The grim world of our child workers

Child labour is an acute problem in Bangladesh. Children in the country are engaged in many 'worst forms of child labour', primarily in hazardous activities in agriculture and domestic service.
In 2002-2003, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) conducted the second National Child Labour Survey (NCLS). This survey has been designed and conducted in the context of the commitments made by the Government of Bangladesh, following the ratification of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182) 1999.
According to the survey, there are 4.9 million working children, 14.2 per cent of the total 35.06 million children in the age group of 5-14 years. The total working child population between 5 and 17 years old is estimated at 7.9 million. The proportion of boy and girl child workers, in the age group of 5-17 years, is 73.5 per cent and 26.5 per cent, respectively. The total number of working children aged 5-17 years in rural areas is estimated at 6.4 million as against 1.5 million in urban areas; as many as 93.3 per cent of all working children in the age group of 5-17 years operate in the informal sector. Agriculture engages 4.5 million - 56.4 per cent children - while the services sector engages 2 million - 25.9 per cent - and industry 1.4 million - 17.7 per cent. A total of 1.3 million children are estimated to be working 43 hours or more per week. More boys than girls are engaged in this form of child labour in all age groups.
Parallel to the National Child Labour Survey, an establishment survey and five baseline surveys on the worst forms of child labour in five segments - welding, automobiles, working as street children, battery re-charging, and transport, have also been conducted under the supervision of BBS with technical and financial support from the ILO.
The final reports of the establishment survey and the baseline surveys are now available. The factors that generate child labour in Bangladesh can be summarised as follows: the extreme forms of poverty play a crucial role. Child labour is part of a vicious cycle, with poverty coming as a main cause as well as a consequence. This implies that child labour cannot be addressed in isolation.  Among the features related to child labour, some are (i) rapid population growth, (ii) adult unemployment, (iii) bad working conditions, (iv) lack of minimum wages, (v) exploitation of workers, (vi) low standard of living, (vii) low quality of education, (viii) lack of legal provisions and enforcement, (ix) low capacity of institutions, (x) gender discrimination and (xi) traditional arguments in favour of child labour. One or more of the above contribute to the large numbers of children working under exploitative or hazardous conditions.
There is a direct link between child labour and education. Nearly 50 per cent of primary school students drop out before they complete primary education, and then gravitate towards work, adding to the number of child labourers. The high drop-out rates are correlated with the low quality of public primary education, low adult literacy, low awareness of the importance of education, teacher-student ratio - sometimes this goes up to 1 per 100 - non-availability of instructive and learning materials, and the cost of education. Basic primary education is free as far as direct costs and school books are concerned. But many indirect costs are involved as well, such as transport, uniforms, pens, pencils and exercise books (Khatas).
Bangladesh has only limited provisions for vocational skills training, and there are related constraints such as the quality of the skills training, market and employment linkages and certification. While this could be an attractive option for working/disadvantaged children and their families, neither the government nor the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have the institutional capacity and technical expertise required to deliver skills training facilities effectively.
Moreover, the level of awareness about the issue of child labour and laws prohibiting it is still low. Society in general has a rather indifferent attitude towards the problem. In many cases, there is no realisation that the children who are employed in, for example, domestic service, often have no access to education or medical care.
In 2011, Bangladesh made a moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. Bangladesh passed the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act 2012, which makes human trafficking - including labour trafficking - a capital offence; developed and fully funded a Child Labour Monitoring Information System to manage child labour-related data, and began implementation of a US$ 9 million child labour project. However, legal protection regarding child labour are limited and the capacity to enforce child labour laws remains weak.
The legislation concerned has tried to enrol more children in school and bring them away from work. The outcome did not follow as expected. Some children enrolled in school, but many sought works. Due to the law, many children took up hazardous and tiring jobs in the informal economy; including street hawking, welding, and working as female domestic help. It is worth noting that in Bangladesh schooling is compulsory at age 10. The minimum age for most child workers is 14; 18 for hazardous work.
Child labour in Bangladesh is most common in agriculture and in domestic service. Children in agriculture use dangerous tools, carry heavy loads, and apply harmful pesticides. Child labour is also found in poultry farming, drying of fish, salt mining, shrimp farming and operation of logistics. The children frequently work long hours, are exposed to extreme temperatures, and suffer high rates of injury from sharp tools. Children working in poultry farming and in drying fish expose themselves to harmful chemicals, dangerous machines, and long hours of work in the sun. They are also involved in industrial and manufacturing activities - aged below 18 - that include ship-breaking and recycling operations, production of soap, matches, bricks, cigarettes, footwear, furniture, glassware, jute and leather goods, textile products, work in garment factories, garbage picking and trash hunting, vending, begging, work as porters, van pulling etc. These children are vulnerable to various forms of exploitation, upon being brought to the dark world of selling or smuggling drugs. Many working children earn less than US$ 10 per month. Children, mostly girls, work as domestic servants at private households in the country. Domestic girl child helps work long hours and are subject to harassment, as well as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
Children collecting and processing shrimps fall victim to back injuries, repetitive strain, muscle inflammation, diarrhoea, and infections. Children working in the ship-breaking sector operate gas torches to cut iron into pieces and carry dismantled ship parts into the shipyards. They lack the physical strength necessary for ship-breaking, and run the risk of having cuts, burns, and exposure to hazardous chemicals. They engage in work at hotels and restaurants, where they may face long working hours; in the informal garment production, they are exposed to loud noise, extreme temperatures, sharp tools, intricate machinery, and dust. There is also evidence that children work in tea production, some for no wages.
Many Bangladeshi girl children are trafficked internally, and others across borders for sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked internally for domestic servitude and forced and bonded labour. Boys and girls are made to be involved in illicit activities including smuggling, trading in arms and drugs.
In 2006, Bangladesh passed a Labour Law setting the minimum legal age for employment at 14. Nevertheless, the enforcement of such a labour law is virtually impossible in the country, because 93 per cent of child labourers are employed in the informal sector such as small factories and workshops, home-based businesses and domestic employment. The labour code establishes 14 as the minimum age for work, and 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work; although it permits children aged 12 and 13 to perform light work with certain restrictions.
The writer is a retired Professor                  of Economics, BCS General             Education Cadre. [email protected]