State of Child Labour in Bangladesh 2001

Background:

Bangladesh is predominantly an agrarian society. By certain estimates, the country at present has a population of 1.30 million. The frequent occurrence of natural disaster compounded by political upheavals and mal-governance has contributed to slow growth and prevailing poverty. The situation of child labour in Bangladesh has become increasingly complex. The population at the grass roots level are unable to rise above the poverty line resulting in the increase of unemployment and movement /migration of individuals and families from the rural areas to urban areas. Each and every member of the family is required to engage in some form of economic activity to sustain the family. Even the youngest member of the family is no longer excluded from such contributions.

Inadequate resources and lack of opportunities necessitates engagement of all members in a family in some form of work. The issue of child labour has become acute. Child labour is a social problem. In this densely populated Bangladesh millions of children are suffering from malnutrition and diseases leading to death regularly. Those who survive are often deprived of parental care and support. Their fundamental rights are being violated. The mere needs to survive is pushing these children into hazardous labour. This situation involves taking major risks and being at the receiving end of harassment including sexual harassment.

Natural disaster, deterioration of the environment and gradual rise in poverty, illiteracy and inequitable distribution of wealth, compounded with lack of awareness of laws related to child labour and their enforcement is steadfastly contributing to the increase of child labour. The situation is not improving, as there is no serious efforts in either the public or private sector to offer redress and alleviate child labour.

It would be extremely difficult to describe and explain a complex issue such as child labour in a paragraph or two. It would require an extensive research and that too at the national level. Viewed from the perspective of social problem child labour is closely tied with the issue of child rights. The few study or research done to date have emerged from individuals and organizations working to understand or establish child rights. However, an extensive research is yet to be undertaken. Towards this end Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) engaged in this exercise.

Till date no research based on urban and rural context or on a geographical basis is available. Therefore, BSAF undertook this research keeping in mind the above consideration. The findings of this research highlight in both urban and rural context 430 types of child labour prevalent at present.

Contents

Summary
Rationale of the Study
Methodology & Objectives of the Project
Barriers/ Impediments to the Research
Children & Child Labour
Causes of Child Labour in Bangladesh
Causes of Increasing Child Labour in Bangladesh
Scope of Child Labour in Bangladesh
Hazardous Child Labour & its Description
Detail Basic Information Regarding Profession of Children Engaged in Hazardous Works
Domestic Laws at a glance relating to Child Labour
Child Labour Laws & Legal measures for the Law Breakers
Remarks & Presumption of Interviewees of the Organizations Visited in relation to Existing Laws
ILO Convention 182
Survey on Child Labour at Divisional Level
Areas visited in 6 Divisions for Research
Recommendations of Interviewees of different Organizations
Conclusion
Case Studies
Bibliography
List of organizations who helped providing information, journals and research documents during research
Acronyms

Summary

Bangladesh is a developing country with majority of its population being engaged in some form of labour with children forming a sizeable portion of the informal labour force. At an age when these children should be attending school they are involved in the struggle for survival. They take on the responsibilities of the family at an early age. They enter into many hazardous jobs. Without any hesitation it can be stated that despite the discourse and debate on child labour and its elimination there is not enough initiatives either in the government or non-government sector to combat it. The interventions are far from being adequate.

It may be mentioned that BSAF took up this research on child labour which culminated in the report “State of Child Labour in Bangladesh 2001.” The research was able to identify 450 forms of child labour in 6 divisions comprising of districts and upazillas. Of these, 67 forms of jobs were identified as extremely hazardous for children. These have been discussed in the formal, informal, rural, urban and regional context in the report. The report records and discusses the programmatic interventions of BSAF’s member organizations in the districts and upazillas, reflecting the views and opinions of the member organizations. Case studies of child labour have been incorporated in the report. As a result, related and important information on child labour is available in this report.

Rationale

Little research work has been done on child labour, which does not provide in-depth understanding of the problem. It is important have an understanding of the status of children to work on the issue. In addition, it is to be known about the organizations working with children at the grassroots level and to prepare a one-stop database compiling the relevant research works. It was considered as an useful exercise to document if possible, if not list the best practices in this field. It may contribute or influence planning of organizations and individuals at micro or macro level compiling the recommendations and presumptions of the organizations that has been doing good works to eliminate child labour or attempting to so that the development activists could initiate some work in their localities based on this research work.

With the expansion of the working sector in Bangladesh it is noticed that the nature and scope of hazardous child labour is increasing gradually. One of the objectives of this research was to identify these sectors in consultation with the grassroots NGOs. At present there is no information of such research to enable comparative analysis. This research has resulted in a report, which includes major information relating to child labour that will help engage the researchers to do in-depth study on the issue, which in turn, is expected to help develop policies and initiatives to eliminate child labour.

Research Methodology

The methods and techniques of the study entitled “State of Child Labour in Bangladesh” have been designed through a 3-day workshop where the Director of BSAF, consultant and study team were present. These are:

Issues of the Workshop

o The subject matter of the Research and demand;

o The process of selection of the formal and informal sector;

o Discussion on hazardous child labour;

o Directions in relation to the objectives of the research;

o Guidelines in relation to the methodology of the research;

o Formulation of Questionnaire;

o Guidelines for the use of Questionnaire;

o One to one discussion.

