Child Labour

When children undertake jobs which are risky in regards to their age, exploitative in nature and in conflict with the existing laws, it is identified as child labor. The formal as well as informal child labor which is physically, mentally and morally harmful to children and do not commensurate with their needs and rights can be called child labor. However, any productive work which is conductive to the physical, mental and moral development of the child can be considered as child’s work.

The joint UNICEF-ILO report of a regional training workshop held in Bankok, Thailand (November, 1994) went on to comment that; “ it is not work per se but the conditions and working environment, the relationship between the employer and the employee and the long term effects of work on children that determines whether the work is exploitative or not. Child labor implies that children are exploited, overworked, and deprived of their rights to health or education or just to childhood.”

1.1 Different forms of child labor:

  1. Child labor in general;
  2. Hazardous child labor;
  3. Worst forms of child labor;

Child labor in general: Bangladeshi Child Workers are involved in 430 types of economic activities (Source: Situation of Child labor in Bangladesh 2001,Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum ). Such as:

Types Child Labor in general in Bangladesh

 1. Cultivation of land
 2. Planting of paddy
 3. Clearing weeds in the paddy field
 4. Harvesting of paddy
 5. Separation of grain from paddy
 6. Reaping of jute
 7. Cleaning of jute sticks
 8. Drying of jute
 9. Selling of jute
10. Planting of sugarcane
11. Engage in preparing sheaf of sugarcane
12. Harvesting of sugarcane
13. Pounding of sugarcane
14. Selling of molasses
15. Chasing of birds from the field
16. Cultivation of vegetables
17. Selling of vegetables
18. Plucking of betel -leaves
19. Processing of betel leaves
20. Selling of betel leaves
21. Plucking of betel-nut
22. Drying of betel-nut
23. Peeling of betel-nut
24. Selling of betel-nut
25. Plucking of mangoes
26. Plucking of leeches
27. Cleaning of weeds prior to jhum cultivation
28. Burning of twigs/dry leaves
29. Planting of seeds for jhum cultivation
30. Preparing the soil for plantation of jhum and weeding

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