World Day Against Child Labour Today
'Incorporate child labour issue into nat'l agri policy'
Staff Correspondent
The issue of child labour should be incorporated into the national agriculture policy to effectively combat it as 56 percent of the child labour are in the agriculture sector, said child rights activists yesterday.The issue has come to the forefront as the nation observes today and the theme of the day is 'Harvest the Future: Agriculture Without Child Labour.' Leaders of non-government organisations working to protect child rights urged the caretaker government to finalise the national child labour policy immediately and form a special task force to take stern action against hazardous child labour. "Thousands of boys and girls aged 5-14 work as child labourers on farms and plantations across the country. They are often exposed to hazards and risks as they mix, handle and apply toxic pesticides, use dangerous cutting tools, work in extreme temperatures and operate powerful farm vehicles and heavy machinery," said AR Chowdhury Ripon, executive director of Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) at a press conference in the city. He also said that the caretaker government should take measures to enact special laws on child labour. SM Morshed, vice-chairperson of OSHE, said the total number of child labour in the country is 3.18 million and 56 percent of them are working in agriculture sector. "We should give priority to the agriculture sector and take some measures to curb the child labour because the highest number of child labour are working in this sector," he said. In another press conference, leaders of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) said attempts by government and non-government organisations to curb child labour have failed due to poverty and social ignorance. They also said that political commitment and the formulation of a national child labour policy are essential to eliminate hazardous child labour. "According to a survey conducted by International Labour Organisation (ILO), Bangladeshi children are working in 438 types of jobs," said Wahida Banu, chairperson of BSAF. She also said it is time to give attention to rural child labour because the rural children cannot attend school for their involvement in farm work. AS Mahmud, project co-ordinator of BSAF, stressed the need to raise awareness and provide vocational training and informal education for working children and microcredit for the parents.
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