Bangladesh is celebrating “World Day Against Child Labour,” as it does every year, with a variety of activities. The International Labor Organization (ILO) was the first to observe the day in 1992 to prevent child labour. Following that, since June 12, 2002, the ILO has been observing the day every year.
Bangladesh ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and ILO Convention 138; and the convection is basically about setting the minimum age (14 years) for admission to employment. On the other hand, according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the country must be free of child labour by 2025.
The vital question is: Exactly how far has Bangladesh gone to eradicate child labour?
Under section 2 (63) of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, a child is defined as having reached the age of 14 years. The age of 14 to 18 years is adolescent per section 2 (8) of the Labour Act 2006.
The government aims to bring children back to school by withdrawing them from hazardous work, to that end the National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010 was been formulated. On the other hand, for the protection of domestic workers, the government formulated the Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2015.
The Ministry of Labour has declared eight risky sectors (including tannery, silk, glass, ceramic, export-oriented leather goods, footwear, and ship-recycling) child labour free, but the main obstacle is still the economic woes of many families. Parents are not being able to pay for their children’s education and forcing them to work instead causes a lot of problems for eliminating child labour in our country.
One of the reasons businesses employ child labourers is that they can be made to work at much lower wages. This way, employers can hire children in various risky jobs without much resistance. This has led to many deaths and continues to this day.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (National Child Labour Survey 2021), there are currently 34.5 million child labourers in Bangladesh, of whom 1.28 million are engaged in hazardous work. According to the survey, 260,000 children in the country are engaged in high-risk jobs, and their work style threatens their lives and health.
It said that, out of 34.5 million child labourers in Bangladesh, the work of about 17.5 million children is covered under child labour, and the work of the remaining children is subject to approval.
Under Section 40 of the Labour Act 2006, adolescent workers cannot be employed in hazardous work, but reality states otherwise as adolescents are frequently seen working dangerous jobs in sectors such as transportation and informal workshops.
Moreover, Section 34 of the Labour Act 2006 requires a Certificate of Competence to be issued by a registered physician for hiring an adolescent worker. No adolescent shall be allowed to work more than 30 hours and a maximum of 42 hours per week under Section 41. As a result of the considerable lack of practical application of the law, an adolescent worker is too often treated as an adult worker, and the other provisions are also not followed in the matter of adolescent workers.
One of the steps taken by the government to stop child labour is to introduce subsidized meals for children in schools. Also provided is unpaid education for girls up to class XII, while also providing compulsory primary education and free education materials and formulating and implementing stipends. The introduction of mid-day meals in primary school has increased the tendency of children to return to school. But the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the dropout rate of children yet again.
According to the Education and Development Foundation, the number of child labourers in the country has increased for family financial support due to the pandemic. Before the Corona pandemic, the rate of child labour in the capital Dhaka was 44%; at present, the rate is 56%.
To eradicate this problem, first of all, it is necessary to proliferate proper education throughout the nation, raise awareness, and tackle poverty above all. In addition, proper implementation of existing laws is all but required to prevent child labour.
However, an effective solution to any social problem is never possible through laws alone. Therefore, everyone must be committed to eliminating the problem of child labour. That is why it is our sole duty to ensure that every child is not deprived of a proper environment and proper care in all respects.
Md Harisur Rohoman is a freelance contributor.
