IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)

e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 16, Issue 6. Ver. III (Jun. 2014), PP 25-36
[Link]

A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

Shituma Zaman1, Sabrina Matin2, Ashiq Mahmud Bin Gholam Kibria3
Abstract: The problem of child labour is a socio-economic reality of Bangladesh. This issue is enormous and
cannot be ignored. This study indicates the child labour increase in a developing country like Bangladesh and
the positive and negative effects of child labour on the society. Poverty is the main reason for the children to
become child labourers. The child labour problem has become one of the most striking issues in the developing
countries. Therefore, a need to identify the vulnerable children and point out their problems has come into the
light. Many government and non-government organizations have taken several progression steps to decrease
child labour problem from the society. An attempt is made in this article to present the socio-economic scenario
of child labour in Bangladesh and to find out the ways in which child labour can be decreased gradually.
Keyword: Child labour, Poverty, Education, Hazardous work, Developing Countries,

I. Introduction
1.1. What is Child Labour?
Child labour is now a global concern and as such attracted attention of people in various sectors. In
fact, it is the product of an unequal society. As Vittachi observes, child labour shows up, in exaggerated form, a
labour problem deeply woven into the fabric of an unequal society [1]. The term „child labour‟ refers to the
engagement of children in any work that takes away all or most of their rights as children, i.e. right to attend
regular school, uninterrupted mental and physical development. According to UNICEF, “Child labour is work
that is likely to interfere with a child‟s education and development; labour that exceeds a minimum number of
hours, labour that is hazardous; and/or labour performed by a child who is underage according to state
legislation. A child is considered a person under the age of 18 years” [2]. ILO signifies some activities as the
worst form of labour. It defines, “The worst forms of child labour include trafficking, armed conflict, slavery,
debt bondage, sexual exploitation and hazardous work” [3].
Estimating the number of children working around the world is a difficult task. This practice of
employing children to perform any sort of harmful and dangerous work is considered exploitative by many
international organizations. A number of human rights and social welfare organizations have been working hard
to reduce the number of child labour around the world. There are many laws enforced to prohibit child
labour. However, these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by
child artists, supervised training, and other certain categories of work performed by children [4]. There are some
situations where it is hard to imagine how an activity could not be harmful to the children i.e. forced
prostitution, child soldiers; but these activities are very rare. Whether an activity is harmful or beneficial for the
children depends on the circumstances of the activity, and ultimately, its impact on the children and the
counterfactual of what the child would be doing in the absence of that work. If a child is above the minimum
labour age, paid fairly and the work does not interfere with their health, schooling and development, then their
participation in work can be beneficial. It can contribute to the welfare of their family while equipping them
with skills and experience that can lead to them becoming a productive adult member of society [5].
Child labour is found in every part of the world, particularly in developing countries. According to the
international Labour Organization (ILO) Convention:

Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, 1973
Child labour is work that children should not be doing because they are too young to work, or – if they
have reached the minimum age – because it is dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for them. Countries that ratify

1
Lecturer, School of Business, University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS), Jamalpur Twin
Tower (Tower-2), GA-37/1, Progati Sarani, Block-J, Baridhara View, Dhaka-1212, Email:
shituma@[Link]
2
Lecturer, School of Business, University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS), Jamalpur Twin
Tower (Tower-2), GA-37/1, Progati Sarani, Block-J, Baridhara View, Dhaka-1212, Email:
sabrinamatin09@[Link]
3
Lecturer, School of Business, University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS), Jamalpur Twin
Tower (Tower-2), GA-37/1, Progati Sarani, Block-J, Baridhara View, Dhaka-1212, Email:
ashiq2001bd@[Link]
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 A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

this Convention undertake a legal promise to stop child labour and make sure that children below a certain
“minimum age” are not employed. At the end of 2010, this Convention had been ratified by 156 of the 183
member States of the ILO.

Table 1.1: The framework as to the minimum age is as follows:

The minimum age at Possible exceptions for
which children can start developing countries
work

Hazardous work 18 (16 under strict 18 (16 under strict

Any work which is likely to jeopardise children‟s health, safety or conditions) conditions)
morals should not be done by anyone under the age of 18

Basic Minimum Age 15 14

The minimum age for work should not be below the age for finishing
compulsory schooling, which is generally 15

Light work 13-15 12-14

Children between the ages of 13 and 15 years old may do light work,
as long as it does not threaten their health and safety, or hinder their
education or vocational orientation and training.

