‘Workers’ health, productivity in BD fall victim to extreme heat’
Staff Reporter :
Extreme heat associated with climate change is badly affecting the working conditions in readymade garment and agriculture sectors in the country, posing a threat to the efforts to reduce poverty and attainment of sustainable development goal, according to a research findings released recently.
The research conducted jointly by Leeds University’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy revealed the impact of extreme heat in Bangladesh on 19 July.
According to the report, workers in two sectors are the most affected due to the heat. Firstly, the garment workers and secondly, the agricultural laborers. A large proportion of workforce engages in outdoor work: in 2021, 37 percent of total employment was in agriculture and 22 per cent in industry.
These outdoor workers are highly exposed to the negative effects of heat stress, it read.
The report states that these two groups of workers are able to work less than before due to the heat. Their health is also being affected, and overall national productivity is decreasing.
The findings said that working conditions in Bangladesh are worsening due to extreme heat associated with climate change. “This increased heat stress is already having a negative impact on workers’ health and labour productivity,” it said.
The research also said, “The sectors that are relatively highly exposed to heat in Bangladesh will have a decrease of 46.2 percentage-points by 2080 when the temperature will rise 3 degrees.”
About the loss of productivity induced by the rising heat, the research paper said, “The loss in productivity could compromise efforts to reduce poverty and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making it more challenging for Bangladesh to achieve its medium- and long-term goals of promoting prosperity and inclusive growth.”
For workers who are not on a fixed wage but are paid by unit, which is often the case in the informal sector, the productivity losses of heat exposure can translate into lower incomes, the report said.
“Losses in income can be particularly challenging for women, as they have less access to resources and ownership, and already receive a lower wage on average than men,” it pointed out.
There might be changes in the location of the labour force as well, due to the environment becoming uninhabitable, leading forced displacement and/or migration of workers, resulting in labour shortages in some regions, it said.
About the loss of GDP due to rising heat, the report said, “It is estimated that the impact of a 3°C global temperature rise could reduce GDP in Bangladesh by 1.7% per year by 2037 and by 7.6% per year in the long term.”
Regarding the excessive heat impact on body and mind, the report said, “Excessive exposure to heat can have adverse effects on health, leading to organ damage, heat stroke and even death. When temperatures reached 34 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius during 2012-13 resulted in an increase in mortality in Bangladesh of more than 30 percent. This risk was higher for men.”
“Working in heat-stressed conditions can reduce productivity by causing workers to slow down, take more breaks, experience impaired mental capacity and make errors more frequently,” it said.
Highlighting the necessity of improved working conditions for workers, the report said, “Improving working conditions will not only benefit the workers themselves but can also be an important measure to limit productivity losses from climate change.”
The report also finds that there are several market failures that act as barriers to climate change adaptation in the workplace, caused by a lack of information and weak enforcement of policies.
Pointing out the adaptation measures to combat productivity loss, the report recommended: “There is a need to develop specific measures to ensure the protection of workers from the negative impacts of climate change. This would enable firms to reduce climate-related losses and benefit workers through improved working conditions.”
The report has also recommended for changing working conditions by shifting working hours to cooler times of the day, adequate cooling systems inside the factories, urban greening crucial for building resilience to heat stress, mechanization in agriculture sector to improve its productivity.
“Improving working conditions in times of high heat stress and adopting cleaner production methods not only benefits workers’ health but can also reduce productivity losses due to climate change and deliver significant cost savings,” it said.
