Extreme heat driven by the human-induced climate emergency is endangering the lives and livelihoods of urban workers in Bangladesh, Climate Rights International said in a new report published on Monday.
Inside garment factories, on construction sites, and in the middle of city streets, workers are fainting, falling ill, and even dying in extreme temperatures, with little protection from the government, employers, or the multinational corporations that profit from their labour, the California-based NGO said in press release.
“The clothes we wear every day, including the ones you’re wearing right now, may have been sewn by someone who collapsed or lost consciousness on the job, cried from exhaustion, or suffered long-term health consequences from working in an unbearably hot and humid factory without access to cooling or safe drinking water for hydration,” said Brad Adams, Executive Director at Climate Rights International. “Clothing brands and the factories that supply them need to take urgent steps to provide additional breaks, access to cooling, and hydration.”
The 172-page report, “My Body Is Burning”: Climate Change, Extreme Heat, and Labor Rights in Bangladesh, exposes a crisis unfolding at the intersection of climate change and labour exploitation. Climate Rights International interviewed over 50 workers across three of the most heat-exposed industries in Dhaka, all of whom described suffering from a range of heat-related health problems – including dehydration, itchiness, headaches, fever, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, loss of muscle control, temporary vision loss, chest pain, heart palpitations, and loss of consciousness.