In 2000, the industry consisting of some 3000 factories employed
directly more than 1.5 million workers of whom almost 80% were female. USA is the largest
importer of Bangladeshi RMG products, followed by Germany, UK, France and other E.U
countries.

The RMG sector is expected to grow despite the global financial crisis of 2009. As China is
finding it challenging to make textile and foot wear items at cheap price, due to rising labor
costs, many foreign investors, are coming to Bangladesh to take advantage of the low labor cost.
Local accessories are being made including zippers, buttons, labels, hooks, hangers, elastic
bands, thread, backboards, butterfly pins, clips, collar stays, collarbones and cartons.

1.6 Workers growth in Bangladesh

Five deadly incidents from November 2012 through May 2013 brought worker safety and labor
violations in Bangladesh to world attention putting pressure on big global clothing brands such
as Primark, Loblaw, Joe Fresh, Gap, Walmart, Nike, Tchibo, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger,
and retailers to respond by using their economic weight to create change. No factory owner has

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ever been prosecuted over the deaths of workers. Other major fires 1990 and 2012, resulted in
hundreds of accidental deaths, include those at Sportswear Limited and the fire at Tazreen
Fashions Ltd. Spectrum Sweater Industries, Phoenix Garments, Smart Export Garments, Garib
and Garib, Matrix Sweater, KTS Composite Textile Mills and Sun Knitting. Foreign buyers
looking for outsourcing demanded compliancerelated norms and standards regarding a safe and
healthy work environment which includes fire-fighting equipment and evacuation protocols.
RMG insiders in Bangladesh complain about the pressure to comply and argue that RMG factory
owners are hampered by a shortage of space in their rental units. In spite of this the industry
exports totaled $19 billion in 2011-2012. They expected export earnings to increase to $23
billion in 2012-2013. On May 9, 2013 eight people were killed when a fire broke out at a textile
factory in an eleven-story building in the Mirpur industrial district owned by Tung Hai Group, a
large garment exporter. Mohammad Atiqul Islam, president of the politically powerful textile
industry lobby group, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association
(BGMEA), told Reuters that "the

Bangladeshi managing director of the company and a senior police officer were among the
dead." A fire broke out on 24 November 2012, in the Tazreen Fashion factory in Dhaka killing
117 people and injuring 200. It was the deadliest factory fire in the history of Bangladesh.
According to the New York Times, Walmart played a significant role in blocking reforms to
have retailers pay more for apparel in order to help Bangladesh factories improve safety
standards. Walmart director of ethical sourcing, Sridevi Kalavakolanu, asserted that the company
would not agree to pay the higher cost, as such improvements in electrical and fire safety in the
4,500 factories would be a "very extensive and costly modification" and that "it is not financially
feasible for the brands to make such investments."

On April 24 1137 textile workers factories making clothes for Western brands, were killed when
a garment factory collapsed. The Savar building collapse was in the Rana Plaza complex, in
Savar, an industrial corner 20 miles northwest of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was the
"world's deadliest industrial accident since the Bhopal disaster in India in 1984. While some
2,500 were rescued from the rubble including many who were injured, the total number of those

12
missing remained unknown weeks later. On May 9, 2013 eight people were killed when a fire
broke out at a textile factory in an eleven-story building in the Mirpur industrial district owned
by Tung Hai Group, a large garment exporter. Mohammad Atiqul Islam, president of the
politically powerful textile industry lobby group, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA), told Reuters that "the Bangladeshi managing director of the
company and a senior police officer were among the dead.

