Community inclusion vital to eliminate child labour
Poverty is not the only factor, rather failure to connect families and communities with social safety programmes is the challenge contributing to the rise in child labour in Bangladesh, stressed speakers at a workshop yesterday.
The national workshop, titled "The Review of National Plan of Action to Eliminate Child Labour", was jointly organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) and Unicef at a city hotel.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sultan attended the workshop as the chief guest.
"In order to end child labour in Bangladesh, we have financial support and training programmes. To prevent families from sending their kids to work, money is occasionally offered to the family as well," said the state minister.
"Unfortunately, it will not be possible to completely eradicate child labour by the end of 2025. Most likely, we may not achieve this ambition until 2030," she added.
Emma Brigham, deputy representative of Unicef Bangladesh, said, "Unfortunately, far too many children are deprived of their rights. Children should enjoy the life of the child, outside the workforce."
"Bangladesh has come a long way in reducing child labour over the last several decades. However, in the last year, the progress slowed down due to the pandemic. It is necessary to invest in social workforce, labour inspection, effective social protection measures, and strong enforcement of existing policies," she added.
Md Ehsan-E-Elahi, secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, also addressed the workshop, attended by representatives of several relevant ministries.
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