March 15, 2024
DHAKA – Around 1.78 million children are trapped in child labour in Bangladesh and 1.07 million of them are engaged in hazardous work, according to a survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
The number of children aged between five and 17 engaged in child labour increased to 1.78 million in 2022 from 1.70 million in 2013, said the National Child Labour Survey-2022.
The total number of children in the country is around 40 million, it said.
The data collection took place from February 5 to May 5 2022.
The findings of the survey were unveiled yesterday at an event organised by BBS in collaboration with International Labour Organization (ILO) at the BBS auditorium in Agargaon.
At the programme, the final report titled “Establishment-Based Sector-wise Working Children Survey-2023” was also presented.
The survey said 38,008 children, aged 5-17, are working in 40,525 establishments that are involved in the five most hazardous sectors, out of the 43 classified as hazardous by the government.
Nearly 98 percent of them are boys, it found.
Engaged in such work, the children are being exposed to physical injury, mental distress, limited educational opportunities, perpetuation of poverty cycles, social exclusion and violations of their rights as children, speakers at the event said.
The survey highlighted that child labourers earn a monthly average of Tk 6,675, but there are 2.01 million children involved in domestic work, mostly females, many of whom do not receive any wages.
Data from the Establishment-Based Sector-Wise Working Children Survey-2023 revealed that of the five most hazardous sector, 24,923 work in motor vehicle maintenance and repair; 5,281 in footwear manufacturing; 4,099 in iron and steel casting; 2,805 in personal and household goods repair; and 898 in fish, crustacean, and mollusc processing and preservation.
As per the survey, nearly two-thirds, or 64.3 percent, of child labourers involved in hazardous work reside in urban areas within the specified sectors. Across the five sectors, children work for an average of 9.4 hours per day.
Around 20 percent are exposed to hazards such as fire, hot appliances, or dangerous electrical equipment; 31.1 percent are employed in occupations where breathing is restricted due to dust, fumes, or gases; and 14.8 percent work extended hours under the sun without break.
As per the survey, over half (51.4 percent) of establishments compensate child labourers with monthly wages of Tk 5,000 or below, while 28.7 percent pay wages of Tk 10,000 or less.
Mohammad Saddam Hossain Khan, deputy director and focal point officer of the National Child Labour Survey-2022, presented both surveys’ findings at the event.