1.7 Rational of the Study

Rationale of the Study As RMG sector is the nucleus of the country’s economy, so carrying out
study for further upliftment of the sector is the demand of time to bring meaningful change
removing ongoing volatility in the industry. At present the garments sector of the country is
arguably unstable pointing out the necessity of in-depth study and analysis to heel it. Majority of
the garments workers are unhappy with their toilsome labour but the security and safety net in
the working place. The recent Rana plaza catastrophe and Tazreen fire tragedy with horrendous
casualties have added further justifiability to initiate and conduct research study centring this
issue. In addition, there is a dearth of notable study on the security and safety net of the garments
workers in the country. The current study is perceived to be a valuable addition in the existing
literature relating to the security and safety grid of the garments workers from the legal, equitable
and social aspect. Though the Government of Bangladesh has already amended its labour law in
2013 to make the law time-befitting, the question remains whether this amendment is enough in
terms of security and safety net of garments workers. These amendments will hopefully be
proved to be the first step towards fulfilling the Government’s obligation to the fundamental
rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining and to address the critical need to
uphold occupational safety and health. An initial review suggests that the amendments did
address some of the ILO’s specific concerns, while falling short of several important steps called
for by the ILO supervisory system to bring the law into conformity with ratified international
labour standards. Several provisions to improve workplace safety have now been included in the
law. The amendments were done aiming to protect the interests and rights of the workers and
ensuring their safety, incidentally in the wake of a strong plea from the western consumers of
Bangladeshi products for such legal reforms. However, the ILO also observes that new labour
laws as amended and enacted by the Bangladeshi Parliament fall far short of protecting workers’

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rights and meeting international standards. The New York Times commented as “Half hearted
Labour Reform in Bangladesh”. The Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation
has criticised the amended Bangladesh Labour Act 2013 stating that it is 'falling well short of
international labour standards'. So it can be mentioned that the amendments are positive move,
but long way to go. To make a proper amendment it is important to know how workers perceive
about security and safety. Amendments must reflect their perception as to security and safety.
Furthermore, the study strongly recognises that this report will be highly beneficial to the
garments workers if the recommendations are observed and materialized in due course.

1.8 Justification of the study: Over the past decade, the RMG sector of Bangladesh has
witnessed a number of industrial accidents that claimed the lives of hundreds of workers. During
the past five months, the industry, the country and the world have been shocked by several major
industrial accidents in Bangladesh, leading to large-scale unrest among thousands of workers
resulting in mass demonstrations and disruptions of work in hundreds of factories. The news was
relayed in media across the globe and led to NGO and consumer campaigns criticizing working
conditions in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. This is causing longterm damage to the reputation
of the RMG sector and Bangladesh.

Name of the Garment Factory Event Number of causality SPECTRUM Building 64 KTS
TEXTILE Fire 61 PHOENIX Fire 22 SAYEM Fire 3 GARIB & GARIB Fire 21 THAT'S IT Fire
29 EUROTEX Fire 2 TAZREEN Fire 112 SMART EXPORT Fire 7 RANA PLAZA Building
collapase 1139 TUNG HAI Fire 8 TOTAL 1468 146

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A number of factors can be identified as contributing to the lack of safety in the RMG sector in
Bangladesh: ! Gaps in legislation and policy ! Weak law enforcement capacity ! Irregularities in
safety and building licensing ! Absence of workers’ organizations and collective voice at factory
level ! Absence of dialogue between employers and workers, and an absence of women’s voice
in what dialogue does occur ! Lack of awareness among workers, supervisors and mid-level
managers of occupational safety and health issues and fundamental principles and rights at
work ! Lack of managerial capacity to handle 1

crisis situations and take swift decisions in the interest of safety and protection of workers !
Production incentive and attendance bonus systems that may put pressure on workers to deliver
at the cost of safety

1.9 What is occupational health and environmental safety?

The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines “welfare’ as “well-being”. Therefore,

health and environmental safety are firmly aspects of employee welfare, which have been
independently known as being significant areas of welfare condition for sometimes.

1
Occupational safety and health for garments: Policy, standard, OSH system, current state and future forward
Akm Masum ul Alam Bangladesh University of Health Sciences.

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Cascio, Wayne. (1986) defines safety hazards as those aspects of the work environment that have
the potential of immediate and sometimes violent harm to an employee; for example, loss of
hearing, eye sight, or body parts, cuts, sprains, bruises, broken bones, burns and electric shock.

Health hazards as those aspects of work environment that slowly and cumulatively (and often
irreversibly) lead to deterioration of an employee’s health; for example: cancer, poisoning and
respiratory diseases. Typical causes include physical and biological hazards, toxic and
carcinogenic dusts and chemicals and stressful working conditions (Cole, 1991).