Source: [6]

II. Literature Review

Child labour can affect a child in many ways. Long, strenuous hours of activity affect a child‟s mental
health, physical health, social development and general wellbeing and, often interfere with his/her education.
Children who simultaneously work long hours and study, experience higher levels of negative attitudes towards
school, decreased school attendance and grades, than before working [7].
Many children involved in child labour would technically be considered trafficked. Trafficking of
children is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a child for the purpose of
exploitation. Exploitation includes at a minimum the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation,
forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs [8].
The reason some parents may allow their children to go with a trafficker is these people are usually
known and trusted by the victim‟s parents and they are generally deceived by traffickers about the nature of the
work their children will be involved in and the destination they will go. Both the laws and the resolution need to
be introduced for a child to be considered as a victim of human trafficking. Singlehanded children being
migrated using unsafe methods to avail economic opportunities are genuinely at risk of human trafficking.

2.1. Why Children Work?

Child labour is defined as an activity with negative impact on the children who is involved in it.
Although child labour is hazardous to the children, it has some beneficial sides for the children and their
families. A study in Peru found that working children aged 10 to 12 contribute 7.5 percent and children aged 13
to 15 add 12 percent of the family income [9]. It is more likely that the estimates from a study in rural India,
where children‟s income constituted only 6 percent of family income, give a more complete picture [10]. Beside
this child labour is accepted in communities where the point of view of general people downplays the risks of
children working or where it has become part of culture, tradition or family expectations. There are some other
factors such as poor enforcement of labour laws; corruption and improper protection guide line for children in
the society that boost up the amount of child labour within a community. Children are attractive to employers as
workers motivated by profit because children are easier to control, more compliant and are less likely to claim a
wage increase or improved working conditions.

2.2. Push and Pull Factors

Factors that „push‟ children out of school include poor quality education, lack of relevancy in lessons,
language used, physical accessibility issues and the absence of school in the child‟s community. Children who
become members of gangs are often forced into petty crime, sometimes to ensure their own protection. These
crimes may include stealing and selling drugs – increasing risk of exposure and addiction to harmful substances.
The pull factors involve economic and other issues associated with poverty that „pull‟ the children out of school.
Families often depend on their children to fetch in additional income and thus accept child labour under
unavoidable circumstances. Other common reasons that pull the children child labour include the non-payment
of minimal wages to the parents, high unemployment among adults, the need to pay off family debt and to meet
their own survival needs if they are fending for themselves[11].
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 A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

In some societies women have limited work choices which then lead to a labour shortage in different sectors
within those communities. Children are used to fill this labour shortage. There are many household activities
where parents may need additional assistance to complete some tasks on time, e.g. seasonal agricultural work.
For some families, start working at an early age is a tradition and children are likely to trail the same path as
their parents. If the costs associated with education become burden for a poor family they may pull their
children out of the school. Child education may also not be prioritized if there is little evidence of being
employed. All these factors result in an intergenerational child labour and a prolongation of the poverty child
labour cycle.

2.3. The Effects of Child Labour

Most of the child labourers work in hazardous conditions such as direct contact to pesticides,
chemicals, dusts and carcinogenic agents in agriculture, mining and quarrying, and manufacturing. These
increase the risks of developing bronchial complaints, cancers and other form of life threatening diseases. Child
labour may include operating precarious machinery; heavy lifting, repetitive tasks and poor posture that increase
the chances of musculoskeletal problems in later life. Similarly, children involved in industries like garbage
recycling and waste management work in an unprotected environment and as a consequence are exposed to
many dangerous materials such as; broken glasses, sharps, rotten food and other that can cause serious and
permanent health consequences.

2.4. Poverty and Child Labour

Hundreds and thousands of children are forced to work as labourers due to poverty. Some may start
their life as labourers even before entering school and many leave the school and become labourers to meet their
everyday needs. Devastated by suffering at early age, these children require psycho-social rehabilitation,
education and economic opportunities within their communities. The World Bank [12] reports that the labour
force participation rate of children aged between 10 to 14 years is the highest in countries with per capita
income of $ 500 or less (at 1987 prices). The number is 30-60 percent. However the figure is quite smaller, 10-
30 percent, in countries with income between $ 500 and $ 1000. This scenario is opposite in the affluent
developing countries. In general, parents of child labourers are not people who let their children work instead of
themselves, but people who find it necessary to draw on more of the household‟s resources to secure the
necessary income. Child labour thus does not replace adult labour, but complements it; in some cases it enables
adult family members to enter the labour market [13].

