Child labour on rise in Jhenidah

‘Healthy kids, healthy economy’, a concept has never been conceived in Bangladesh, let alone Jhenidah, a small district of the country where the child labour is growing fast.
The number of child labour in Jhenidah has doubled to at least 20,000 in five years.
According to non government organisation -- Shonar Bangla Foundation  in Jhenidah --,  in six upazilas of Jhenidah the children are engaged in various hazardous work.
They work in restaurants and hotels, confectionaries, workshops, cold storages, groceries, brick fields, motor garages, tea stalls, public transports and chemical and dying factories.
Executive director of the NGO Shibupado Biswas said these children, many of them sleep on pavements at night, have been engaged in risky jobs such as welding at workshops without wearing safety gear.
He said after the hard labour these children, many of them are abandoned by their parents, crowd bus terminals, rail station or backstreet pavements at night.
NGO officials said these poor children are being cheated through discrimination in daily wages. Where an adult gets Tk 280-300 for a day’s work a child is paid only Tk 100-150.
They said these minor boys are often subjected to torture by their employers.
The NGO officials said a large number of children are also suffering from various chronic diseases like asthma, TB, jaundice, bronchitis, kidney infection and skin and eye ailments.
Activist of Manabdhikar Bastobayon Shongostha, Jhenidah unit, Aminur Rahaman Tuku said the number of child labour is dangerously increasing in the town. “The country’s labour act is being flouted by the employers. There is a need to scrutinise the child labour act and for its effective application to stop use children in hazardous work,” he said.
He said the Child Labour Act, 1974 has recommended that an employer of child labour in his/her work place will be fined Tk1000. Section 34 of the same act has also stated that an employer engaging a child below 16 years of age will be imprisoned for two years or fined Tk 1000 or both.
In Jhenidah’s Hamdah area, it is found that child labours are engaged in over 30 welding workshops.
Nayan, 11, son of Moktar Ali of Kashipur village in Kaliganj upazila, said his tailor master once pressed electric iron on his chest and got injured. Mosharraf Hossain owner of Bari Tailors at the Islamia Super market had immediately fled after the incident.
Jhenidah district primary education office sources said the number of dropout from the schools is staggering. Nearly, 30 percent of the children enrolled do not come back to schools, they said.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Jhenidah Md. Mahbub Alam Talukdar said the number of child labourer is increasing in the district. A section of unscrupulous people in the society is engaging these innocent children in different crimes, including smuggling and narcotics business and spoiling their lives.
Some businessmen also take advantages of poverty and engage children at their work places at low wages, he said.

Child labour on rise in Jhenidah

Healthy kids, healthy economy, a concept has never been conceived in Bangladesh, let alone Jhenidah, a small district of the country where the child labour is growing fast. The number of child labour in Jhenidah has doubled to at least 20,000 in five years. According to non government organisation -- Shonar Bangla Foundation in Jhenidah --, in six upazilas of Jhenidah the children are engaged in various hazardous work. They work in restaurants and hotels, confectionaries, workshops, cold storages, groceries, brick fields, motor garages, tea stalls, public transports and chemical and dying factories. Executive director of the NGO Shibupado Biswas said these children, many of them sleep on pavements at night, have been engaged in risky jobs such as welding at workshops without wearing safety gear. He said after the hard labour these children, many of them are abandoned by their parents, crowd bus terminals, rail station or backstreet pavements at night. NGO officials said these poor children are being cheated through discrimination in daily wages. Where an adult gets Tk 280-300 for a days work a child is paid only Tk 100-150. They said these minor boys are often subjected to torture by their employers. The NGO officials said a large number of children are also suffering from various chronic diseases like asthma, TB, jaundice, bronchitis, kidney infection and skin and eye ailments. Activist of Manabdhikar Bastobayon Shongostha, Jhenidah unit, Aminur Rahaman Tuku said the number of child labour is dangerously increasing in the town. The countrys labour act is being flouted by the employers. There is a need to scrutinise the child labour act and for its effective application to stop use children in hazardous work, he said. He said the Child Labour Act, 1974 has recommended that an employer of child labour in his/her work place will be fined Tk1000. Section 34 of the same act has also stated that an employer engaging a child below 16 years of age will be imprisoned for two years or fined Tk 1000 or both. In Jhenidahs Hamdah area, it is found that child labours are engaged in over 30 welding workshops. Nayan, 11, son of Moktar Ali of Kashipur village in Kaliganj upazila, said his tailor master once pressed electric iron on his chest and got injured. Mosharraf Hossain owner of Bari Tailors at the Islamia Super market had immediately fled after the incident. Jhenidah district primary education office sources said the number of dropout from the schools is staggering. Nearly, 30 percent of the children enrolled do not come back to schools, they said. Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Jhenidah Md. Mahbub Alam Talukdar said the number of child labourer is increasing in the district. A section of unscrupulous people in the society is engaging these innocent children in different crimes, including smuggling and narcotics business and spoiling their lives. Some businessmen also take advantages of poverty and engage children at their work places at low wages, he said.