1.10 Evolution of occupational health and safety

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, employees ran their businesses as they saw fit to make
profit. Employee safety and health were not their concern. In fact, in official terms these things
were nobody’s concern. In the U.S. injured employees had to litigate to obtain compensation for
their injuries. The cost of doing so effectively prevented employees from going to court. Besides,
employees were rarely successful since, under common law, if they knew of the hazards the job
entailed or if the injuries were brought about as a result of the negligence of the employee or a
co-worker, the employer was not liable.

From these origins, there has emerged an approach and practice with regard to health, safety and
welfare issues. The national safety council had been established in 1913 in the U.S. after safety
conscious managers and engineers spearheaded its founding (major disasters led changes in
thinking). Significantly the international labour organization 1959, provided that occupational
health services should be established in or near a place of employment for the employee welfare
(International Labour Organization, 1959).

1.11 Occupational health, safety and law

The occupational health and safety service in Bangladesh is still in the developmental stage.
Here the occupational health and safety refers mainly to needs of workers of industries or some
manufacturing processes but does not completely cover all occupations of the country. The main
laws related to occupational health and safety in this country is the Factory Act 1965 and the
Factory Rule of 1979.

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The act defines worker as “a person employed in any manufacturing process or in cleaning any
part of the machinery or premises used for a manufacturing process, or in any other kind of work
incidental to or connected with, the manufacturing process, but does not include any person
solely employed in clerical capacity in any room or place where no manufacturing process is
carried on".

This factory act (1965) prescribes the requirements of safety and health to be maintained, and
covers:

- Maintenance of standards of cleanliness.

- Adequate lighting, ventilation & temperature.

- Control of elements hazardous to health like dusts, gases, fumes, etc. associated with particular
operations.

- Requirement of certificate of fitness for young persons from certifying surgeons.

- Requirement of periodical medical examination for persons engaged in hazardous operations.

- Requirement for making available adequate first-aid facilities.

- Requirement of a dispensary manned by a medical practitioner for units employing 500 or more
workers.

- Length of working hours & night work for young persons and women, and prohibition of
employment for operating dangerous machines

- Prohibition of employment of women and children near cotton openers

- Requirement of precaution against fire and explosions.

- Requirement of fencing and guarding of machinery, casing of new machinery

- Requirement for work on or near machinery in motion, striking gear and devices for cutting off
power, self-acting machine

- Requirement for cranes and other lifting machinery, hoist and lift, revolving machinery,
pressure plant

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- Requirement of safety measures for buildings.

- Requirement of precautions against dangerous fumes.

- Maximum weight to be lifted carried or moved by adult men, women and young persons.

- Requirement for floors, stairs and means of access; pits, sumps, opening in floors, etc.

- Requirement for protection of eyes

- Requirement for explosive or inflammable dust, gas, etc.

- Reporting of accidents and occupational diseases.

- Sanitary conveniences- requirement of latrine, urinals, spittoons, drinking water

- Requirement of canteen, eating place, washing facilities, rest room, child room

- Requirement for appointment of welfare officer for units employing 500 or more workers.

1.12 Overcoming occupational health and hygiene problems

Turner and Lawrence (1965) identify some measures to overcome occupational health and
hygiene problems. These are;

- Dominating hazard at source through design and process engineering

- Isolating hazardous processes and substances so that workers do not come into contact with
them.

- Changing the process or substances used, to promote better protection or eliminate the risk

- Providing protective equipment but only if changes to the design, process or specification
cannot completely remove the hazard.

- Training of workers to avoid risk.

- Good housekeeping to keep premises and machinery clean and free from toxic substances.

- Pre-employment medical examinations and regular checks on those exposed to risk.

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- Ensuring that ergonomic considerations (thus, those concerning the design and use of
equipment, machines, processes and workstations) are taken into account in design
specifications, establishing work routines and training.

- Maintaining and preventing medicine programmes which develop health standards foreach job
and involve regular audits of potential health hazards and regular examinations for anyone at
risk.

