Economic impoverishment has made child labour a reality in Bangladesh and in a poverty-stricken family, a child labourer is a “bread winner”. There is a high demand for employing children as cheap but efficient labour force in the country’s labour market. The Government of Bangladesh has enacted and adopted laws and policies, such as the Labour Act 2006 and National Action Plan for Children 2005-2010, which restrict employing any child aged below 14 years to work in any occupation or establishment. The laws also restrict employment of any adolescent below the age of 18 years in any hazardous work.
The government, in 2010, adopted two important national policies regarding child labour — the National Child Labour Elimination Policy (adopted in March 2010) and the National Education Policy (adopted in May 2010), with the latter expanding compulsory primary education from Class I to VIII.
Experts and social workers, however, said that the number of child labourers was on the rise and that 40 per cent of these child labourers lived below the poverty line. They also observed that it would not be possible to eradicate the curse of child labour from the country by 2015 without the help of the government.
Gogon Rajbhandari, deputy country director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said that pervasive poverty was the main reason for the problem of child labour in the country. He also noted that poor families who lacked capital resources, education and production means were likely to send their children to work.
Citing the number of child labourers in the country, he said the latest National Child Labour Survey 2003 estimated that around 3.18 million children aged between 5-17 were considered “child labourers”, suggesting that nearly 1 in every 10 children was a child worker.
He also added that 2.2 million (69%) of child labourers were in the age group of 10-14, which indicated that many children entered the labour force while in primary school. The proportion of child labourers was higher for boys (77%), in comparison with girls (23%), he said.
Child labour in Bangladesh was found mostly in agriculture and forestry activities (52.72%), followed by manufacturing (14.58%) and trading (14.21%), Gogon Rajbhandari added.
Countries with reduced child labour had also tackled poverty in a decisive way, he said, adding that awareness about child labour should not only be based on negative messages, but also consider social norms and perception of child labour among the masses. Hence, awareness raising, advocacy and social dialogues should work side-by-side with other programmes, he observed.
He said programmes should be implemented to tackle family poverty and help children. The government should ensure jobs for adults so that their children did not end up as child labourers. He also urged the government to ensure that children below the minimum age of employment received good education.
Sultana Kamal, the executive director of Ain O Salish Kendro, said the poverty level was widening due to discrimination. Citing the increasing number of child labourers in the country, she said society always played a dual role and children were the victims of this duality. She said that instead of enjoying their basic rights, children were becoming the bread winners of their family. Child labour could not be eradicated until the structure of the society was changed, she warned.
Sharfuddin Khan, senior manager, child protection of Save the Children, stressed the need for strict decisions to reduce child labour. The government should impose a ban on employing children in the workforce and that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure jobs for parents, he added
“I know it sounds very harsh, but sometimes to establish a great thing you need to take a strong stand”, he said.
In light of the government’s announcement to make the country free of the evil of child labour by 2015, he said that child labour was not a scattered issue and that it would not be possible until there was complete coordination and a proper mechanism within various ministries.
Mohammad Faizur Rahman, labour and employment ministry joint secretary, said that it would be very difficult to make Bangladesh a country free of child labour by 2015. He also said that the number of child labourers was increasing due to extreme poverty and the mindset of the people. He also noted that the government had identified 38 risky areas (such as motor garages, tobacco factories, tannery factories, etc.) for employing child labourers.
Israfil Alam, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee attached to the ministry of labour and employment, said enactment of new laws and policies would not help eliminate child labour as long as poverty prevailed in the country.
“Because of discrimination, the poverty level is steadily increasing, which is why the rich are getting richer while the poor are becoming poorer. There is no way to get rid of the poverty cycle if such discrimination continues”.
Abdul Hye Mandal, a researcher on child labour, revealed that 5,21,614 out of 5,39,403 child labourers were engaged in hazardous work.
The BBS list contains hazardous work that include bidi making, steel furniture painting, battery echarging, and welding.
-With The Independent input
