Child Labour and Protection of Human Rights : A Study on the Notun Bazaar, Shekpara and Railway Station of Khulna city.

ABSTRACT

This study has done on the child labours of some selected points of the Khulna city. Child labour is a complex problem. It is controversial and emotional issues for the world, but the scenario is acute in the developing countries. The number of child labourers from 5 to 14 years is 250 million in the world today and of them 61% belongs in Asia. Bangladesh is contested terrain in this context and contained 6.5 million child labourers who constitute 16.6% of the total labour force of the country.

From the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh and the existing laws it is shown that the human rights of the child labourers are being violated. The study aims to identify existing situation of child labourers in the study area. It also identifies the condition of human rights in respect of child labours and show how they are being violated. The Shekpara, Notun Bazaar and Railway Station of Khulna city have been selected as the study area.

Data has been collected through questionnaire survey. Secondary information has been collected through Constitution of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Code, publications of UNICEF, books and journals. The collected data has been analyzed through statistical packages.  

It has recommended that provision of some new regulations and efficient implications of the existing laws can protect human rights of the child labourers

Chapter one: Introduction

1.1 Background

 Bangladesh is a developing country. Nearly 60% of the population in Bangladesh lives below the poverty line defined according to living standard of the country (Ahmed ,  1991).In most of the developing countries parents are largely dependent on their children particularly in their older ages. Children not only perform important work in house or outside but in many cases they are the main sources of support for parents in their old ages. Parents still view high fertility and large numbers of children as economically rational propositions since they become net procedures from an early age .The literature on the economics of the family and population quality, both for countries that are developed (Blanc, 1994) and developing emphasis the presence of parental altruism. The principle conclusion is that parents send their children to work out of concern for the household’s survival. This view of parental altruism is strongly supported by empirical evidence that consistently show poverty and unemployment as the main determinant of child labor.

  

Child labor is a complex problem. It is a controversial and emotional issue all over the world, but the scenario is more acute in the developing countries. The number of child labourers from 5 to 14 years is 250 million in the world today and of them 61% from Asia. Bangladesh is contested terrain in this context and it has 6.5 million child labourers who constitute 16.6% of the total labour force of Bangladesh. It is not just a question of a few thousand, but of several millions of children throughout the world, that are exploited at work or employed under conditions that seriously jeopardize their health, safety, education, morals and dignity (Amsterdam Conference, 1997).Work is an important aspect of life. The same is true of the work of children. But ‘Child Labour’ implies something different – that children are doing things that are harmful to their healthy development. They may be working in environments that are physically or morally dangerous or may be placing their soft bones and growing bodies under excessive strain, causing permanent damage. It is simply the single most important source of child exploitation and child abuse in the world today (ILO, 1998).According to the ILO, child labour is an economic activity conducted by a person below the age of 15. The children can be underpaid employees, independent tradesman or unpaid family workers (Moe, 1997).

The child labour problem has social and economic implications. Child labour has negative impact on the children’s health: it interferes with normal family life and prompts the breakdown of social control. Secondly, child labour interferes with education and therefore precludes the most effective participation in the privileges and obligations of citizenship. Thirdly; it involves the use of labour at its lowest level of productivity. It also prevents productive adulthood, causing economic loss to the society. The other negative effects of child labour includes: susceptibility to infections and diseases; Physical health hazard; fatigue; accidents due to long hours; psychological strain and stress arising out of poor working environment.

 The problem of child labour is a burning question in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world. The alarming rate of increase of child labour in Bangladesh has attracted the attention of conscious citizens as well as politicians and legislators.ILO has created the International program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1992. The objective of the IPEC is the elimination of child labor, particularly children working under forced labour conditions and occupations. There is a common interest between Government and non-government organizations (NGO) to stop the increasing trend of child labour. In 1995-96, the government of Bangladesh conducted an ILO-sponsored child labour survey. According to that survey the total number of child labourer is 65,84000 where the total number of children is 3,44,55000(BBS,october1996).In Bangladesh the first National Plan of Action for children entitled ‘Progoti’ was prepared for the period 1990 to 1995.The plan provides a framework for program improving the life opportunities and quality of living conditions of all children as per the principles of the convention on the rights of the child (CRC) ratified by Bangladesh in 1990 and the national children policy adopted in 1994. There is a need that they are provided opportunities for education, health care, recreation, human treatment and opportunities for development.

There are three important international agreements that provide a cohesive framework for policy and progress in linking education to the elimination of child labor. These are - 1) Convention on the rights of the child (CRC) adopted in 1989, 2) The ILO Minimum Age Convention 138 and Recommendation 146(1973) and 3) The declaration on Education for All (1990).In order to achieve education for all, Bangladesh has taken up many programs but currently a huge number of children are engaged in economic activities without going to school. There is a debate going on whether schooling and child work can simultaneously or not. The child’s entitlement to life, growth and development in a conductive and congenial atmosphere is, perhaps, believed to be a fundamental right in every society in the modern world. Children have a right to be registered immediately after the birth and to have a name and nationality, aright to play and to protection from all forms of sexual abuse (UNICEF, 1997).