- Maintaining plant and equipment to eliminate the possibility of harmful emissions, controlling
the use of toxic substances and eliminate radiation hazards.

Holt and Andrews (1993) suggest the following steps to be taken to increase the effectiveness of
safety:

- Avoid negatives – successful safety propaganda should contain positive messages not warnings
of the unpleasant consequences of actions.

- Expose correctly – address the message to the right people at the point of danger

- Maximize comprehension – message should be simple and specific.

1.13 Safety committee

Regulations connecting to safety council also include obligations about the establishment and
operation of safety committees at the workplace. The overall objective of a safety committee is
the promotion of co-operation between employers and the employees in investigating,
developing and carrying out measures to guarantee the health and safety of the employees at
work.

Cole (2002) identifies key functions of safety committees. These include:

- Studying trends in accidents, etc. with the view to make suggestions for corrective actions.

- Examining safety reports and making proposals for avoiding accidents, etc.

- Examining and discussing reports from safety representatives.

- Making proposals for new or revised safety procedures.

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- Acting as a link between the organization and the enforcement agency (the health and safety
inspectorate).

- Monitoring and evaluating the organization’s safety policies, and making proposals for
changes, if necessary.

Michael (2006) also states that employees frequently participate in safety planning through
safety committees, often composed of workers from a variety of levels and departments. A safety
committee generally meets at regular scheduled times and has specific responsibilities for
conducting safety reviews and makes recommendations for changes necessary to avoid future
accidents.

1.14 Health, safety and security

Today, employees think their employers to offer work environments that are protected, safe and
healthy. However, many employers once viewed accidents and occupational diseases as obvious
by-products of work. This idea may still be common in many industrial settings in
underdeveloped countries. Luckily in most developed nations, this idea has been replaced with
the concept of using prevention and control to minimize or eliminate risks in workplaces. But in
many underdeveloped countries major health, safety concerns exist in workplaces.

Health refers to a general state of physical, mental and emotional well-being (Robert and John,
2004).

A healthy person is free of disease, injury or psychological and emotional problems that harm
normal human activity. Health management practices in organizations struggle to sustain the
overall well being of individuals.

Safety on the other hand refers to protecting the physical well being of people (Robert and John,
2004).

The main purpose of effective safety programmes in organizations is to avoid work related
injuries and accidents. The purpose of security is to protect employees and organizational
facilities.

The general goal of providing a safe, secure and healthy workplace is reached when there is
assistance between managers and HR staff members. An HR manager or safety specialist can

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help organize health and safety programmes, examine accidents, construct safety programme
materials and accomplish formal safety training. However, department supervisors and managers
play key roles in maintaining safe working conditions and a healthy workplace. For example, a
supervisor in a warehouse has several health and safety responsibilities: reminding employees to
wear safety hats; checking on the cleanliness of the work area; observing employees for any
alcohol, drug or emotional problems that may affect their work behavior; and recommending
equipment changes(such as screens, railings or other safety devices) to engineering specialists in
the association. A position becoming more common in many companies is that of
safety/environmental officer. This arrangement may make sense in situations where danger
results from chemical or other sources of pollution that may be hazardous to both employees and
the public or the environment.

Regarding security, HR managers and specialists can coordinate their efforts with those in other
operating areas to develop access restrictions and employee identification procedures, contract or
manage organizational security services such as guards and train all managers and supervisors to
handle potentially volatile situations (Robert and John, 2004).

1.15 Safety management

Effective safety management requires an organizational commitment to safe working conditions.

But more importantly, well designed and managed safety programmes can pay dividends for
associated costs such as worker’s compensation and possible fines. Furthermore, accidents and
other safety concerns usually decline as a result of management efforts emphasizing safety
(Salon, 2001).

1.16 Organizational commitment and safety culture

Robert and John.(2004) state that at the heart of safety management is an organizational
commitment to a comprehensive safety effort. This effort should be coordinated from the top
level of management to include all members of the organization. It should also be reflected in
managerial actions.