2.5. Education and child labour in developing countries

Many countries like Egypt and Zimbabwe, that have rapidly expanded their primary school coverage,
have seen a considerable increase in primary school enrollment which results in a reduction of child labour [14].
Africa and South Asian countries, where school enrolment is low and child labour is wide spread. The children
in these areas work in contracts as plantation work, tender arrangements, bounded labour and subcontracted
price work. This creates a burden not only on the individual child but also on the entire education system. For
example in Yemen, the working children who have to repeat classes probably leads to more than 300000
additional pupils in the primary school alone [15].
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the basis of UNICEF‟s work, calls for
compulsory education, but allows states to ratify the CRC without requiring it. For the last decade, UNICEF has
moved towards a larger programmed approach, rather than specific projects. One such programmers is the
Global Campaign for Girls Education. In General, UNICEF argues for universal compulsory education on a
human rights rationale. Child labour programmes follow the drive toward universal education as natural priority
for UNICEF [16].
The World Bank started in 1996 that it does not have an operational policy on child labour. It clearly
states the negative relationship between child labour and economic development and hence makes an argument
for that issue to fall within the World Bank mandate. Today this position is not argued within the World Bank
[17].

2.6. Gender disparities: impact on health

In spite of the fact that the literacy rate for women has improved over the last two decades, in many
countries it is less than half that of their male counterparts.
As shown in the Table, where gender disparities in literacy rates exist, there is a tendency towards
higher mortality rates for infants and children up to 5 years of age. However, while this trend is certainly
present, mortality is no doubt strongly influenced by many other factors such as the availability of food,
infectious diseases, or lack of potable water. LeVine et al. found that better educated girls participate more in
society as a result of school-based interactions with their peers and with adults such as teachers or village elders;

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 A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

they also have greater participation in decision making processes with regard to their health and the health of
their children [18].
As their language and literacy skills improve, women are better able to understand health messages,
adhere to good health practices such as breastfeeding, improve nutritional practices, comply with immunization
schedules, and assure the sterilization of water

Table 1.2: Comparison of literacy rates between males and females and the
Mortality rate for children younger than 5 years of age
Country Literacy rate Literacy rate Morality rate per 1000 live birth
1990 2000 (birth age 5) 2001
Male Female Male Female
Niger 18 5 24 9 265
Pakistan 49 20 57 28 107
Afganistan 40 12 51 21 256
Angola 56 29 208
Leberia 55 23 70 37 190
Niger 18 5 23 8 156
Nicaragua 61 61 64 64 36
Philippines 93 92 96 95 29
Source: [19]

2.7. The Millennium Development Goals

In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations conferences and summits, world
leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium
Declaration, which, among other things, committed their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme
poverty and set out a series of time-bound targets – with a deadline of 2015 – that have become known as the
Millennium Development Goals. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which range from halving
extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, to providing universal primary education – all by the target
date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world‟s countries and all leading development institutions.
They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world‟s poorest [20].
The Millennium Development Goals are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development. [21]
Bangladesh is on track in relation to some but by no means all of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG)
targets (Table 1.3). The country will likely achieve the targeted prevalence of poverty by 2015, but meeting the
target of hunger within the given time frame remains uncertain. With regard to targets such as expansion of
primary and secondary education, infant and child mortality rate, containing the spread and fatality of malaria
and tuberculosis, Bangladesh has done remarkably well and may well reach several of these targets before the
stipulated time.

Table 1.3: Status of Millennium Development Goals in Bangladesh

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger There is indication that
Bangladesh is on its way to achieve targeted prevalence of poverty by 2015,
however, meeting the target of hunger within the given time frame remains
uncertain. Rising inequality is offsetting some of the gains in poverty reduction.

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Significant progress has been

made in primary education towards achieving the NER target, rising from 61
percent in the1990/91 base year to 92 percent in 2008. However, Bangladesh will be
unable to meet the targets for the proportion of pupils completing the primary
school cycle, as well as for the literacy rate of 15-24 year olds by 2015.

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 A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women Bangladesh has

achieved gender parity in both primary and secondary education. Indeed, in primary
education, historical trends have been reversed and it is now low levels of male
relative to female enrolment that is cause for concern. The country still lags behind
in terms of achieving gender parity in tertiary education. Non-agricultural wage
employment for women has increased at a slow rate leading to a decline in women‟s
share in non-agricultural wage employment.
Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality The country is on track with regard to achieving
this goal. Significant strides have been made in all three indicators and if the trend
sustains, the country will meet the 2015 target well ahead of schedule.

