Workplace Safety: A Necessity or a Luxury in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of Bangladesh?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18034/ajtp.v3i1.396Keywords:
Micro, small and medium enterprise, workplace safety, Bangladesh GovernmentAbstract
Following the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history, Bangladesh Government has been getting external pressure to amend and properly implement its “Workplace Safety Laws”. Garment factories like the ones in Rana Plaza (the collapsed building in Savar) are large organizations. Along with the large companies, there are a significant number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Bangladesh which are employing more than 31 million people. Obviously, workplace safety should be a matter of concern for their employers, or is it? Why are they reluctant about it? What is being done to ensure safety? Are they getting pressures or motivated by externalities? Safety measures if taken, is it enough? What else can be done to improve workplace safety? The purpose of this research paper is to find out and analyze the answers to the above questions concerning workplace safety in the MSMEs of Bangladesh. A blend of secondary sources and primary sources (survey amongst a significant number of owners of various MSMEs and observation of a few organizations) of data were used from which both quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out for the purpose of exploring the unknown. The results show a rather reluctant approach by the owners regarding this issue. However, it was also found that the government has taken a lot of initiatives to minimize workplace safety hazards and is on the verge of implementing them. Thus, a few alternatives that involve lobbying and use of marketing activities to create greater awareness were recommended.
JEL Classifications Code: J81, J88
Downloads
References
REFERENCES
Ahamed, F. (2013). Improving Social compliance in Bangladesh's Ready-made Garment Industry.
Ahmed, D. M. (2004). The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Bangladesh: An Overview of the Current Status. Dhaka.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Bangladesh Literacy Survey 2011. Dhaka: Bangladesh Government.
Bangladesh National Assembly. (2006). Bangladesh Gadget. Dhaka: Bangladesh Government.
Gyekye, S. A. (2005). Workers' Perception of Workplace Safety and Job Satisfaction. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE), 11 (3), 291 - 302. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2005.11076650
Haque, D. A. (2003). Economic Policy Paperon Access to Finance for SMEs: Problems and Remedies. Dhaka: The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Kashfia, A., & Chowdhury, T. A. (2009). Performance Evaluation of SMEs of Bangladesh. International Journal of Business and Management , 126 - 133.
Kushnir, K. (2006). How Do Economies Define Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)? Companion Note for the MSME Country Indicators .
Ministry of Industries Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. (2005). Policy Strategies for Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) Development in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Bangladesh Government.
Ministry of Labor. (2013). Steps taken by Government and other Agencies after the incidents at Tajreen Fashions Ltd., Smart Garments and Rana plaza as of 03-07-2013. Dhaka: Bangladesh Government.
Ministry of Labour. (2012). Labor Policy 2012. Bangladesh Gadget (pp. 76455 - 76465). Dhaka: Bangladesh Government.
Moazzem, D. K. (2013). Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh: Are They Scaling Up? Dhaka: Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
Nash, J. (2013, August). Will Dueling Standards Improve Worker Safety in Bangladesh? Retrieved September 2013, from Reg Blog: https://www.law.upenn.edu/blogs/regblog/2013/07/16-nash-dueling-standards.html
Qudus, M., & Rashid, S. (2000). Entrepreneurs and Economic Development: the remarkable story of garment exports from Bangladesh. Journal of Bangladesh Studies , 65 - 66.
Sohani, N. Z., Chaklader, M. A., Faruquee, M. H., Bashar, M. A., Yasmin, R., & Yasmin, N. (2011). PATTERN OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AGAINST FEMALE GARMENT WORKERS IN SELECTED AREAS OF DHAKA CITY. SUB Journal of Public Health .
Tazreen, A., & Sabet, D. M. (2013, April). Worker Safety in Bangladesh: Looking Beyond Garments. Retrieved August 2013, from University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh: www.ulab.edu.bd/CES/documents/
Zaman, A. K., & Islam, M. J. (2011). Small and Medium Enterprises Development in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects . ASA University Review , 145-160.
--0--
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
American Journal of Trade and Policy is an Open Access journal. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of their work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal. We require authors to inform us of any instances of re-publication.
How to Cite