Employers can prevent some accidents by having machines, equipments, and work areas so that
workers who daydream periodically or who perform potentially dangerous jobs cannot injure
themselves or others. Providing safety equipment and guards on machinery, installing emergency

21
switches, installing adequate ventilation, installing emergency switches, installing safety rails,
keeping aisles clear, lighting, heating and air conditioning can all help make work environment
safer. Designing jobs properly requires consideration of physical setting of a job. The way the
work space surrounding a job is utilized can influence the worker’s performance of the job itself.
Several factors that affect safety have been identified; including size of work area, kinds of
materials used, sensory conditions, distance between work areas, and interference from noise and
traffic flow. Designing safety policies and rules and disciplining violators are important
components of safety efforts. Frequently reinforcing the need for safe behavior and supplying
feedback on positive safety practices also are effective in improving worker safety. Such efforts
must involve employees, supervisors and managers.

1.7 Safety training and communication

Tsui and Gomez-Mejia. (1988) state that one way to encourage employee safety is to involve all
employees at various times in safety training. Safety training can be done in various ways. This
includes;

- Regular sessions with supervisors, managers and employees often are coordinated by HR staff
members.

- Showing videos, television broadcasts and internet-based resources all are means used to
conduct safety training.

To reinforce safety training, continuous communication to develop safety consciousness is

necessary. Merely sending safety memos is not enough. Producing newsletters, changing safety
posters, continually updating bulletin boards and posting information in visible areas also are
recommended (Tsui and Gomez-Mejia, 1988)

1.18 Employee safety motivation and incentives

Michael (2006) states that to encourage employees to work safely, many organizations have used
safety contests and have given employees incentives for safe work behavior.Jewellery, clocks,
watches and even vacation trips have been given as rewards for good safety records.

22
Unfortunately, some evidence indicates that incentives tend to reinforce understanding and
“creative” classifying of accidents. This concern about safety incentives is that employees and
managers do not report accidents and injuries so that they may collect the incentive reward.

Inspection, accidents investigation and evaluation

It is not necessary to wait to check the work area for safety hazards. Inspections may be done by
a safety committee or by a safety coordinator. They must be done on a regular basis.

Eva and Oswald (1981) emphasize that when accidents occur, they should be investigated by the
employer’s safety committee. Investigation at the scene should be done as soon as possible after
an accident to ensure that the conditions under which the accident occurred have not changed
significantly. The second phase of investigation is the interview of the injured employee, his or
her supervisor witnesses to the accident. This is followed by recommendations. Organization
should monitor and evaluate their safety efforts. Just as organizational accounting records are
audited, a firm’s safety efforts and records should be audited periodically as well.

1.19 Objectives of the Study: This study mainly aims at justifying the status of compliance
regarding security and safety net of the garments workers in Bangladesh in line with national and
international legal framework and standard practice coupled with the vow to investigate the main
loopholes of the present labour law in the country. In particular, the provisions concerning the
security and safety of the garments workers in Bangladesh will be examined in the light of the
international legal framework, especially with the ILO Conventions dealing with the same
agenda. The study strives to explore in a bid to prove that if the garments workers are assured
required security and safety in his or her work, the productivity of the RMG sector as well as
their personal wellbeing will be improved paving the way for sustainability for all stakeholders.
So, the objectives of the study are as follows.

 To know the Occupational Safety and Health situation in garments workers in

Bangladesh
 Analysis current policy standard on OSH in the garment sector in Bangladesh and
challenges of implementing OHSA in Bangladesh.
 Recommendation for future direction to create safety workplace in the garment sector

23
Methodology of the Study

24
2.1 Methodology: The study covers covered qualitative approach. It includes the literature
review and interview of the garments workers of RMG sector in Bangladesh. Also reviewed the
secondary data from journal, internet, reports from various national and international Ngo’s
working on the health and safety issues on Bangladeshi garments workers. Considered the
OHSA certified factory while choosing the sample.

 Selecting the study area in both OHSA certified factory and non certified factory.
 Collecting secondary data from different sources.
 Collecting information by getting interview of workers.
 Sort out huge amount of information accumulate those and to have the analysis.