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health Maternal mortality rate (MMR) declined by 40

percent during the 1990-2005 period and remained stable around 350 per 100,000 in
the following four years. Wide differences are observed in MMR across regions as
well as income classes. The proportion of child birth attended by skilled birth
attendants (SBA) increased substantially but it is still very low.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases Short and long-term
trends show a decline in number of malaria cases and deaths through 2009 as a
result of major interventions for malaria control. The rate of multidrug-resistant TB,
though increasing, appears still low and does not yet have an important impact on
the country‟s epidemiology.

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability Bangladesh is likely to meet

quantitative targets for just three of the ten indicators; namely, CO2 emissions,
consumption of ozone depleting substances and the proportion of the population
using an improved drinking water source.

Goal 8: Develop a Global partnership for Development Although the share of

Official Development Assistance (ODA) in national income has been declining
steadily and disbursements of ODA have consistently been below commitments,
ODA allocations to pro MDG sectors have witnessed an upswing since the mid-
2000s.

Source: [22]

III. Methodology
This paper is based on secondary data, primarily through literature review and collect information from
cross section of people and experts. The data are fairly consistent and reliable, although there are some
discrepancies between government and non-government source. The emphasis has been given on qualitative
analysis but some quantitative data has been used to supplement the qualitative analysis.

IV. Analysis
4.1. Child labour scenario in Bangladesh
In 2012, Bangladesh made a moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child
labour. Bangladesh passed the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act 2012 which makes
trafficking (including labour trafficking) a capital offense, developed and fully funded a Child Labour
Monitoring Information System to manage child labour related data and began implementation of a $9 million
child labour project. The Government also approved the Child Labour Elimination National Plan of Action
(NPA). Over the reporting period the Government began a new initiative to eliminate child labour from urban
slums and in rural areas. However, legal protections regarding child labour are limited and the capacity to
enforce child labour laws remains weak. Bangladesh maintains a low compulsory education age. Children in
Bangladesh are engaged in the worst forms of child labour, primarily in dangerous activities in agriculture and
domestic service [23].

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 A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

4.2. Child Labor in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is the home to more than five percent of world‟s working child population [24]. According
to the International Labour Organisation definition (right), there are about 3.2 million child labourers in
Bangladesh. Working children is a visible part of everyday life in Bangladesh: young children serve at roadside
tea stalls, and weave between cars selling goods to motorists. Besides, children work in jobs that are hidden
from view, such as domestic work, which makes monitoring regulation difficult. On average, the child labourer
work 55.8 hours per week (9.3 hours daily and 6.02 days weekly). Nearly 38% labourer work more than 10
hours daily and about 65% of the working children do not wholeheartedly perceive their work as socially
acceptable (Abul et al., 2007). On average, the children work 28 hours a week and earn 222 taka (3.3 USD) a
week. The majority of child domestics tend to be 12 to 17 years old. However, children as young as 5 or 6 years
old can also be found working and a survey of child domestic workers found that 38 percent were 11 to 13 years
old and nearly 24 percent were 5 to 10 years old [25].
Furthermore, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics estimated in 2004 that the total number of children of age
group 5-17 years in January, 2003 was at 42.4 million of which 35.1 million were in the age group 5-14 and 7.3
million were in 15-17 years age group. Out of the total estimated child population aged 5-17 years about 22.7
million were boys and 19.7 million girls [26].
Many of the jobs that these children in Bangladesh perform are considered hazardous, and put their
physical and mental development at risk. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern in
2009 that many Bangladeshi children continue to work in five of the worst forms of child labor, namely
welding, auto workshops, road transport, battery recharging and tobacco factories. The Committee also raised
attentions towards the fact that the enforcement and monitoring of child labor laws is not up to the standards and
the awareness of public in the society about the negative effects of child labor is not sufficient [27].
Children in Bangladesh are engaged in the worst forms of child labor, primarily in dangerous activities
in agriculture and domestic service [28]. Children working in agriculture perform a variety of tasks and may be
exposed to risks such as dangerous machinery and tools, harmful pesticides and heavy loads [29]. Children,
mostly girls, work as domestic servants in private households in Bangladesh. Some child domestics work in
exploitative conditions and are vulnerable to abuse, including sexual abuse [30]. Children engage in dangerous
work that includes welding, carpentry, rickshaw pulling and automobile repair [31]. Children are also involved
in the production of salt, soap, matches, bricks, cigarettes, footwear, steel furniture, glass, jute, leather and
textiles [32]. While producing these goods, often in small workshops or homes, they face dangers that may
include working with hazardous chemicals and sharp objects in cramped conditions with low lighting for long
hours. Children also work dismantling large ships into smaller pieces. Children lack the physical strength
necessary for ship breaking and risk exposure to hazardous chemicals [33]. Children are also found working on
the streets, garbage picking, vending, begging and pottering [34]. They may face multiple dangers including
severe weather, vehicle accidents and criminal elements. Children working in hotels and restaurants face long
working hours and potential abuse [35]. Forced child labor occurs in Bangladesh. Children perform forced or
indentured labor in drying fish [36]. Bangladeshi children are also exploited in the commercial sex industry;
some are trafficked internally and to India for sexual exploitation [37]. Boys and girls, often those living on the
streets, are exploited in illicit activities, including smuggling and trading arms and drugs [38].

