The date of March 23, 2022, often returns in the form of nightmares to torment Sheikh Farid, a steel re-rolling mill worker, as on this day he lost his three fingers while working at the mill.

Forty-year-old Farid was working at the furnace section of that mill in Narayanganj's Fatullah area, which had little to no safety measures to keep the workers safe from untoward accidents.

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The invisible ones

"There was a large, speedy fan operating near the furnace with no fence covering its blades. While working, suddenly my left hand came into contact with the blades, and three of my fingers were just gone in the blink of an eye," recalled Farid.

While losing fingers due to unsafe working conditions at his workstation was bad enough, much more misery was waiting for Farid in the months that followed.

"I could not work for around five months after the accident. However, I did not get any compensation from the factory authorities. I even visited different government offices, including the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), seeking compensation. But I did not get any, as the factory didn't give me an appointment letter while hiring me," he said.

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Deprived at every turn

After that, he had no option but to join another factory to earn bread for his family.

Not just Farid, but hundreds of other workers in steel re-rolling mills are victims of injustice, being compelled to work in hazardous working conditions with low wages.

On one hand, they risk their lives by working without safety measures, which causes frequent accidents. On the other hand, in cases of accidents, they don't get compensated, as they don't even get appointment letters and identity cards from the factories.

As per rules, factory authorities are bound to provide quality safety jackets, shoes, helmets, and gloves.

But hardly any factory complies with the rule, according to over a dozen workers who have talked to this correspondent.

They claimed that they get lower wages than the government-set pay structure.

According to the government's pay structure, the minimum monthly wage of a steel re-rolling worker is Tk 10,600. But most of the workers get Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000, said workers who talked to this correspondent.

"I never got a safety jacket, helmet, or boots. Normally, I cover my head with a towel and wear jeans. A few days ago, I was working barefoot when suddenly an iron chunk fell on my feet and got me severely injured," said Jakir Hossain, a worker at a steel re-rolling mill in Fatullah.

Uzzal Hossain, worker at another mill in Fatullah, said, "The factory authorities don't provide us with safety equipment. If we demand them, we get threats of getting thrown out of our jobs."

Md Sumon, another worker at the factory, got his leg burned by molten iron.

"Such kinds of accidents are very common in most of the factories," he said.

There are instances of several incidents occurring at these mills throughout the previous years, which support Sumon's statement.

On October 14 last year, five workers were burned to death in a blast that occurred due to accumulated gas at Sharmin Steel Limited factory in Siddhirganj area of Naraynganj.

On May 4 of that year, seven workers were burned to death after falling in molten iron in Rahima Industrial Complex Limited in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj.

After that incident, The Daily Star published a report that stated, quoting the officials of DIFE and fire service, that the factory had been running for six months without any valid papers and without ensuring adequate safety measures.

Nine days after that incident, a worker was crushed by heavy irons while loading them into a truck at Montaha Steel Mills Limited in Sonargaon upazila.

Apart from these, during the 2018-2022 period, many workers in such factories died or sustained severe injuries due to similar accidents, like explosions and falling in molten iron.

SM Kadir, general secretary of Re-Rolling Steel Mills Sramik Front in Narayanganj, alleged that such accidents are recurring due to the indifference of factory owners and lack of monitoring by government authorities.

According to DIFE, there are 90 steel re-rolling factories in Narayganganj. But workers and locals claimed over a hundred more are operating illegally.

Contacted, DIFE's Deputy Inspector General Rajib Chandra Ghosh admitted that most of the factory authorities don't provide sufficient safety equipment to workers.

However, he claimed that they keep inspecting the factories and issuing notices regarding this matter.

Meanwhile, Mahbubur Rashid Jewel, general secretary of Bangladesh Re-Rolling Mills Association, claimed that mill owners have already taken several measures to increase wages for the workers and implement adequate safety measures in the factories.