2.2 The study area

The area of the study was on Mohsin Knitwear Ltd, B361-364 BSCIC Industrial Area
Enayetnagar Fatullah an export oriented garments factory.

Factory has several departments and units performing various specific functions. This includes
administration, garments manufacturing.

Due to time and financial constraints data shall be drawn from eighty (10) workers for the
research work. Data was drawn from two sources; primary sources and Secondary sources.
Primary sources include data to be collected through questionnaires, interviews, personal
observations. Interviews were conducted with respondents in the sampled departments to acquire
data for the research work. The sources of secondary data include data drawn from books, files,
journals, magazines and internet and website.

2.3 Limitation of the study:

Most of the employees of the factory have unstable or unfavorable work schedules. This made
the conducting of interviews very difficult. Time limitation- In a research work like this, time is
essential. Every section of this research was given a timeframe within which it was to be
presented. However; the researcher had to combine the exercise with other professional activities
at the same time. Again, due to the fact that the period for the research is short to allow for
adequate data collection on the subject, this could affect the outcome of the work.

25
Observation and Findings

26
This chapter envelops the presentation of responses, investigation and results of data collected
from different sources, i.e questionnaire, interview, personal observation and documentary
evidence. The report writer attempt to collect data relevant to the study distributed ten (10)
copies of questionnaire. I covered both management perspective and workers views on existing
health and safety condition of the organization.

3.1 Present condition of health safety situation (on workers perspective):

Health and safety committee and it’s effectiveness:

The figure shows, 7 among 10 workers are aware of the existing safety committee of the
organization. It indicates that the organization has the communicated the message of having
safety committee. But it doesn’t reflect that the effectiveness of the committee. Factory need to
emphasis on communicating the initiatives taken by the management regarding health and safety.

Is there a workplace health and

safety committee?

1
41% Yes 2

59% NO

27
 Are employees involved in decision
making over OHS matters

10% average satisfactory level

90%

Only 10% workers think they are entitled to put decision on health and safety issues. However
most of them stated they are always concern about the production otherwise they will not meet
the target that set on daily basis. Which will affect the monthly income. It seems the
implementing OSH is still in the table of management. In the grass root level it still a non-
profitable matter.

The figure shows 100% workers has experienced to visit the factory in house medical center but
their average satisfaction level 4.1 on a scale of 10. It indicates that the organization has the
medical center in the convenient place.

28
 Factory madical service
12

10

0
average satisfactory level

Did they visit the medical situated in factory

Only 31% workers think the medical center can meet their need, they visit the place to approve
the sick leave from management, without the approval of factory doctor they are not entitled to
sick, they added.

Is the madical service is sufficient to

you?

average satisfactory level

31%

69%

100 percent workers think they are facing disturbance due to excessive sound in their work place
but they added this is the part of the work so they are habituated to this but at the end of each

29
working day they feel head ache and drowsy. But very low average shows they are satisfy with
the preventive measure the employer took.

Chart Title
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
yes

Is proper ventilation ensured in the building you work?

Is adequate safe drinking water is ensured in your department?

Drinking water and ventilation system:

The data shows the workers are quite happy with the number of water dispenser they have but
they have complaint on the number of glasses they organization provided to them and the cooler
machine doesn’t work properly during the hot day.

Is adequate safe drink- Is proper ventilation

ing water is ensured in ensured in the building
your department? you work?

average satisfac- average satisfac-

tory level tory level

7; 47% 3; 43%
8; 53% 4; 57%

30
3.2 Workers views on the safety measure and monitoring of the organization:

The data shows average 7 point on 10 scale found on the initiatives that the organization has
taken. They addes the owner installed fire door, hydrant system, fire alarm and so many things
for our safety. But they are not that much satisfy on the level of monitoring and inspection take
place apart from inspection of third party.