Figure1.1 Working Children by Sector, Ages 5-14

Sources: Primary Completion Ratio: [39].

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 A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

All other data: [40].

4.3. Legal Protection
Bangladesh passed the labour act in 2006 known as „Labour Code 2006‟. This act includes a chapter on
child labour. This act outlaws the employment of any child less than 14 years of age and it also prohibits
hazardous forms of child labour for anyone under the age of 18 years. However, according to the act, children
who are aged 12 years and above may get involved in “light work” that does not bare the risk of any potential
damage to their mental and physical development and does not hamper their education. The law does not
provide a strong enforcement mechanism for the child labour provisions. Additionally, the vast majority of
children (93 per cent) work in the informal sector [40] this is making the enforcement of the relevant legislation
challenging.
In the year 2010, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has adopted a National Child Labour
Elimination Policy, which provides an agenda to eliminate all forms of child labour by 2015. The policy‟s
objectives are: removing child labourer from hazardous jobs; creating more income opportunities for parents of
poor families to reduce their reliance on children‟s income; offering incentives for working children to attend
school; ratifying necessary laws and improving law enforcement to eliminate child labor. A Child Labor Unit
has been established as part of this policy, which will have responsibilities including collecting and
disseminating data relating to child labor [41].
The Labour Code 2006 establishes the minimum age for work at age 14 and the minimum age for
hazardous work at age 18. The Labour Code 2006 allows certain exceptions, permitting children ages 12 to 13
to perform light work, but it restricts the kinds of work they can do. It also limits the hour‟s children ages 14 to
18 can work. However, the Labour Code 2006 excludes many sectors of the economy in which children work
including work on small farms, domestic service and home-based work [42].
In 2011, a tripartite consultative committee consisting of the Government, employers and workers,
approved a list of hazardous work prohibited for children [43]. The list contains 36 occupations such as ship
breaking, leather manufacturing, construction and work in automobile workshops. The list is now waiting for an
official notification from the Government [44].
The Labour Code prohibits parents or guardians from pledging their children‟s work in exchange for a
payment or benefit and the Penal Code prohibits forced labour [45]. Those who violate the law are subject to
penalties, which include imprisonment [46]. The Women and Children‟s Repression Prevention Act of 2000
(amended in 2003) criminalized the trafficking of children and established strict penalties and fines for violators,
but failed to include such penalties for labour trafficking [47]. In February 2012, the Parliament of Bangladesh
approved a new national anti-trafficking law, the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act 2012,
which expands the definition of trafficking to include labour trafficking, covers men and boys and makes
trafficking a capital offense with a maximum sentence of the death penalty (24). The Penal Code and the
Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act of 1933 criminalizes the prostitution of girls under age 18 [48].
Bangladesh has only voluntary, not compulsory military service. While there is no legislation establishing a
minimum age for voluntary military recruitment, each branch has designated their own minimum age with the
Air Force setting the youngest age 16. However, the Government reported that, in practice, the minimum age to
serve in combat is age 18 [49]. The lack of a legally binding minimum age for both joining the military and
engaging in combat leaves children vulnerable to potential exploitation.

While the law establishes that education is free and compulsory in Bangladesh, children are not
required to attend school after age 10. Although education is free, in practice, the costs of teacher fees, books
and uniforms are prohibitive for many families; therefore, children are not sent to school [50]. Additionally,
permitting children to stop attending school at age 10, when they are too young to work legally, makes children
particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour.

