Bangladesh has approximately 200 shipyards, located in 69 different areas of the country. However, 70 % of them are in Dhaka. It is estimated that about 30 000 people work within this business.
I was told by the workers that their daily salary is 350 TAKAS (about 4 US$) and they work from 07 in the morning until five in the afternoon. Some studies claim there are at least 1000 accidents among the workers every month. This is difficult to know for sure since many accidents are not reported.
More than a third of the population in Bangladesh lives below the poverty threshold, so a job working in one of the shipyards, looks attractive to many people.
The boats and ships they build, are mostly made to serve as domestic ferries or as cargo boats on the country’s many rivers. But some are also sent abroad.