Dhaka, Oct 23 Recurring worker deaths and lack of accountability in Bangladesh's industrial sector stands exposed after the recent fire incident in Mirpur that resulted in the death of 16 people, a top official of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) said on Thursday.
Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, Executive Director of BILS, made the remarks while addressing a press briefing on labour safety at the National Press Club in Dhaka, jointly organised by BILS and the Safety and Rights Society.
“The recurring tragedies from Tongi and Chattogram to Narayanganj and Mirpur reflect a deep-rooted culture of impunity that allows safety negligence to go unpunished,” Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star quoted Ahmmed as saying during the press meet.
“After every accident, we see the same pattern: a probe committee is formed, reports are never made public, and no one takes responsibility. This lack of transparency and justice is the main reason such disasters keep recurring,” he added.
Ahmmed further said, “When negligence leads to deaths, there is hardly any real punishment. Even compensation, which is a legal right, often does not reach victims' families.”
He stated that both employers and policymakers are responsible for maintaining workplace safety.
“We do not want industries to shut down; we want them to operate safely. The owner's property should be protected, but so should the worker's life,” he stressed.
The statement followed recent major blazes in Dhaka and the port city of Chattogram, prompting experts to raise serious concerns over Bangladesh's safety standards and emergency preparedness.
Earlier this week, Bangladesh's Awami League accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of orchestrating arson attacks across the country in a conspiracy to destroy ordinary lives and destabilise the economy.
Slamming the Yunus regime, the party said, “The illegal usurper and murderous fascist Yunus gang is deliberately and systematically pushing an orderly, well-arranged Bangladesh toward destruction. They have turned people's lives into a horror. Over the past few days, a string of fires has broken out due to the negligence and indifference of this illegal, irresponsible government toward the people.”
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