Fragile workplace safety in Bangladesh linked to 802 deaths in 2025: Survey
According to the survey, the transport sector recorded the highest number of deaths, with 385 fatalities, followed by the service sector (which includes workshops and gas and electricity supply institutions) with 145 deaths.
A total of 802 workers were reported killed in 713 workplace accidents across Bangladesh in 2025, highlighting a fragile and hazardous safety environment both in formal and informal work settings.
The findings were released in a press statement yesterday by the Safety and Rights Society (SRS), which based its survey on reports from 15 national and 11 local newspapers nationwide. In comparison, 758 workers died in 639 workplace accidents in 2024, indicating a rising trend in occupational fatalities.
According to the survey, the transport sector recorded the highest number of deaths, with 385 fatalities, followed by the service sector (which includes workshops and gas and electricity supply institutions) with 145 deaths. The construction sector accounted for 120 deaths, the agricultural sector had 94, and 58 workers died in factories.
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The survey attributed the high number of deaths in the transport sector to poor road infrastructure, unfit vehicles, reckless driving, drivers' inefficiency, and weak law enforcement — factors that reflect systemic gaps in occupational safety across the country.
In the manufacturing and construction sectors, the survey found that many accidents were linked to factories built without proper authorisation, lack of safety training for workers, unsafe handling of chemicals, improvised electrical connections, and working at heights without adequate safeguards.
Releasing the survey results, SRS Executive Director Sekender Ali Mina stressed that the actual number of workplace deaths during the year may be higher, as not all accidents are reported in the media.
He also noted with concern that lightning fatalities among agricultural workers are increasing sharply, adding that many of these victims do not receive compensation.
SRS's report called attention to the insufficient evaluation of the financial and social losses caused by workplace deaths. The organisation urged the government to implement necessary legal reforms and regulations in line with ILO Conventions 155 and 187 on occupational health and safety, to ensure more secure working conditions for all workers.
