The Rising Death Toll of the Banshkhali Coal-Fired Power Plant

Abstract

Throughout Bangladesh’s crucial journey of graduating into a developing economy, the corporations have taken the front seat instead of their driving force – the workers. While the enormity of the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster could not be ignored by the global unions and corporate social responsibility groups, the discreetly emerging trend of repression in the energy sector is going largely unnoticed. On 17 April 2021, seven workers were killed and 21 were injured as a result of the police open firing at their protest at the SS Power I Ltd (Banshkhali Power Plant), Chattogram, Bangladesh. The workers initiated the protest demanding payment of wage arrears, an increase in wages, reduction of work hours to half-day on Fridays and iftar break during Ramadan. Certainly, the Banshkhali incident is not as mammoth as the Rana Plaza disaster, but given its troubling historic build-up, it should have received wider global attention. However, inadequate links between the locally involved unions and the international unions, among others, have led to scarce international coverage. Context of the conflict Banshkhali Power Plant is a joint venture between the Bangladeshi conglomerate S Alam Group, China’s SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation and HTG Development Group Co Ltd. with the respective stakes of 70, 20, and 10 percent, to construct a 1320-megawatt coal-fired power plant. Ever since the plant’s construction began in 2016, the villagers of Banshkhali have been critical of its installation despite S Alam’s promises of local development and creating employment. Banshkhali is located on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh, just 59 kilometres south of the Chattogram seaport. Its biodiversity is critical not only for the locals but also for the entire country. People of this coastal region primarily depend on agriculture and fisheries for their livelihoods. The Banshkhali farmers, housewives, salt workers and fishermen were made aware of the potential adverse effects of coal-fired power plants by extensive advocacy1. Potential impacts, such as, the salinisation of groundwater, pollution of local water bodies, disruption of water drainage patterns would significantly impact their livelihoods. The promise of between one and three thousand factory jobs, for many was not seen as sufficient to offset the potential impact of the power station on the fishing and farming that sustained a population of 50,000. While protesting the construction of the plant in 2016, four FOCUS | A CHANGING POST-PANDEMIC WORLD FOR LABOUR 13 28/2 | International Union Rights | locals were gunned down by the police. Those killings were allegedly not properly investigated2, and it is feared that the same may happen this time around as well. Historically, these killings tend to disappear from the Bangladeshi news cycle rapidly. Any follow-up is usually rare unless rights organisations or civil society members intervene. Despite opposition, construction of the powerplant carried on, and the government of Bangladesh remained nonchalant about the Banshkhali locals’ legitimate concerns. Even the most preliminary step of the venture -- the acquisition of land -- was controversial. A recent independent analysis also claims that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) contains inaccuracies and omissions3. The analysis claims that the EIA has used flawed air quality modelling to show predictions of a significantly lower pollution level. The State’s response to workers’ protests The reason for the police firing 332 shots at the unarmed protest of workers on 17 April 2021 must be explored, especially when on the other side of the protest is the corporation that has violated those very workers’ rights4. The undeniable pattern of suppression of protests in current Bangladesh shows that the state has often used its police force to protect the interests of corporations. The law enforcement agencies’ classist treatment of the working class is also apparent from the stark difference in their conduct towards the corporation owners as opposed to the poor workers. The situation prior to the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 was horrendous, both in terms of police violence and workplace safety: figures from the International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR) show six workers killed by police in 2009, 45 garment workers killed in factory fires in 2010, and four garment workers shot dead in protests over low pay and poor safety standards in 20125. The...