The basic needs of children and the duties of the state towards them are enshrined in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The National Children Policy (1994) also highlighted the issue of child labour. A good number of laws relating to the rights of working children have been in operation in Bangladesh. Although the law prohibited the forced child labour, many children are forced to take different kind of jobs from early childhood for livelihood. The living condition of the child labour and the violation of their rights have been discussed in this study.

1.2 Rationale of the study

Child labour is in fact a reality of present time. They work for their own survival and also for offering assistance to their families that are found to be living in abject poverty. The issues relating to child labour have socio-economic causes that are by and large identical in all developing countries. Like many other problems, child labour emerged out of socio-economic conditions prevailing in our country. The low per capita income keeps the heads of families under stress. In such a situation parents in poor families normally avoid sending their children to schools. Instead, they engage them in different works. So child labourer continues to increase due to population growth, poverty in rural areas, and migration from rural to urban areas due to poverty, land erosion, inheritance laws and break-up of families. Child labor is a chronic problem that should be addressed because it is:

a child rights issue

a public health issue

a basic education and literacy issue

A coordinated approach to the child labor situation is not evident. The root causes of child labour run deep and require a long-term approach to effectively impact. Organizations that have been active in Bangladesh in this sector include the ILO and UNICEF through the medium of education and skills training. Moreover, there is no published study on working labour situation of different regions of Bangladesh. This study has been conducted on the three selected points of Khulna city which will highlight the overall conditions of the city. This study reflects the living pattern and the existing condition of the child labourers and it also shows how their rights are being violated that is how much they are being deprived and it propose some guidelines for protection of their rights. It will be helpful for realizing the conditions of child labourers of this area and various GO and NGO can take initiatives for their improvement. Some NGOs offer smaller programs targeting child labourer in specific industries and in the non-formal sector. Other groups approach child labour through poverty alleviation activities. The Government of Bangladesh, which ratified the Child Rights Convention in 1990, has recently begun a new child labour project dealing with hazardous forms of child labour.

1.3 Objective

Objective of the study that are selected are listed below:

(1)   To identify the existing situation of child labourers in Khulna city.

(2)   To present the condition of human rights in respect of child labour and their violation.

(3)   To propose some guidelines to protect human rights of the child labourers.

1.4 Limitations

There are mainly two limitations of the study. They are

Ø  This study has been done with the three selected points of Khulna city. That is Shekpara, Notun bazaar and Khulna Railway station. This study does not cover the whole country even not the Khulna city. This has been done with a very limited area in limited time.

Ø  Another main limitation is in this study the rights of the child labourers have been emphasized but another issues have not been. It represents only one aspect not all of their problems.

Ø  A small number of female child workers have been included in the study because the survey work has been conducted mainly in the industrial and commercial area that is in the working places of the child labourers.The residential areas have not been surveyed. So, this study overlooks the problems of the domestic child workers.

Besides these at the time of performing the work some limitations have been faced. Those are discussed below:

                                i.            In some cases survey was required to do round the year which was not possible because of limited study period.

                              ii.            It is very difficult to have direct answer from the child labourers, because they did not understand the questions and sometimes they did not like to give answer, it was time consuming to get accurate answer from them.

                            iii.            Some questions was difficult to ask, such as about their overtime payment, their pattern of weekly leave, are they being forced or tortured for by their employers etc.The children were afraid to answer some questions at the presence of their employers. So it was very difficult to collect the real fact in some cases.

                            iv.            The employers did not like to talk to them at their working time and sometimes they hesitated and resisted to take the photograph s of the working area bearing the fear that it will be published and may be subjected to the legislative complications.

1.5 Operational definition

1.5.1 Child: Age limits formally regulate children activities. There is a wide variation in the definition of ‘child’. It also differs from country to country and even from activity to activity within a country. For example, minimum age for all work in Egypt is 12, in the Philippines 14, in Peru 14 (UNICEF, 1997:25). Bangladesh is a unique example of variation. The Factory Act of 1965 fixed the minimum age at 14 years for admission to employment, the Shop and Establishment Act of 1965 set the minimum age at 12, the Employment of Children Act of 1938 set it at 15, the Children Act of 1974defined ‘child’ as a person under the age of 16 years.(Rahman,1981:19-25).

According to the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Children 1989 “All persons below the age of 18 are designated as children.” Even ILO has adopted a number of conventions and recommendations concerning minimum age of children. The minimum age (industry) convention, 1919 maintains that no child under 14 years should be employed in any industry, the minimum age (non-industrial employment) convention (revised), 1937 laid down the provision that no child under 13 years of age should be employed in non-industrial occupations, the minimum age (coal mines) recommendation, 1953 recommended restriction on employment of children in coal mines below 16 years.

According to the National Children Policy of Bangladesh ‘Boys and Girls under 14 years of age will be considered as children ’. (MOWCA, 1994:3).This standard has been maintained in this study.

1.5.2 Child labour: According to ILO, “Child labour is an economic activity conducted by a person below the age of 15”. According to the Social Work Dictionary (1995:55), “it is paid or forced employment of children who are younger than a legally defined age.”