4.4. Child labour and education

The National Education Policy of the government of Bangladesh made education free and compulsory
up to grade eight. However the policy could not change the fate of many of the lees fortunate and more than a
million children still never made it to their school. Many children drop out of the education system before
completing primary school and begin working. Most working children cite an inability to bear educational
expenses as the main reason for not attending school, because there are many indirect costs such as transport and
uniforms. Limitations within the education system such as poor teaching quality and a high teacher-student ratio
may also discourage children from completing school. Additionally, children living in slums often move
frequently due to evictions, civic unrest and employment instability, further exacerbating dropout rates [51].

Many child labourers miss out on their right to education because they do not have the time to go to
school or to study. Data show that working hours are negatively correlated with school attendance [52]. About
half of all child labourers do not attend school at all, and among child domestic workers only 11% attend school
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[53]. As a result, working children get stuck in low paying, low-skilled jobs, thereby perpetuating the cycle of
poverty.

4.5. Abuse, exploitation and violence

Working children particularly those in hidden jobs such as domestic labour, are at risk of abuse and
exploitation. Bangladesh‟s 421,000 child domestic workers face particular vulnerabilities because they work
behind closed doors. All most all children domestic workers work seven days a week and 90% sleep at their
employer‟s home [54]. This means these children are absolutely dependent on their employers and generally
face restrictions on their mobility and freedom. Levels of exploitation these children experience are also
tremendously high. The fact that more than half of these domestic workers receive no wage at all, instead of
monetary benefits they receive benefits such as accommodation, food and clothing.

Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi children work in hazardous jobs. These are jobs that have been
identified by the ILO to expose children to hazards including: physical, psychological or sexual abuse; excessive
work hours; an unhealthy environment. For instance, 3400 children work in brick/stone breaking for the
construction industry [55].
A survey of these child workers found that almost all had some sort of respiratory problem and were
not provided with any safety gear or protection from brick dust. Other child workers in hazardous jobs include
123,000 children working as rickshaw pullers, 153,000 children working in restaurants or tea stalls, and 56,000
working in carpentry [56].

4.6. Government Policies on the Worst Forms of Child Labour

The National Child Labour Eradication Policy is the policy framework for the elimination of the worst
forms of child labour [57]. The policy serves as a guiding instrument for the formulation of future laws and
policies regarding child labour. In 2011, the National Child Labour Welfare Council was formed as part of his
policy to monitor the child labour situation at a national level in conjunction with the Child Labour Unit, the
entity responsible for monitoring child labour elimination programs. As of 2012, this Council had not met [58].
In 2011, the Supreme Court ordered the Welfare Council to monitor the conditions of child domestic workers
and to ensure that no child under age 12 is employed as a domestic worker [59]. In 2011, MOLE drafted a
National Plan of Action (NPA) that lays out a strategy to implement the National Child Labour Elimination
Policy. The NPA is scheduled to be finalized in 2012 [60]. Until the NPA is finalized and approved by the
Government, the National Child Labour Eradication Policy lacks resources and a strategy for implementation. In
2011, the Government incorporated child labour into numerous important policy and planning documents,
including the Bangladesh Sixth Five Year Plan (2011-2015), the National Education Policy (2010) and the
National Policy for Children 2011 [61]. The Government‟s PRSP also contains a strategic goal to protect child
labourers and eliminate the worst forms of child labour. The 3-year, 2009 PRSP seeks to accomplish this
through raising awareness of child labour, drafting minimum wage and other protective standards, creating a
child-friendly code of conduct for employers and improving educational opportunities for working children.
Trafficking in persons is also mentioned as an ancillary item in a number of government policies including the
PRSP [62].

