Child workers keep going unsung

Keeping the May Day in view, it is heartening to note that the number of child workers in the country has almost halved in the last 10 years. But a grim fact also goes with the day's essence: of the total child workers in Bangladesh, 42.9 per cent are still engaged in hazardous jobs. Besides, compared to many developing countries the rate of child labourers in the country is still high.
Bangladesh has recognised the employment of child workers in risky jobs as a major issue, apart from supporting provisions in a number of international charters on child labour. It has backed the initiatives of International Labour Organisation (ILO) and that of the UN. The government identified child labour in the country as a serious issue in its Second National Plan of Action for Children (1997-2002). From then on, the scourge of child labour in the country began receiving serious national focus. Roundtables, discourses and symposiums on the issue continue to be held with renewed urgency.
Despite fall in the total number of child workers, scores of minor children are still engaged in jobs demanding back-breaking labour. This is seen in the  urban areas, especially the capital and the other large cities. Child labour prevails in villages too; but due to its link to the rural families concerned and age-old practices, it remains out of legal monitoring. Thanks to the scant focus on the brazen use of child farm hands, the issue of school dropouts goes mostly unnoticed. By comparison, the rural children are, however, in a better position. In the cities, many are employed in jobs that keep them exposed to toxicity, harmful fumes & substances for long hours. The workplaces are generally unhygienic. They are crammed and devoid of safety measures. Due to this, in the incidents of fire child workers become easy victims.
Bangladesh recognises that it is extreme poverty that prompts both male and female children to take hard jobs. In many cases, they are coaxed by their parents into picking hazardous works. In a sense, the authorities cannot bar the factory owners from taking children for jobs that actually suit adults. The 1994 national child policy gives a virtual seal of approval to child labour. It is implied in the policy that as per the dictates of reality, children are compelled to go for earning money to help meet the basic needs of their families. As a corollary, 12 per cent of the country's total labour force at present is children. It is highly distressing that the national child policy has yet to be materialised by accomplishing the foremost task -- reduction in child labour.
There is a major reason for a child's being the prime choice of factory owners. Child workers cannot bargain. They do not have unions or access to elite labour-related forums. They have to remain content with whatever they are offered in exchange for their labour. They spend the same hours on their work as the adult labourers. Their tender age is not taken into consideration. As viewed by social scientists, upon being engaged in hazardous physical work a child begins losing his or her psychological capabilities. It hampers the child's ability to pursue education at school. As a large segment of the country's population comprises children in the age-group of 14-18, child labour chips away at the country's prospects for educated human resources.
At the same time, the scourge of child labour is deeply related to child rights. Whenever children are engaged in physical labour, either voluntarily or on being compelled by parents, they get robbed of their special rights.
No matter if they work at factories, farms, residences or in the transport sector, our 'future citizens' keep being shortchanged everywhere. We love to frame high-sounding and lofty laws; but, finally, those are made to gather dust. In many other sectors, such failure may be overcome by stopgap remedies. But when it comes to children, the drawback leads to a nation of stunted talents.    
shihabskr@ymail.com