 1.6 Literature review

Literature review is a step of reviewing all the pioneer works done in the field of present study with a view to identify the knowledge gap between the present study and the pioneer works. It is thus, searched for the necessity and scope of the present study. Some pioneer works have been reviewed here, which are relevant to the present study.

Sharma, Mittar (1990), in his book entitled “Child Labor and Urban Informal Sector”, has highlighted the role of child labourer in urban informal sector. The employment of children in the informal sector is preferred, because the employers consider it as a source of cheap labour and quick profit. The socio-economic structure, the family base, the level of income and employment, the occupational mobility and the contribution of child labourer has been analyzed here. In this study the causes of child labour, their level of earnings and it’s impact on the household income and the their working condition has also been analysed.It has mainly discussed on urban informal sector and highlighted the profile of child labour. As a whole this book gives some clear idea about urban informal sector, and with this aspect the profile of child labourer  mainly their wage structure, socio-economic condition of their family, their working condition ,their level of earnings and income distribution and poverty of their family. Beside these this migration aspect of the problem has also been analyzed here. In the concluding chapter of the publication, the writers include that the children in the informal sectors are without protection, the writers suggested that a comprehensive legislation for the child labourer employed in the informal sector be enacted.

Rahman (1996), his book entitled “Hazardous Child Labor in Bangladesh” has been carried out under a project of social services, Ministry of social welfare, Government of Bangladesh. It has identified the physically hazardous child labour, the possible offending agents related to this occupation and the nature and extent of harm caused to the child workers. It has identified the hazards from every type of works specifically. It has represented some details information about medical symptoms by occupation, accidents and injuries by occupation, conditions of employment by occupation, environmental hazards and hazards related to work. It has shown some negative impact of child labour such as- the effect on child health, education, productive adulthood and economic loss to the society. Besides these there is susceptibility to infections and diseases, physical health hazard, fatigue, accidents due to long hour’s psychological strain and stress arising out of poor working environment.

Khan (2001), in his book entitled “Child Labor in Dhaka City” has analyzed the oppressive reality of child laborers of Bangladesh as a whole and of Dhaka city in particular. It is a research book based on author’s M.phil thesis submitted to NTNU Norway in 2000. The writer critically analyses the issues from conceptual and practical views and examines legal provisions and government programs on the subject. This book highlights some basic areas of child labour in Bangladesh like health and nutritional status, life and living conditions, child rights, schooling of child labourer etc. The author has also tried to focus on some selective issues Such as - the socio-economic background of child laborers in the particular area; the day –by- day living conditions of the working children especially accessibility of basic needs like food, shelter,health,recreation etc;The job and working conditions of child laborers , their income, time of work, employers and guardians’ attitude towards child laborer; the impact of child labour on the working children’s health and nutrition status; the main causes of child labour; the legal position, child rights situation and children’s expectation towards future and made several valuable recommendations for phase wise elimination of child labour.

Kabeer, Nambissan, Subramanian (2003), in his book entitled “Child Labor and the Right to Education in South Asia” described the outcome of a workshop ‘need vs. Rights? Social policy from a child – centered perspective’ held in New Delhi in July 1999.The Delhi workshop discuss the issue of child labour and education in the context of the apparent conflict that is posed between the economic needs of families and the rights of their children. The presentations at the workshop form the chapters of this book. The chapters of the book are divided into four thematic areas: alternative perspectives on children, childhood and child labour; socio-economic context of work and school; policy context for addressing child labour and education; and operationalising the right to education: government and non- government intervention. From the findings of the study it has been represented that a disproportionate percentage of child labourer and out of school children are drawn from households characterized by irregular earnings and lack of assets, savings or access to credit. These findings strongly suggest that the explanations for child labourer and poor educational performance are mutually reinforcing rather than mutually exclusive.

“Child labour targeting the intolerable”, an ILO publication stated that the world community is calling for an end to the intolerable: the persistent exploitation of children in slave - like and bonded conditions, in hazardous work, in prostitution, pornography and other unspeakable situations. Drawing an ILO action against child labour, including the experience of the ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour and other initiatives, this report chronicles the exploitation and abuse of working children, surveys international and national law and practice and points the way toward effective practical action to remove children from debt bondage, prostitution and hazardous occupations and activities.

 “The State of the Worlds Children 1997”, is a journal of UNICEF which has focused on the world’s child labour situation. The dimension of the problem of children of different countries and their situation is stated here. It has discussed these with statistical tables. The journal has highlighted the rights of children and emphasized the need for stopping the hazardous and exploitative child labour.This journal gives good idea of child labour situation, their common causes and hazardous child labours of different countries of the world.

 Halim (1996), in his book entitled “Role of Voluntary Organizations in the Protection of Human Rights at the Grassroots” explained how voluntary organizations are working for the protection of human rights of the children. In this research paper it has been identified about the type voluntary organizations which are employing effort to protect the different rights of the children and their role has been described in case of care and protection of children, serving the health and educational rights of the children, exploitation of the child laborers and the protection of their rights etc. Their weakness of and how they can be utilized effectively has also been explored in this research paper.