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Occupational Health Risks among Garment Industry Workers in Bangladesh: A Public Health Concern

Students & Supervisors

Student Authors
Liyan Ghosh
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science & Engineering, FST
Tithi Kirttania
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science & Engineering, FST
Supervisors
Md. Mortuza Ahmmed
Associate Professor, Faculty, FST

Abstract

The Bangladesh's Ready-Made Garment sector is now the world's 3rd largest exporter. RMG provides a steady ow of employment for approximately 4,000,000 workers, the majority of whom are women. This remarkable progress, however, has been hampered by a lack of factory safety and industrial mishaps, which characterize health risks.This study aims to examine the occupational health risks of garment workers and assess their connection to broader health trends. A longitudinal dataset covering the period 1994 to 2024 was built using official data in the retrospective analysis, using reported data from government sources. which was done by face-to-face interview by an interviewer. The data was collected on a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed by computer by SPSS version 17.0. Out of 145 respondents, the majority (36%) were found in the age group of 16-20 years where the mean age was 22.30 years with S.D. of ±6.95 years. Among all the respondents, 85% were female. 40.52% were educated institutionally. 52.4% respondents were machine operators, but the maximum (78%) were unskilled and 72% had a length of job between 2-7 years. 90% of respondents normally worked for 8-9 hours. 84.5% did 2-3 hours overtime. In the last one year 60.8% had no accidents but minor cuts, burns or injuries were faced by 29.3%. Moreover, most respondents were unconcerned about physical or environmental pollution, while 68% were concerned about noise pollution. Due to the direct link to health risks, employees sore from headaches, general weakness, and eyestrain. Occupational health in the garment industry is a critical public health concern in Bangladesh. Workers’ headaches and eyestrain were caused by insouciant lighting and ventilation system and noise pollution. More importance should be given to the workers to improve their health condition and working environment, so that they can increase their productivity, which can ultimately increase production and add GDP to the country. Industrial health hazards should be minimized by the proper implementation of labor laws by the government.

Keywords

Safety Public health Illness Ready-made garment Hazards

Publication Details

  • Type of Publication:
  • Conference Name: 7th International Conference on Integrated Sciences
  • Date of Conference: 25/10/2025 - 25/10/2025
  • Venue: Eastern University Campus, Ashulia Model Town, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Organizer: Eastern University, Bangladesh
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