Bangladesh Building Construction Workers’ Federation (BBCWF) has demanded immediate implementation of safety measures at workplaces, provision of formal appointment letters, and introduction of living wages for approximately 80lakh construction workers.
During a press conference, the federation pointed out that despite playing a pivotal role in national infrastructure development, the vast majority of these workers remain deprived of their fundamental labour rights.
At the press conference held at National Press Club on Sunday, Md Abdul Matin, the president of the federation, presented a 12-point charter of demands.
The event was also attended by the organisation’s working president, Amirul Haque Amin, general secretary, Sheikh Anwar Hossain, and other central leaders.
In his written address, Matin emphasised that while construction workers risk their lives to build housing, roads, bridges, and culverts, their working and living conditions remain extremely precarious.
He highlighted issues such as severe workplace insecurity, irregular wage payments, the withholding of appointment letters, and the lack of proper compensation for workers injured or killed on duty.
The federation complained that essential safety equipment – including safety helmets, safety belts, safety boots, and gloves – is not provided to most construction workers, leading to high risks of accidents during high-altitude and hazardous tasks.
Moreover, although the country’s labour law mandates the issuance of formal appointment letters, the vast majority of the nation’s 80 lakh construction workers are denied this basic right.
According to BBCWF, the absence of written contracts leaves workers highly vulnerable to wage exploitation and harassment by employers.
To address this situation, the federation has called upon the government, construction firms, and relevant authorities to take coordinated initiatives to ensure labour rights, safety, and social security for all construction workers.
The leaders stressed that authorities must focus on active safety monitoring and accident prevention at construction sites, rather than merely providing compensation after a tragedy has occurred.
To press home their demands, BBCWF has announced a series of demonstration programmes, beginning with a human chain in front of National Press Club on 13 September at 11am. This will be followed by the submission of memorandums and the staging of protest rallies.
Federation leaders mentioned that since national development and infrastructure rely heavily on construction labour, the state has a fundamental responsibility to protect the safety, fair wages, social protection, and labour rights of these workers.
Under the 12-point charter of demands, the federation called for ensuring the provision of appointment letters and identity cards under the Labour Act, guaranteeing the life safety of workers at workplaces, and determining a living wage suitable for construction workers.
They also proposed setting up a separate welfare fund financed by the government to provide retirement welfare allowances for social security, arranging district-wise housing under government initiatives, and creating a nationwide database to bring all construction workers under a unified databank.
Additionally, BBCWF demanded compensation equivalent to a lifetime’s income, along with proper medical treatment and rehabilitation, for workers killed or injured at workplaces.
Other key demands included establishing a monitoring system to ensure health safety, safe work environments, and the implementation of the Labour Act, as well as founding district-level government hospitals for construction workers.
The federation further urged that government approval be made mandatory for any type of construction work, with one per cent of the total cost deposited into the Construction Workers’ Welfare Fund.
Finally, they demanded that clauses of the Labour Act concerning construction workers be amended to make them worker-friendly, and that workers be integrated under the scope of the Labour Act annually with public holidays being fully enforced.