Average satisfactory level

Are you satisfied with what management is doing currently to improve upon occupational health and environmental safety of the factory? 7

what extent do you think that monitoring & inspection and evaluation of safety practices are prerequisite for effective occupational health and environmental safety? 4.8

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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3.3 Present health and safety condition on walk through visit:

 The toilet is sufficient as per law requirement but the cleanliness of toilet is not properly
maintained, there is no provision of slipper,towel and hand wash in the toilet.
 The working floor is over crowded and some of the deign of work found to be staying
standing for long time (iron, Quality checking).
 There is very poor ventilation found in the working floor.
 Factory has the initiative on safety issues i.e fire door, fire alarm system but in the case of
ensuring health they are still practicing it to attacked the buyers and to comply with the
COC of the buyers and various international organization.

32
Findings

33
3.3 Going through the workers interview and walkthrough visit I found the below findings

 Implementing health and safety is still limited to attract the buyers/market.

 Lack of coordination among all stakeholders.
 Loopholes in implementing laws. (Specially BLL)
 Corruption in the monitoring body.
 Few numbers of independent body which will be implement the OSH.
 Need to amend the compensation/benefit of the workers.

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Recommendation: Factory need to emphasis more on health issues.

 Plan and top management engagement it should aligned with the business strategy
 Monitoring
 Training to middle level management
 There should be a wholistic approach among all the stakeholders and the organization
that working on implementing OSH.
 Patronization of govt
1. Research
2. Need initiatives on private, public partnership
3. Analyze the law and amend it independently
 Need to analyze the effectiveness, benefits, and costs of worksite health promotion
programs and employee assistance interventions tailored to older workers in both small
and large worksites.
 Update the national laws in align with international standard and reduce inconsistency.
 Increase efficiency labour department.
 The living wages of workers needed to be ensured.
 Must change the motivational aspect of employer; they have to consider workers as their
development partner rather than profit maximization tools.

35
References:

1. Ahamed, F. (2011). Working conditions in the Bangladesh Readymade Garments Industry: Is

Social compliance making a difference? Ph.D Thesis, La Trobe University, Australia.

2. Alam M. J., Mamun, M. Z. and Islam, N. (2004). Workplace Security of Female Garments
Workers in Bangladesh. Social Science Review: 21(2): 191-200.

3. Andaleeb, Zafrin, Abu Noman Mohammad Atahar Ali (2007). The Implementation of Laws
Relating to Trade Union in Different Industries and Establishments: A Case Study of
Bangladesh. Journal of Business Studies 8:167-177.

4. Basu, Kaushik, and Pham Hoang Van (1998). The Economics of Child Labor. American
Economic Review: 88(3): 412-427.

5. Bhuiyan, Md. Mofijur Rahman. October 8, 2012. The State of Decent Work in Bangladesh,
The New Age. See link http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-10-08&nid=26252.
Accessed on May 23, 2014.

6. Brown, David et al. (2011). Criminal Laws: Materials and Commentaries on Criminal Law
and Process of New South Wales 7. Devarajan, Shantayanan, Hafez Ghanem, and Karen
Thierfelder (1997). ‘Economic reform and labor unions: a general-equilibrium analysis applied
to Bangladesh and Indonesia’ The World Bank Economic Review 11(1): 145-170. 8. Editorial
(February 5, 2014). New Wage for Garment Workers Lack of Implementation Inexcusable. The
Daily Star. See link http://www.thedailystar.net/new-wage-forgarment-workers-9947 . Accessed
on May 28, 2014. 9

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Appendix: The interview questionnaire

Yes/No 0-5
To Workers
Is there a workplace health and safety committee?
Are employees involved in decision making over OHS matters?
Are there employee-elected OHS representatives.
Are employees regularly informed of your/your company’s overall
OHS performance?
How often they fall sick
Did they visit the medical situated in factory

Are you disturbed by the sound created in the factory in your

workplace?
If yes what steps are taken to minimize the effect of the sound?
Is adequate safe drinking water is ensured in your department?
Is proper ventilation ensured in the building you work?
Are you satisfied with the child care and medical support of the
factory?
what extent do you think that monitoring & inspection and evaluation
of safety practices are prerequisite for effective occupational health
and environmental safety?
Are you satisfied with what management is doing currently to
improve upon occupational health and environmental safety of the
factory?
Do you think effective health and safety policies have any impact on
job performance in the factory?

37