The number of deaths related to workplace accidents rose by 48 percent in 2023 compared to last year, according to a survey.

This year, a total of 1,432 people met such deaths till December 28, up from 967 in last year, according to the survey by Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment Foundation.

Of the victims, 1,103 worked in informal sector while 329 were in the formal sector of the economy, the report adds.

Dr SM Morshed, vice-chairman of the OSHE Foundation, unveiled the report at Dhaka Reporters' Unity auditorium.

Transport sector recorded the highest 637 deaths, followed by 220 deaths among day labourers, 149 in construction, 146 in agriculture, and 94 in manufacturing sectors.

Besides, 502 others sustained serious injuries in workplace-related accidents this year, compared to 228 in last year, it added.

At least 9,263 people died in workplace-related accidents from 2013 till present, according to OSHE Foundation data.

The report was prepared based on information gathered from local and national newspapers, online and television sources, spot reports by volunteers, and networks formed by trade unions and organisation staff.

OSHE foundation, which advocates for workers' safety, has attributed the rising trend in workplace-related accidents and casualties to the lack of proper implementation of health and safety-related guidelines outlined in the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (amended 2018), and Bangladesh Labour Rules, 2015.

The organisation cited the recruitment of untrained drivers in the transport sector, insufficient initiatives to enforce National Occupational Health and Safety Policy, inadequate labour and boiler inspection systems, inhumane treatment of domestic workers, and reluctance to use personal protective equipment, as contributing factors.

It proposed ten recommendations, including strengthening monitoring system for proper implementation of health and safety provisions as per laws, formation of safety committees with workers' and owners' representatives, providing financial assistance of Tk 10 lakh to family of each worker killed in road accident and Tk 5 lakh to each injured worker, rehabilitation of injured workers to be incorporated into labour law, introduction of the Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) in all industrial sectors, creating an accurate database of government workplace accidents, inclusion of workers killed or injured in workplace-related accidents to universal pension scheme, and their monthly subscription from the government.

It also recommended bringing hospitals near shipbreaking yards under government management and modernisation, ensuring the use of suitable personal protective equipment at workplace, and so on.