Abstract

Manual pit-emptying – the removal of faecal sludge from pits and tanks using hands or basic tools – is a widespread practice in Bangladesh, and in other low- and middle-income countries. Despite this, little is known about the livelihoods of pit-emptiers. This paper analyses data from six cases of pit-emptying in three cities in Bangladesh, across three different operational modes: private cooperatives, government employees and self-employed workers. These cases describe the experiences of emptiers from diverse socio-economic, religious and ethnic backgrounds, operating across a formal–informal spectrum. We find that government employees and self-employed groups are deprived of basic rights, fear a loss of income brought about by mechanisation and cannot access alternative livelihoods. While the status of emptiers in private cooperatives has improved recently due to the support of governmental oranisations (GOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the extent to which these cooperatives are sustainable, without the ongoing support of NGOs or GOs, remains unclear. In all modes, sustainable livelihoods are hindered by deep-rooted social and financial barriers. Organisations can support pit-emptiers by designing sanitation interventions that prioritise the human right to decent work, focussing not only on the beneficiaries of universal sanitation, but also on those who work to implement this ambitious goal.

摘要

手动排空–用手或基本工具清除粪便和水箱中的粪便污物–在孟加拉国和其他中低收入国家中是一种普遍的做法。尽管如此，对坑坑洼洼的人的生计知之甚少。本文分析了来自孟加拉国三个城市的六种空洞处理案例的数据，涉及三种不同的运营模式：私人合作社，政府雇员和个体经营者。这些案例描述了来自不同社会经济，宗教和种族背景的，在正式和非正式范围内运作的徒的经历​​。我们发现，政府雇员和个体经营者被剥夺了基本权利，担心由于机械化而导致的收入损失，并且无法获得替代生计。尽管由于政府组织（GOs）和非政府组织（NGOs）的支持，私人合作社中的虚荣者的地位最近有所改善，但在没有NGO或GO持续支持的情况下，这些合作社的可持续性程度仍不清楚。在所有模式下，根深蒂固的社会和金融障碍都阻碍了可持续的生计。组织可以通过设计优先考虑体面劳动的人权的卫生干预措施来支持坑坑洼洼的人，不仅着眼于普遍卫生的受益者，而且着重于为实现这一宏伟目标而努力的人们。还不清楚。在所有模式下，根深蒂固的社会和金融障碍都阻碍了可持续的生计。组织可以通过设计优先考虑体面劳动的人权的卫生干预措施来支持坑坑洼洼的人，不仅着眼于普遍卫生的受益者，而且着重于为实现这一宏伟目标而努力的人们。还不清楚。在所有模式下，根深蒂固的社会和金融障碍都阻碍了可持续的生计。组织可以通过设计优先考虑体面劳动的人权的卫生干预措施来支持坑坑洼洼的人，不仅着眼于普遍卫生的受益者，而且着重于为实现这一宏伟目标而努力的人们。