There are currently about 3.5 million child laborers in Bangladesh, 1 million are engaged in hazardous labor, said Labor Advisor Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain. He said,
“শিশুশ্রম প্রতিরোধে শিশুদের কাজে নিয়োগ করা ব্যক্তিদের শাস্তি কয়েকগুণ বাড়ানো হবে। সেই সঙ্গে পরিবর্তন করা হবে শিশুশ্রমের সংজ্ঞা।”
Translation: “To prevent child labor, the punishment for those who employ children for work will be increased several times. Along with this, the definition of child labor will be changed.”
Government programs on the occasion of World Day Against Child Labor
The Labor Advisor spoke at a press conference organized at the Secretariat on Wednesday to mark the World Day Against Child Labour. Labor Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman, Additional Secretary Amal Krishna Mondal and Md. Munir Hossain Khan and many others were present.
Since June 12 was a government holiday this year, the government is observing the day on June 19. Instructions have been given to organize discussion meetings, rallies and cultural programs at the district and upazila levels to mark the day.
Theme for 2024:
“স্বপ্নের ডানায় ভর করি, শিশুশ্রমের শৃঙ্খল ছিঁড়ি—এগিয়ে চলি দৃপ্ত পায়ে, আশার আগুন বুকে জ্বালি।”
Translation:“Let us fly on the wings of dreams, break the chains of child labor- let us move forward with firm feet, and light the fire of hope in our hearts.”
Labor Law and Legal Action
The existing Labor Act of 2006 states that, employing a child under the age of 14 will be considered a crime and the person responsible will be fined Tk 5,000. However, the government is taking steps to amend the law soon.
The Labor Advisor said,
‘বর্তমানে বাংলাদেশের পরিসংখ্যান কতটা বিশ্বাসযোগ্য, আমি জানি না। তবে বর্তমান সংজ্ঞা অনুযায়ী শিশু শ্রমিকের সংখ্যা ৩৫ লাখ। আর ঝুঁকিপূর্ণ শ্রমে নিয়োজিত ১০ লাখ শিশু। এটা কীভাবে কমানো যায়, দেখছি।’
Translation: “I don’t know how reliable the statistics in Bangladesh are currently. However, according to the current definition, the number of child laborers is 3.5 million. And 1 million children are engaged in hazardous labor. We are looking at how this can be reduced.”
The labor advisor told reporters,by the example of South Bengal,
‘দেখেছি যে বাবা জাল ও নৌকা নিয়ে নদীতে মাছ ধরতে যাচ্ছে, সঙ্গে ছেলেকেও নিল। ছেলে আবার স্কুলেও যায়। এটাকে এখন শিশুশ্রম বলব কি না, তা একটা প্রশ্ন।’
Translation: “I saw a father going to the river to fish with a net and a boat, taking his son with him. The son also goes to school. Whether we can call this child labor or not is a question.”
He said,
“শিশুশ্রমের সংজ্ঞা পরিবর্তন করা হবে। কাজ চলছে। নতুন সংজ্ঞায় আন্তর্জাতিক মানের সঙ্গে সামঞ্জস্যপূর্ণ রেখে শিশু শ্রমিকদের বয়সসীমা নির্ধারণ করা হবে।”
Translation: “The definition of child labor will be changed. Work is underway. The new definition will set the age limit for child laborers in line with international standards.”
Again he said,
‘অনেক পরিবার শিশুকে পাঠায় ওস্তাদের সঙ্গে কাজ করার জন্য। পরে সে নিজেই মেকানিক হয়ে যায়। আমি অনুরোধ করব, জোর করে কাউকে পাঠাবেন না। বাচ্চারা স্কুলের সময় শেষ করে যদি স্বেচ্ছামূলক কোনো কাজ করে, তাকে হয়তো আমরা অন্য রকমভাবে দেখব। তবে জোর করে কোনো শিশুকে কাজে পাঠানো যাবে না। এটা দণ্ডনীয় অপরাধ।’
Translation: “Many families send their children to work with craftsmen. Later, they become mechanics themselves. I would request that no one be forced to send them. If children do voluntary work after school, we might look at them differently. However, no child can be forced to work. This is a punishable offense.”
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The press conference was informed that the government has ratified ILO Conventions 138 and 182 and is committed to eliminating all forms of child labor, including hazardous ones, by 2025.
Bangladesh’s position in the International Sectors
The International Labor Conference was held from June 2 to 13 at the ILO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Labor Advisor attended for 5 days.
He said,
‘আন্তর্জাতিক শ্রম সম্মেলনে শিশুশ্রমের প্রসঙ্গও উঠেছিল। আমি তাঁদের বলেছি, শিশুশ্রম বলতে তোমরা যা বোঝাও, আমি তা বুঝি না।’
Translation:”The issue of child labor was also raised at the International Labor Conference. I told them, ‘I don’t understand what you mean by child labor.'”
Recent reports from ILO and UNICEF,according to the 2024 Global Child Labor Report:
•There are 138 million children in child labor worldwide.
•54 million are involved in hazardous work, which poses a serious threat to their health and development.
In the case of Bangladesh, it is said:
•The rate of hazardous child labor was 3.2% in 2013, which decreased to 2.7% in 2022.
•The overall rate of child labor in the age group of 5-17 has increased slightly to 8.9%.
•The rate of child labor in harmful work is 4.4%, which is slightly higher than before.
In a statement UNICEF said,
“পরিসংখ্যান থেকে স্পষ্ট যে গত দুই দশকে বিদ্যালয়ে ভর্তির হার বাড়ায় বাংলাদেশের অবস্থার কিছুটা উন্নতি হয়েছে। তবে ২০২৫ সালের মধ্যে শিশুশ্রম নির্মূলের লক্ষ্যে পৌঁছানোর সঠিক গতিতে নেই বাংলাদেশ।”
Translation:”Statistics show that Bangladesh has made some progress in increasing school enrollment rates over the past two decades. However, Bangladesh is not on track to achieve the goal of eliminating child labor by 2025.”
According to UNICEF,the majority of child laborers work in the informal sector, where they are forced to work for long periods in hazardous conditions. Bangladesh urgently needs to take permanent, long-term and sustainable initiatives to change the situation.
According to experts, eliminating child labor requires—
•Long-term planning
•Sustainable initiatives
•Monitoring the informal sector
•Raising awareness among families and society
On World Day Against Child Labor, ILO Bangladesh Officer-in-Charge Gunjan Dalakoti expressed concern over the stalled progress in eliminating child labor in Bangladesh.
