Child Laborand

Related Issues

Dr. SAIFRoster 44

OBC 81 AMC/AECCaptain,

Bangladesh Army

AIM

To know the reasons behind child labor and how it affects society,

present situation of child labor in Bangladesh, measures available to stop it, and other related issues.

ScopeWho is Child ? What is Child Labor ?

Why Child Labor persists ?

What are the forms of Child Labor ?

Distribution of Child Labor depending on geography, culture, gender.

Child Labor condition in Bangladesh.

How can we eliminate and prevent Child Labor ?

Recommendation and Conclusion.

Who is a child ?

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) defines "child" as Anyone below

the age of 18.

What is child labor ?"Child labor" is, work by children that harms them in some way (physically, mentally, morally, or by blocking access to education).

According UNICEF“Child labor is work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of a child and on the type of work. Such work is considered harmful to the child and should therefore be eliminated.”

The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines child Labor as:  When a child is

working during early age.

He overworks or gives over time to Labor. He works due to the psychologically, socially, and materialistic pressure.

He becomes ready to Labor on a very low pay.

Does all work cause harm to children?

Any type of work done by children should be called Child Labor ?

‘NO’

A child harvesting coffee beans in Honduras, on December 2010.

Brothers looking after the grocery shop in temporary absence of their

father.

Why Child Labor persists ?Poverty is the greatest single cause behind child labor.

Other Causes include :

Illiteracy Lack of knowledge regarding children’s

health and rights Broken family/orphan child Unemployment of adult family members Early marriage Lack of educational facilities Certain cultural beliefs.

What are the forms of Child Labor ?There are many common to rare, but for better understanding, we can broadly categorize child Labor as :

a.Away from home/families Factories, mining, hotel boy, bus

helperb. Agriculture

Harvesting, farmingc. Household

cooking, Sewing, cleaningd. Others

drug trafficking, circus, begging etc.

Child working in a brick field to earn livelihood.

A 13 years old boy working with other adult workers in a coal mine.

A 10 years old girl in circus show. Now a days this are rare.

A Child working as waste collector for

the city Corporation of

Dhaka.

Children working in local Cigarette factory.

Distribution of Child Labor varies greatly depending on :

Geography Culture and Religion Gender Economic condition etc.

Child Labor index 2014 (Maplecroft)

Few works involves male child, such as mining, bus helper, metal and dye factory, tannery, garage.

On the other hand, female child commonly works as housemaid,

garments factory and child prostitution.

Shaheen, a 10yrs old boy working in an aluminum factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on

November, 2009

A young boy cleans parts of a vehicle, 2015.

Female child working as a housemaid is very common in Bangladesh

Girls just after reaching puberty or even before that age are often engaged in child

prostitution.

Child Labor condition in Bangladesh

At least 4.7 million or 12.6% of children aged 5 to 14 are in the work force. 

83% are employed in rural areas and 17% are employed in urban areas.

Agricultural activities include poultry farming, drying fish, shrimp farming, apply harmful pesticides etc.

Most child laborers in Bangladesh are employed in the informal sector that includes ship breaking, production of soap, matches, bricks, cigarettes, footwear, furniture, glass, jute, leather, textiles, restaurants, garbage picking, begging and van pulling. 

The Garments factory is the largest employer of child labor in the formal sector.

Working children, aged 5-17 7.4 million

Working children, aged 5-14 4.7 million

Children engaged in hazardous labor, aged 5-17 1.3 million

Child domestic workers 421,000Percentage of children (aged 5-14) engaged in regular child labor (2006)

12.8 %

Statistics on Child Labor distribution in Bangladesh

Statistics from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics,

Report on National Child Labor Survey

Complex relation of Child labor and poverty and other issues.

Poverty & child labor

Working child

Poor health

Lack of education

Unsafe home

environment

Poverty

Child carrying heavy load

A boy using wielding machine without protection.

A boy working as a Helper on a running vehicle which moves from Farmgate to Dhaka

Cantonment area.

Unhygienic working and living condition invariably leads to poor health and low productivity.

Some becomes crippled for lifetime, and many of them develops depression , anxiety or mental trauma.

How can we eliminate and prevent Child Labor ?

Policy makers of the Government have to take the issue seriously, and eradicate poverty and illiteracy.

Employees would not involve a child for any work which might deny the child of a normal childhood.

Various Plans for child welfare and Laws against child labor are implemented properly.

Things that can be done :

Child Labor Laws in Bangladesh

a. The Employment of Children Act 1975This act allowed for children aged 15 or up to work in the

railway industry and in transporting goods in port jobs.

b. The Factories Act 1965This act prohibited children under 14 to work in or

be present in factories.

This act prohibits children under the age of 12 from working in any establishment.

c. Shops and Establishment Act 1965

d. The Constitution of People's Republic of BangladeshIt prohibits all forms of forced labor under Article 34.

e. The Children Act 2013It focuses on different aspects of child welfare.

f. Labor Act 2006 (Bangladesh) Sets the minimum age for work to 14 years & 18 years for hazardous work.

What ‘We’ can do as a person to stop child labor ?

Rising awareness about children rights, thus changing view of the society.

Making people aware about the benefits of education and Providing free education for the orphans and poor children.

Running Campaign against child labor.

Participating directly or Donating in child welfare funds eg. in NGOs working for the rehabilitation of street children.

Contacting NGOs and informing them about child labor happening around us. We can also report to authority.

World Day Against Child Labor12 June

“Child labor has no place in well-functioning and well regulated markets, or in any supply chain. The message that we must act now to stop child labor once and for all has been affirmed by the Sustainable Development Goals. Acting together, it is within our means to make the future of work a future without child labor."Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General

We must have empathy. We have to consider the problem as our own.

Every citizen should be aware of own responsibilities and should take corrective measures.

Recommendations

Final words Considering the magnitude and effect, it is essentially a socio-economic problem that poses a great challenge towards the development of the nation.

It is extensively linked to poverty and illiteracy along with other facts, requires great effort from all class of the society to make a real change. Government along can not solve the problem.

Final Words…

Together we can make the world better.

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