National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labour in Bangladesh

National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labour in Bangladesh

Legislation

Existing legislation is antiquated and fragmented and deals only with children working in the formal sector. There is no single code or law dealing with this area. Cooperation between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) will include a review of existing child labour laws with a view to removing anomalies, fixing a uniform minimum age for admission to work at 14 years (18 years for hazardous occupations), and prohibiting the employment of children in hazardous operations in shops and other establishments.

Minimum age for admission to employment in the formal sector

There are a number of statutes, which stipulate the minimum age at which children can legally work in certain sectors. These are:

(a) Mines (Mines Act 1923) - 15 years (with medical certificate of fitness);

(b) Shops and other commercial establishments (Shops and Establishments Act, 1965): 12 years;

(c) Factories (Factories Act, 1965): 14 years (with medical certificate of fitness);

(d) Railways and ports (Employment of Children Act, 1938): 15 years;

(e) Workshops where hazardous work is performed (Employment of Children Act, 1938): 12 years;

(f) Tea gardens (Tea Plantation Labour Ordinance, 1962): 15 years.

Regulation of hours and conditions of employment

Broadly speaking, the existing legislation requires that non-prohibited work by children in factories, on the railways, in ports, shops, commercial and industrial establishments, and mines take place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The Factories Act additionally imposes a limit of five hours' work per day for children and prohibits work in more than one factory on a given day.

Hazardous work

The Employment of Children Act, 1938, prohibits children under 12 years from working in workshops where any of a number of listed processes is carried on. Though not explicitly described as such, these processes are all hazardous. They include weaving, tanning and the manufacture of bidis, soap, carpets, matches, explosives and fireworks. However, an important exemption to this prohibition is made in the case of family owned and family run workshops not using outside hired labour. The Factories Act, 1965, prevents children under 18 years of age from working on dangerous machines without proper instruction on the dangers, and necessary precautions, in addition to training or supervision. All forms of forced labour are prohibited under the Constitution. Unlawful compulsory labour is also an offence under the Penal Code 1860.

Bangladesh is a signatory to the:

• ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182);

• ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29);

• ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No. 105);

• UN Convention