Child Labor in Bangladesh

Child labor has existed in varying degrees throughout history. One in four children is engaged in child labor in the world's poorest countries. The majority of child labor worldwide is found in the informal urban economy and rural settings. Children are primarily engaged in child labor by their guardians or parents rather than by institutions. Poverty and lack of schooling are considered to be the main causes of child labor. 

What is Child Labor?

Child labor refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, hinders their regular schooling, and impairs their mental, physical, social and moral growth. Similarly, child labor has its definition and causes in the Bangladesh context.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, children between the ages of 5 and 14, and those who work for one or more hours per week, both paid and unpaid, are considered child laborers, and their labor is considered child labor. This includes work both inside and outside the home.

Child labor in the context of Bangladesh

From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, children from poor families were expected to contribute to their family income due to economic hardship. 

The labor force in Bangladesh includes 4.7 million children between the ages of 5 and 14. Child labor is involved in various sectors such as agriculture, the garment industry, the leather industry, shoe manufacturing, jute, soap, hair processing, salt industry, bitumen, tiles, roads, cottage industry, domestic employment, and shipbreaking. It may be mentioned that in vermilion factories, boys cover mercury-red vermilion with a chemical that is considered a serious cause of bodily harm.

Causes of Child Labor

• Poverty

Studies have shown that there is a strong link between poverty and child labor that is internationally recognized. Due to this children from poor families are more engaged in the workforce to contribute to the overall income of the family. Families force the child member to work for their livelihood. In many cases, children are forced to work for their livelihood either because the family has abandoned them or is unable to care for them. Another major reason is "cheap" child labor. Parents forced their children into child labor as daily wages were below $5.

• Population

Population prevalence has a considerable impact on child labor. The substantial impact of rural agricultural labor on child labor in Bangladesh is observed. Because agriculture is the most important economic activity of Bangladesh which involves 70% of the population. In Bangladesh, keeping the children involved in agricultural work alongside the father is considered a helpful traditional work. Children are traditionally employed in jute processing, tobacco processing, paddy, animal husbandry, and fisheries. Similarly, children in various risky jobs like leather factories, bitumen, coal, brick and stone breaking, and ship work - have been considered as an alternative source of income with cheap wages. However, the concentration of child labor is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Minor drivers have become one of the main sources of household income today. Which is risky child labor.

• Education

The dropout rate among school-going children indicates that child labor is a major factor or barrier that keeps children engaged in work before they pass the primary level. Most families are unable to afford the incidental expenses of their children's education, on the other hand working children or children from deprived families are unwilling to bear the incidental expenses of education, which they cannot afford. The lack of income opportunities in the education sector is observed as another reason for child labor in Bangladesh. Low-income parents with little or no education are more concerned with the short-term outcomes of earning money and survival from their children's education, so they prioritize the immediate short-term outcomes based on child labor over the long-term outcomes of education.

• Natural Disasters and Climate Change 

Impact of Natural Disasters and Climate Change on Rural Life which engages children in hazardous work based on child labor for livelihood. Rainfall, soil erosion, or extreme weather changes such as floods, droughts, and droughts pose extreme risks to agricultural-dependent households. So there is no other option but to send or encourage the child to work. Expected shifts from rural life to urban living due to natural disasters encourage child labor-based work. 

• Ignorance of child labor laws

Another major cause of child labor in Bangladesh is the Ignorance of child labor laws. This hinders the concrete implementation of actions to stop the increase in child labor. Employers have a substantial role to play in child labor-based policies. But reluctance on the part of the owners and lack of monitoring by the implementing authorities is increasing child labor. 

Child Labor Laws and Initiatives

Child labor is a form of exploitative work that is prohibited by law worldwide. However, these laws sometimes do not consider all work by children as child labor, such as work by child artists, family work, some work by indigenous children, etc. The Child Labor Act in Bangladesh was published in 2013. The law criminalizes any form of cruelty to children while working in both formal and informal settings. It will also prescribe punishment for the use or exploitation of children in begging, brothels, and carrying drugs, weapons, or other illegal items.

Some initiatives to reverse the upward trend in child labor have been recognized internationally.:

• increasing spending on quality education, including universal child benefits in the social security system, and getting all children back to school before and after Covid-19
• Helping families overcome financial hardship and increase income.
• Ending harmful gender norms and discrimination against working people.
• Governments and international initiatives should be strengthened to increase investment in areas such as agricultural development, rural public services, infrastructure and child protection, and quality of life in efforts to achieve SDG 8.7. 
• Education is a universal right and the best antidote to child labor. Education expenditure in the public sector should be increased. Primary education should be promoted as Joyful education.
• State supervision should be strengthened to ensure that no child is engaged in work without completing the minimum education. 
• Adults in families with school-going children should have job security.
• Child labor in mining, manufacturing, construction, gas, water, sanitary services, transportation, warehousing and transportation, plantations, and agriculture-based hazardous enterprises should be prohibited and its harmful aspects should be made known to the families and owners of the establishments.
• Domestic work, trafficking, prostitution, etc. of girl children as the hazardous and worst form of child labor should be brought into national policy and public awareness in both rural and urban areas.

Fight Against Child Labor

Child Labor Prohibition Day is observed every year on June 12. SDG 8.7 calls for the elimination of all forms of child labor by 2025. Globally 160 million children are involved in child labor. The number of child laborers in Bangladesh is about 4.7 Million (22 January 2022 Bangladesh Council and Labor Rights Journalist Forum Child Labor Legal Trade Union and Role of Media Summit Meeting). By the end of 2022, an additional 9 million children worldwide are at risk of becoming involved in child labor. Globally, the number of children engaged in child labor has risen to 160 million, an increase of 8.4 million in the last four years. With families already at risk due to economic stress and school closures due to Covid-19, loss of work, or reduced income, many children are forced to engage in the worst or most vulnerable forms of child labor. Schooling needs to be brought to the fore with a view to withdrawal and social protection needs to be decided at government and international levels by deprivation. Child labor deprives children of their rights and future opportunities, increases children's physical and psychological risks, and drives the intergenerational vicious cycle of poverty and child labor.

Worst forms of Child Labor

The worst form of child labor refers to the last acts of child labor that may harm the health, safety, or morals of the child or expose children to extreme risks at work. The Worst Forms of Child Labor Recommendation No. 190 contains recommendations on the types of hazards that young children, female children, and hidden working conditions, where girls are particularly vulnerable and dangerous. It also causes many deaths. Child labor considered to be prohibited in ILO Recommendation No. 190 is

Work that exposes children to sexual abuse (physical or psychological) and

Forces them to work underground, underwater, at dangerous heights, or in confined spaces with

Doing any work using dangerous machinery, materials, and equipment

Unsanitary environment, for example, harmful chemicals, temperature, noise levels, or vibrations

Working for long hours or at night where children are unreasonably confined

Below are some important facts from a UNICEF report in 2021

• Agricultural sector Child labor 70 percent (11.2 million)
• In the service sector 20 percent (3.14 million)
• In the industrial sector 10 percent (1.65 million)
• In rural areas 14 percent
• In urban areas 5 percent
• In out-of-school child labor between 5 to 11 years, the number of aged children is about 28 percent
• Between 12 and 14 years of age is 35 percent
• In terms of gender gap, the rate of male child labor is higher than that of female child labor

Emphasis needs to be put on eliminating the evils that are at the root of this harmful child labor.

Finally, I call for strengthening our efforts in the global fight against child labor. Governments, employers, policymakers, women, and men at all levels must come forward to ensure the rights and prosperity of every child. Risks and setbacks can be depressing, but this is a short-lived period, the upside of which is promising.