4.7. Social Programs to Eliminate or Prevent the Worst Forms of Child Labour
UNICEF continued to collaborate closely with the Government in implementing the second phase of a
project that establishes education centers to provide non-formal education and livelihood skills to more than
350,000 working children and adolescents [63]. The Government is also providing funding for the third phase of
a $9 million project that aims to withdraw 50,000 child labourers from hazardous work through non-formal
education and skills-development programs [64]. The Government of Bangladesh participated in a $10 million
project funded by the Government of the Netherlands that aims to prevent and eliminate the worst forms of child
labour in the Dhaka informal economy. The Government of Bangladesh also participated in a project funded by
the European Commission that provides children of legal working age and working in hazardous jobs with
technical and vocational skills training to transition them into safer work opportunities [65]. Additionally, the
Government participated in a USDOL-funded project to conduct a national child labour survey [66]. The
Government lacks targeted social programs for child labourers in rural areas, specifically in agriculture [67]. To
combat child trafficking, the Government participated in a USAID-funded project that builds the capacity of the
police to identify and prosecute traffickers, expand public awareness on trafficking and provide services to
trafficking victims [68]. Additionally, the Government supported nine shelters for women and children who
have experienced violence, including trafficking, and is participating in a child helpline service funded by the
Danish International Development Agency [69]. The Government spends over 15 percent of its total public
expenditures on 84 social safety net programs that serve the poor [70]. The Employment Generation Program
for the Poorest, Bangladesh‟s largest social safety net program, provides short-term employment for the rural
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poor [71]. The Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) Program is Bangladesh‟s other large social safety net
program. During the reporting period, this program assisted more than 750,000 vulnerable families by providing
them with food assistance and training in an alternative livelihood [72]. In 2011, the Government initiated a
pilot project to study the feasibility of creating a national population database with the intention of improving
access to these social safety net programs [73] The question of whether these programs, or other social safety
net programs, has an impact on child labor has not been studied [74].

V. Policy Implications
What should be done about the general incidence of child labor? The strongest case for the need for
direct attention to the types of child labor that pervade the low-income world is made by poor families
themselves. These families‟ revels that they do not want their children to be working: child labor declines very
rapidly as families become richer and their dependence on the income of children decreases.
Economic development that raises the incomes of the poor is the best way to reduce child labor. But
this process may be taken long time. If we were to take the cross-country relationship between per capital
income and child labor personated earlier in Figure 1 seriously as a forecast of what will happen to economic
activity rates as countries grow richer which it clearly is not we could compute how economic growth will
reduce child labor in future.
Direct policy tools like bans on child labor or requirements that children attend school, however politically
appealing, are of doubtful effect.
1. Developing countries often lack resources to enforce child labor bans, especially when most children
work for their parents on family farms. Non- compliance with compulsory schooling laws countries to
be a large problem in today‟s developing world [75][76].
2. There is no guarantee that such policies will alter local labor markets in a way that increase family
income, and thus an economic incentive for children to work will remain. Real-world labor market
regulation can affect enough of the child labor market to have general equilibrium effect on wages as
required in [77]. For Example, the high profile ban on child labor in Bangladesh involved mainly
children working for pay in the garment industry. This ban allegedly affected the employment of 10000
children, which corresponds to a tenth of one percent of economically active children in Bangladesh.
Thus, although a legal ban might reduce child labor, this outcome is not guaranteed, especially when
labor laws.
3. Policies that keep children from working in one type of job might push children into no exporting
sectors. In the Bangladesh case, anecdotes abound about children leaving garment factories, for
prostitution or work in stone quarries. The employment of children owing to the threat of sanctions,
like the Bangladeshi garments industry and Pakistani soccer balls [78].
4. At the consumer level, boycotts of products produced by child labor and more generally ant sweatshop
activism have become popular. Such campaigns seek to pressure multinational produces of high profit
brand name products to improve their labor practices.
5. Attempts to require either bans on child labor or compulsory school attendance are subject to the
problems above.
6. It is difficult to distinguish whether these measures reflect genuine interest in the well-being of children
in poor countries or whether they are just a palatable excuse for protectionism. Overall, it is difficult to
make a strong case for trade policy or consumer boycotts as n effective tool to combat child labor.
Consumer activism has brought the problem of child labor into the spotlight, but we are not aware of
any systematic empirical evidence of the effectiveness of consumer activism in reducing child labor.
7. Policies targeted at improving school infrastructure and reducing the cost of schooling provides the
most promising targeted ways to reduce child labor. These initiatives might work best when combined
with conditional cash transfers programs for households that send children to school, such as Food for
Education in Bangladesh and Progress in Mexico. Such Programs have been successful in increasing
school attendance, which ameliorates one of the concerns about child labor.
8. The process of replacing the 1974 Children Act with a new act is in its final stages. The 1974 law as
well as the new draft provides penalties for engaging children in child labor.
9. UNICEF has also been working with the ministry of Social Welfare and other ministries and NGOs to
undertake mapping and assessment of Bangladesh‟s child protection system. Based on this a child
Protection Policy will be developed, including child labor aspects.
10. Social workers also provide targeted outreach services to children working in invisible location such as
small factories or homes, to prevent abuse and exploitation.
11. UNICEF support drop in centers provide children at risk with various psychosocial services such as
referrals to legal aid, support for family reintegration and shelter.

