Dawn breaks differently on the sidewalks of Mirpur-1 in Dhaka. While most of the city’s residents are still asleep, a different kind of crowd begins to gather here. Some carry shovels and buckets, others have towels slung over their shoulder and various tools packed in bags.
They all wait for one thing only–for someone to come and ‘buy’ them.
This is a kind of ‘human market’, a labor market where people gather in search of daily work.
A short distance from Mirpur-1 roundabout, this roadside labour market has existed for decades. From dawn until around 10am every day, about 400 to 500 people gather here. Among them are masons, carpenters, painters, tile workers, their helpers and daily wage labourers of various kinds.
‘Sometimes I send 200 taka, sometimes 300’
When visiting the spot on Thursday morning (4 June), it was just a little before 7am. Several men were already lined up along the footpath. Among them was Md Sultan, over 70 years old. His shirt was dusty and worn, with several buttons missing. He wore a lungi and had a gamcha tied around his waist. In an old bag, he carried a few sets of clothes and a glasses case where he kept his national identity card.
Sultan has worked as a construction helper for nearly 30 years. Before that, he used to drive an autorickshaw. A native of Shariatpur’s Naria, Sultan, despite his age and physical weakness, was forced back into hard labour because his only son refused to look after his elderly parents.
With his wife still in the village, Sultan sends money for her food and medicine whenever he finds work.
"Sometimes I send 200 taka, sometimes 300. I don't have a mobile phone. I just give the money to the shopkeeper, and he sends it to her," said Sultan.
Sultan has no place to stay in Dhaka. He told Prothom Alo that he spends his nights on the very streets or footpaths where he waits for work. When he finds a work, he can buy food; when he does not, he simply goes hungry.
"There has been no work since Eid," Sultan continued. "I haven't found any work for the last three days. I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. My pockets are completely empty. I don’t even have a single taka.”
Referring to the shrinking availability of work in the current market, he said, “I find work one day and then go without it for five. How am I supposed to survive like this? I can’t go on anymore.” He also said that because of his age, many people refuse to hire him and even when they do, they want to pay him less.
‘My husband is sick, so I have to work’
Compared to men, women labourers are slightly behind in this informal labour market. They wait for work sitting a little behind the main road, on the stairs of nearby buildings. One of them is 42-year-old Parul Akter, who works in tile grouting.
When she gets work, she earns around 400 taka a day. Parul has been doing this job for nearly 15 years. She lives in a tin-shed house in the Uttar Bishil area with her two schoolgirl daughters, a son who goes to madrasa and her husband. Since her husband has been ill for a long time, the responsibility of the household has fallen entirely on her.
"My husband is sick, so I have to work," Parul told Prothom Alo. "It is a struggle, but I keep going. This is how my days pass. They don't give us as much work as the men and they always want to pay us less."
Another woman, Rina Begum, shared a similar experience of wage discrimination.
‘If I don't work, we don't eat’
Rina Begum, 45, lost her husband 20 years ago. She moved to the capital from Mymensingh’s Mohanganj shortly after. She lives in Uttar Bishil with her son, a 10th-grade student and her elderly mother.
Her mother earns about 4000 taka a month doing domestic chores but their rent alone is 7000 taka per month. Rina’s own monthly income fluctuates between 8000- 12000 taka. Together, they barely manage to stay afloat.
"If I don’t work, there will be no food on the table," Rina said. "How else are we supposed to survive?"
No work for 3 consecutive days
Shortly after 8:00 am, a contractor arrived. He needed four masons. Within seconds, he was swarmed by a dozen men. A brief, tense negotiation followed. He picked four and left, while the rest returned to the sidewalk. No one spoke. They simply sat back down, staring into the void.
Among those left behind was 39-year-old mason Md. Siraj. He has not found a single day of work in the last three days. Every morning, he waits from 7:00 am to 10:00 am and every morning, he leaves empty-handed.
"There was a time when I didn't have a single day off in a week," Siraj told Prothom Alo. "Now, it’s the opposite. There is no work at all."
‘We live on lentils’
Sitting beside Siraj was 60-year-old Gaffar Hossain, who works in pipe fitting. Stooped with age, Gaffar moved to Dhaka from Barguna’s Betagi a decade ago. He used to work as a woodcutter and farm laborer. He has married off his two daughters and now lives with his wife in a tin-shed house in Gudara Ghat.
Gaffar is currently burdened with a debt of 1.5 lakh taka. Like the others, he had been waiting since dawn. He waits until 10:00 am and if no one ‘buys’ his labor by then, he goes home.
When asked how he manages, Gaffar replied, "I just get by. We live on lentils, mostly."
As the clock struck 10:00, the crowd began to thin. After this hour, the chances of finding work are slim. Those who were not chosen began to head back. Some to crowded messes, others to rented shacks. Some will have a meal today, others will not.
Getting up to leave, Gaffar said, "I’ll be back tomorrow. Let’s see what my luck holds."