A shortage of local labour is clearly seen in the brick industry in eastern Nepal where factories are largely dependent on Bangladeshi workers to stay open. Kiln owners said that around 30,000 Bangladeshi workers were employed in brick factories in eastern Nepal.

A Bangladeshi couple, Shanker Chan Burman and Gita Burman, have been working in brick factories here for a decade. They have brought four other family members. Burman said that more than 100 persons from his village were employed in brick factories in Nepal.

The Bangladeshi workers come to Nepal to work between mid-September and mid-November and return home in mid-June.

More than 1,000 Bangladeshi families are working in brick factories in the eastern Tarai districts including Morang, Sunsari and Jhapa. Factory owners go to Bangladesh to hire workers and provide them advance payment besides paying their transport fare.

“On the one hand, it is difficult to find local workers; and on the other, they demand higher wages,” said Dilip Agrawal, proprietor of Anand Brick Factory in Sorabhag, Morang.

According to him, they go to the India-Bangladesh border area to find Bangladeshi workers and pay them an advance. “Bangladeshis coming to Nepal to work is like Nepalese going abroad in search of jobs,” Agrawal said. “There are agents too who bring workers to us.” Agrawal added that they provide accommodation and firewood to the labourers. Most of the workers return home with their savings during the off season.

Anand Brick Factory operates 11 brick factories. “More than 550 Bangladeshi families are working in these kilns,” said Agrawal. A family usually consists of four people. He added that Bangladeshis were attracted to Nepal because they get higher wages and free accommodation. Two workers can produce 1,000 raw bricks daily for which they are paid Rs 1,100. Entrepre-neurs say  Bangladeshi wor-kers are also experts in ma-king bricks. Raw bricks prepared by them are baked in kilns by local workers.

There are more than 50 brick factories in eastern Nepal. Entrepreneurs said that Nepali workers did not like working in brick kilns although they could earn good wages. Shankar Rai, proprietor of Sandesh Brick Factory, said that they would have to close down if they did not hire Bangladeshis.

Published on: 9 January 2012 | The Kathmandu Post