 

Objectives

o To understand the real status of child labour in Bangladesh;

o To create a reliable database on child labour in Bangladesh;

o To develop an understanding of the relative increase in child labour;

o To raise awareness with the intent to contribute in the process of eliminating child labour;

o To develop an comprehensive understanding of the nature and extent of hazardous child labour;

o To compile opinion, views/suggestions from organization in the region working with children and child rights;

o To collect information and form an understanding regarding programmatic interventions by NGOs for the elimination of child labour

Impediments

a) Time: Three months is inadequate to undertake a research requiring in-depth interview and observation from different parts of the country.

b) Sample: The sample of the research involves children across Bangladesh engaged in various forms of hazardous work. It is not sufficient for the study to collect information and observe children at the field level only in a few districts and upazilas of the 6 Divisions. However, despite limitations the information has been collected from organizations engaged in programmes targeting children.

c) Environment: May - July is the height of the monsoon season in Bangladesh and many regions are flooded. Therefore, the researchers had to face difficulties in collecting information.

d) Budget: Due to budget constraints a very small group of researchers collected required information from the upazilas and districts of the 6 Divisions.

e) Non-cooperation: It was difficult to gather information from the employers of children in hazardous jobs due to non-cooperation. Moreover, on many occasions the researchers had to visit an organization several times for interviewing the targeted individuals resulting in a time consuming exercise.

Children and Child Labour

Who is a Child?

A child can be defined within the purview of international labour standard. As per ILO convention (Convention - 138), any person below 15 years of age is called child. The Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) defines a person below the age of 18 years as a ‘child.’ Domestic labour laws in Bangladesh define child in various ways. The Children Employment Act, 1938 defines person below 15 years of age as child. According to the Factory Act, 1965 person below 16 years is called a child. A person under 14 years of age can be considered child as recommended by The National Labour Law Commission in 1992.

Who are Child Labourers?

The children engaged in labour force are mostly from unjust society or disadvantaged families do work mainly for three reasons:

o Earning money in exchange of labour;

o Getting food, cloth and accommodation;

o Learning by doing.

Based on these, the disadvantaged children can be termed child labourers who are engaged in labour market in order to earn their livelihood.

Child Labour and the Nature of Work

Almost all children are required to perform certain tasks, which are not necessarily hazardous. These contribute to their well being as well as that of their families. However, there are certain jobs, which are harmful to the children and are also considered exploitative. Unicef has identified these as 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 labour. The formal as well as informal child labour which is physically, mentally and morally harmful to children and do not commensurate with their needs and rights can be called child labour. However, any productive work which is conducive to the physical, mental and moral development of a child can be considered as child’s work.

Causes of Child Labour in Bangladesh

Child labour is the product of socio-economic reality of Bangladesh. The Status of Child Labour in Bangladesh, 1996 revealed three factors responsible for child labour:

Push Factor: The factors that compel a child to engage in the labour force for survival is called push factor. Acute poverty, death of family earner/father, abandoned by parents and natural calamities are the major factors that lead children towards labour market.

Attraction: With the increasing demand of labour force in the labour market there is a propensity of employing children as cheap labour by the factory owners or other employers. There are some gleaming things in urban areas that attract children towards labour market. Most of the employers employ children as because children are cheap and they can be easily persuaded to work long hours. In addition, they have minimal wage demands and are easily manageable.

Socio-psychological Factor: Due to failure in life, socio-psychological problem i.e. being frightened of parents and deception of family members, children engage in labour force for survival and sometime prefer a nomadic life.

Causes of increasing Child Labour in Bangladesh:

Geographical Cause: Geographically Bangladesh is surrounded in three sides by India and Mayanmar. Most areas are surrounded by rivers and some by haor and hills. Excessive rain, drought, flood and cyclone are regular phenomenon in Bangladesh. These contribute in various ways to the promotion of child labour discourse and also contribute to the increase of child labour.

Population: Bangladesh is considered to be a densely populated country with high ratio of population growth where poverty is pervasive and widespread. Consequently, vast majority of children from the poverty stricken families are getting into the labour market.

Natural Cause: Bangladesh is a disaster prone country. Every year natural disaster hits Bangladesh.

Social Cause: The poor section of people are subjected to various exploitation by the well-to-do people. Illiteracy, unemployment and abuse of power by the elite results in the poor section of the people remaining at a disadvantaged position. Religious and cultural practices compound the problem.

Economic Reason: Development and economic growth is inadequate in comparison to its population growth. There are not enough economic opportunities for majority of the rural population leading to poverty remaining a major problem. Children from such poverty ridden families are thrust into the labour market eventually.

Pseudo-Unemployment: Due to scarcity of work and lack of scope for skilled labour, some people take up low income jobs and run their families on this income with great difficulty. At times they lead their children to labour market stopping their school.

Polygamy: Due to the practice of polygamy a man may have several wives and children and is unable to provide food, clothing and shelter for all. As a result children from such families may end up joining the labour market.

Addiction: An addicted person spends the lion share of his/her earnings in addiction and due to insolvency of the family, children engage in labour market.

Ineffectiveness of Law: Due to lack of enforcement of the existing Labour Laws, a section of owners - mostly profit oriented encourage children in labour force.

Inadequacy of Law: An absence of clear and specific laws to address issues and problems of child labour, children are entering the labour force and there is acceptance and no major deterrent.  

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