The impact of COVID-19 on beauty parlour workers

Abstract

Bangladesh has a rich history of growth and development, which has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has shaken the landscape of growth and development due to the six-month-long nationwide lockdown. The abrupt economic shock has resulted in the struggling lives of millions of people with prevalent financial vulnerability. Major sectors like healthcare, retail, and RMG with high government regulation have been tremendously impacted. Hence, the integral people of these booming industries have witnessed a greater colossal economic shock with no prior financial security. Like most government-regulated formal sectors, these industries had recovered quickly and managed to take back most of their employees due to the government's financial aid. However, the informal sectors with significant prevalent instability were put at severe risk; since, the beauty parlour industry was not allowed to re-open like various other workplaces and factories due to immense safety measures. Hence, this study aims to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the beauty parlour workers, who are the most integral part of the industry. For this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 participants from Kalachandpur who were asked to share their experiences throughout the pandemic. Mark Anner's theory of "Labour Market Despotism" has been used to understand the nature of labour responsible for the working conditions of beauty parlour workers during the pre and post COVID-19. The findings were skewed in one direction, which stated that the prevalent structural inequality and economic factors have pushed the workers' living standards and working conditions into a persisting cycle of suffering and hurdles. This study contributes to the literature on working conditions, informal economy and challenges of the pandemic.