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VI. Suggestion for eliminating or decreasing child labour

Ways of reducing child labour is a challenging task, which necessitate financial, moral and political
sustenance from all the tiers of the society. Because the problem of child labour is indissolubly imbedded in our
society, so attempts should be made to decrease it from the primary stage. Poverty, as mentioned earlier, is the
primary reason behind child labour and it drives children to involve in employment to fight against starvation
and to supplement their family income. This is why; the effective solutions of child labour must be based on the
reduction of chronic poverty through economic and social development, with emphasis on human resource
development. To eradicate the problem, child centred educative sensitivity and awareness is essential at
political, community and family level. To create educative sensitivity among parents, family members and in the
community the existing schooling process should be restructured. Unfortunately, budget provided for education
are not adequate enough and used properly for its designed purpose because of the corruption and inefficiency
of the system. Enclosure of knowledge about child labour in school curriculum will help building awareness
nationally. Employment creation and income generation for adults will help to eradicate poverty and child
labour problem in the country. Legislation concerning child labour is adequate enough but improper
implementation of laws is main obstacle.

VII. Conclusion
Bangladesh is obliged under both national and international law to protect and promote the rights and
interests of children. The Constitution of Bangladesh and the Children‟s Act 1974 guarantees basic and
fundamental human rights and ensures affirmative action for children. These rights are the guiding principles for
formulating policies and laws relating to child development. In conclusion we earnestly hope that as Bangladesh
is one of the earliest signatories of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), therefore these initiatives
will be widespread and the affluent, elite countries and international organizations will come forward to help our
government and NGOs not only in case of financial assistance but also in the actual performance of the field
level work. Children are the future of a nation. Therefore, if they are exploited at a very early age, they would
not be able to contribute to the country and would hamper progress. Moreover, children consistently expressed
their concerns about the absence of a safe environment, which leads to violence, abuse and exploitation within
the family, community, street, work place, and school, in state and non-state institutions and also in the justice
system. The current governance deficit in Bangladesh has further aggravated the situation because the duty
bearers such as lawmakers, executives, police, probation officers, and even judges remain insensitive to
children's rights and fail to provide protection, special care and treatment. In recent years, however, child rights
have featured increasingly in policy debates and discussions amongst government officials and NGOs. News
reports on violence and torture against children in the print media and in the private TV channels have
increased. Many organizations are also working to sensitize the public so that there is increased awareness of
child rights. It is necessary to mention here that the government is committed to protect the child but it lacks
depth of understanding and consistent planning. That‟s why action at the national level is needed now, as timely
taken steps can only bring positive impact on decreasing or elimination of child labour from all tiers of the
society. But in case of taking action in full conformity with reality, all the factors such as, economic, social,
political, cultural have to be taken into consideration. Further, it is not proper in the context of existing social
system to refrain children from work which only breed‟s poverty rather initiatives have to be taken at first to
keep them away from exploitative and dangerous works and to provide appointment letter, identity card to
ensure the payment of their due wages and other rights as workers, which other adult workers enjoy, has to be
ascertained. In this case we have to pay serious attention to the working children so that they could finish the
basic schooling beside light work. Moreover, child sensitivity approach has to be strong along with adopting
multiplier measures. But the good news is that child labour problem has attracted a large concerted attention in
recent times and the government, NGOs and some private organizations are, though less than needed, working
with a view to solving the problem and consequently the rate of child labour has decreased in a little. Further,
Bangladesh is a signatory to, and has ratified, most of the major international conventions related to children,
except for the ILO Minimum Age Convention (No.138). Again, it has introduced a number of policies and plans
over the years intended to reduce or eliminate child labour. Bangladesh is obliged under both national and
international law to protect and promote the rights and interests of children. The Constitution of Bangladesh and
the Children‟s Act 1974 guarantees basic and fundamental human rights and ensures affirmative action for
children. These rights are the guiding principles for formulating policies and laws relating to child development.
In conclusion we earnestly hope that as Bangladesh is one of the earliest signatories of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC), therefore these initiatives will be widespread and the affluent, elite countries and
international organizations will come forward to help our government and NGOs not only in case of financial
assistance but also in the actual performance of the field level work.

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