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.'
affiliation: 'Zaqout, M (Corresponding Author), Univ Leeds, Fac Engn, Sch Civil Engn,
  Leeds, W Yorkshire, England.

  Zaqout, Mariam; Cawood, Sally; Evans, Barbara E.; Barrington, Dani J., Univ Leeds,
  Fac Engn, Sch Civil Engn, Leeds, W Yorkshire, England.

  Cawood, Sally, Univ Sheffield, Sheffield, S Yorkshire, England.

  Barrington, Dani J., Univ Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.

  Barrington, Dani J., Univ Leeds, Leeds, W Yorkshire, England.'
author: Zaqout, Mariam and Cawood, Sally and Evans, Barbara E. and Barrington, Dani
  J.
author-email: cn17mdaz@leeds.ac.uk
author_list:
- family: Zaqout
  given: Mariam
- family: Cawood
  given: Sally
- family: Evans
  given: Barbara E.
- family: Barrington
  given: Dani J.
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1080/01436597.2020.1810560
earlyaccessdate: SEP 2020
eissn: 1360-2241
files: []
issn: 0143-6597
journal: THIRD WORLD QUARTERLY
keywords: 'Bangladesh; pit-emptying; sanitation workers; decent work; sustainable

  livelihoods'
language: English
month: SEP 4
number: '2'
number-of-cited-references: '36'
orcid-numbers: 'Evans, Barbara/0000-0001-9815-3141

  Zaqout, Mariam/0000-0001-6978-8252

  Barrington, Dani/0000-0002-1486-9247'
pages: 329-347
papis_id: b3500aef554a0c03693c96d131b3539e
ref: Zaqout2020sustainablesanitatio
researcherid-numbers: Barrington, Dani/B-6182-2008
times-cited: '8'
title: 'Sustainable sanitation jobs: prospects for enhancing the livelihoods of pit-emptiers
  in Bangladesh'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000567206900001
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '0'
volume: '42'
web-of-science-categories: Development Studies
year: '2020'