Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Bangladesh (Ratification: 2001)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information in its report, that the Narcotics Control Act, 1990 (as amended in 2004) (NCA), prohibits and punishes any kind of illegal operations regarding narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, and precursor chemicals. The Government indicates that, in accordance with the provisions of the NCA, in particular articles 9 and 10, the use of children in trafficking illegal drugs is clearly not permitted. The Committee observes that article 9 of the NCA prohibits the cultivation, production, processing, carrying, transportation, import, export, supply, purchase, sale, possession, preservation, warehousing or use of any narcotics (except alcohol, which is the subject of article 10). Furthermore, article 25 makes anyone who aids or abets any person in the commission of such an offence liable to imprisonment from three to 15 years and to a fine.

Articles 3(d) and 7(d)(2). Hazardous work and effective and time-bound measures. Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that it had drafted the Domestic Workers’ Protection and Welfare Policy, which contained provisions prohibiting the employment of children under 14 years in domestic work and proposing to establish regular inspection and monitoring mechanisms involving non-governmental organizations and civil society members for protecting the rights of domestic workers.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Domestic Workers’ Protection and Welfare Policy was adopted on 21 December 2015. This policy provides the legal framework for the protection of domestic workers, including child domestic workers, in Bangladesh. By virtue of this policy, any kind of indecent behaviour, physical or mental torture, towards domestic workers, is strictly prohibited and existing laws, including the Penal Code and the Women and Child Repression Prevention Act, are applicable. The Policy also sets the minimum age for light domestic work at 14 years, and hazardous domestic work at 18 years. However, the Committee notes that, in accordance with this policy, it is also possible for children to be employed as of 12 years of age, subject to the consent of the legal guardian of the child.

Referring to its General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, the Committee recalls that it considers that child domestic workers constitute a high-risk group who are outside the normal reach of labour controls and are scattered and isolated in the households in which they work. This isolation, together with the children’s dependency on their employers, lays the ground for potential abuse and exploitation. In many cases, the long hours, low or no wages, poor food, overwork and hazards implicit in the working conditions, affect the children’s physical health (paragraph 553). Therefore, considering that child domestic workers are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures it envisages taking, in the framework of the Domestic Workers’ Protection and Welfare Policy, to ensure that all children under 18 years of age are protected from performing hazardous work in the domestic work sector. In this regard, it requests the Government to adopt measures aimed at strengthening the capacity, or expanding the reach of the labour inspectorate with a view to ensuring that children under 18 years of age engaged in hazardous domestic work benefit from the protection afforded by the national legislation. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the imposition, in practice, of sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties on persons who subject children under 18 years of age to hazardous work.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that a National Child Labour Elimination Policy (NCEP) was adopted in 2010 to provide a broad framework for the elimination of child labour including in hazardous work.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, to implement the NCEP, the Child Labour National Plan of Action (NPA) was formulated for 2012–16 and extended until 2025, which focuses on nine strategic areas: (1) policy implementation and institutional development; (2) education; (3) health and nutrition; (4) social awareness raising and motivation; (5) legislation and enforcement; (6) employment and labour market; (7) prevention of child labour and safety of children engaged in the workforce; (8) social and family reintegration; and (9) research and training. Activities undertaken in the framework of the NPA include the drafting of a national Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for Children; the adoption of policies on occupational safety and health and on the protection of domestic workers in 2013; the adoption of the list of hazardous work; the adoption of the Youth Welfare Fund Act, 2016; and the organization of workshops and seminars on different aspects of child labour elimination by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, in collaboration with the social partners. The Committee further notes that Bangladesh is implementing other programmes to address child labour, one of which is the Country Level Engagement and Assistance to Reduce Child Labour (CLEAR) Project, 2013–17, in collaboration with the ILO. The CLEAR Project supports countries, including Bangladesh, in taking targeted actions to eliminate the worst forms of child labour.

However, the Committee notes that, while the number of children engaged in child labour in the country has significantly fallen from 2003 to 2013, going down from 3.2 million to 1.7 million, the incidence of child labour, including hazardous child labour, remains significant in the country. Indeed, according to the National Child Labour Survey conducted in 2013 and published in 2015, out of 3.45 million child labourers aged 5 to 17 years, 1.7 million are considered engaged in child labour, among which 1.28 million in hazardous work, in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fishing, construction, and more. Among the 1.28 million children engaged in hazardous work, 32,808 are in the 6–11 age group, 38,766 in the 12–13 age group, and 1,208,620 in the 14–17 age group. The Committee therefore urges the Government to continue its efforts to combat hazardous child labour in the country. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the specific measures adopted and the results achieved through the implementation of the various measures taken, including the NPA and the CLEAR Project.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. 1. Trafficking. The Committee notes the Government’s information that it took initiatives to halt cross-border human trafficking through the coordination and cooperation of the Rescue, Recovery, Repatriation and Integration (RRRI) Task Forces in Bangladesh and India. The Government indicates that the Ministry of Home Affairs developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the smooth and timely rescue, recovery, repatriation and integration of victims. Moreover, considering the prevalence of trafficking in Bangladesh and India, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The Committee notes the Government’s information that, from 2011 until 2017, 1,103 cross-border child victims of trafficking were identified. The Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to cooperate with neighbouring countries with a view to eliminating child trafficking for labour and commercial sexual exploitation. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress made in this regard and the results achieved.

2. Elimination of poverty. Following its previous comments, the Committee takes note of the Government’s detailed information regarding the proportion of the budget which was allocated to social protection and social empowerment programmes, as well as the plans and policies it has adopted, among which the Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010–21 (PPB), which aims to drastically reduce poverty and make Bangladesh a middle-income country by 2021. The Government also indicates that it has formulated a comprehensive National Social Security Strategy (NSSS), which will help reduce income inequality and contribute to growth and human development and which includes “Programmes for Children” as a core component. The NSSS prioritizes the poorest and most vulnerable members of society and aims to benefit a total of 35.7 million poor and vulnerable people through various social security schemes. The Committee also notes that the Government adopted the Seventh Five-Year Plan (2016–20), which puts an emphasis on the elimination of child labour through the reduction of discrimination, economic empowerment, and livelihood improvement. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute towards breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for eliminating the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts and to take the necessary measures to ensure that the PPB, NSSS, Seventh Five-Year Plan, and all other such initiatives, are implemented in such a way as to step up the process of elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Bangladesh. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress made in this respect and the results achieved.