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In 2023, Bangladesh made minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Bangladesh Department of Inspections for Factories and Establishments identified 3,459 child labor violations, and border guards prevented 75 individuals, including children, from being trafficked into neighboring countries. Moreover, the government supported a project that supported the rehabilitation of children living and working on the street from the Dalit and Bihari minority groups. The government also continued to support UNICEF's Myanmar Curriculum Pilot, which enrolled 300,000 Rohingya children for the 2023–2024 academic year. The Myanmar Curriculum provides Rohingya students with formal, standardized education based on Burma’s national education system. However, Bangladesh is assessed as having made only minimal advancement because it continues to obstruct unannounced inspections in the Export Processing Zones. Under the Export Processing Zone Labor Rules, the Department of Inspections for Factories and Establishments is required to indirectly provide notice to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority, which may result in employers being notified of inspections in advance. The lack of routine unannounced inspections may leave potential violations of child labor laws and other labor abuses undetected in the Export Processing Zones. Moreover, the Bangladesh Labor Act does not apply to children working in all sectors in which child labor occurs. The government also did not publicly release information on its criminal law enforcement efforts related to child labor in 2023. In addition, penalties for child labor violations can only be imposed after a lengthy legal process, and, when courts do impose them, the fines are too low to deter child labor law violations.
I. Prevalence and Sectoral Distribution of Child Labor| Children | Age | Percent of Population |
|---|---|---|
| Working | 5 to 14 | 9.2% (Unavailable) |
| Hazardous Work by Children | 7 to 17 | Unavailable |
| Attending School | 5 to 14 | 88.4% |
| Combining Work and School | 7 to 14 | 8.2% |
† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.
Children at Higher Risk
Most child laborers in Bangladesh work in the informal sector. Children living in coastal areas are likely to engage in child labor in the fishing sector, including drying and selling fish. Children from the minority Bihari community are forced into work at a young age, and in jobs considered less desirable. Children experiencing homelessness are forced to beg, pickpocket, and sell drugs. In border areas, traffickers force children to produce and transport drugs. Children displaced by natural disasters are also at a higher risk for human trafficking and forced commercial sexual exploitation. Finally, there are reports of Bangladeshi officials taking bribes to provide human traffickers access to refugee camps and facilitate the trafficking of Rohingya children. NGOs allege that some officials allow traffickers to operate at the India-Bangladesh border and checkpoints.
Barriers to Education Access
More than 40 percent of schools lack basic sanitation facilities and hygiene services, and one in five schools lack safe drinking water. Many schools in Bangladesh are overcrowded and over 80 percent run double shifts of students. The country does not have an adequate number of teachers for an education system of its size. The Primary Teacher Training Institutes cannot keep up with the demand for teachers, particularly in rural areas. Other barriers to education include the high costs for transportation, uniforms, and school supplies. The Urdu-speaking Bihari minority children face education barriers due to having temporary addresses associated with residing in long-term camps. The Dalit and lower-caste Hindu children have lagged behind other groups in accessing education. According to reports, 60 percent of children with disabilities from ages 5 to 17 are not enrolled in formal education. Additionally, children born to mothers who are engaged in commercial sex face barriers in accessing education since they are not permitted to obtain legal birth certificates. Many children from this community do not know their father's name, which is a legal requirement to gain national identity cards or birth certificates needed for school enrollment. Although previous reporting indicated that the Bangladesh government closed Rohingya-operated schools and threatened to confiscate UN Refugee Agency-issued identity cards from Rohingya teachers and move them to the flood-prone island of Bhasan Char, this did not occur in 2023. Over 300,000 Rohingya students were enrolled for the 2023–2024 school year, setting a new record and marking the first time Rohingya refugee children of all ages will have access to education under the UNICEF Myanmar Curriculum Pilot.
II. Legal Framework for Child Labor* Country has no conscription
Although the Bangladesh government maintains a list of hazardous work prohibited for children, the list does not cover domestic work, in which children are known to work long hours and are exposed to violence and sexual assault. Additionally, the Bangladesh Labor Act does not meet international standards for minimum age for work because a number of sectors are excluded from its application, including seamen, ocean-going vessels, agriculture farms with fewer than 10 workers, and domestic work. Bangladesh does not criminalize the use of children for prostitution unless the child is under guardianship or a third-party has involved them in prostitution. Bangladesh criminalizes the use of children in the transport of drugs but does not criminalize the use of children in the production of drugs. The Bangladesh Constitution also does not criminally prohibit the recruitment of children by non-state armed groups. The government's Primary Education Act stipulates a separate compulsory education age at 10, but this law is not binding as it has not been published in the national gazette. Even if the law were in effect, children between the ages of 10 and 14 would still remain particularly vulnerable to child labor as they are not required to attend school and are not able to legally work without restriction.
III. Enforcement of Laws on Child Labor| Overview of Enforcement Efforts | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Has a Labor Inspectorate | Yes |
| Able to Assess Civil Penalties | Yes |
| Routinely Conducted Worksite Inspections | Yes |
| Unannounced Inspections Permitted | Yes |
| Has a Complaint Mechanism | Yes |
| Imposed Penalties for Child Labor Violations | Yes |
| Conducted Criminal Investigations for Worst Forms of Child Labor Crimes | Unknown |
| Imposed Penalties for Worst Forms of Child Labor Crimes | Unknown |
Between June 2022 and July 2023, 446 labor inspectors conducted 47,826 worksite inspections, finding 3,459 child labor violations. It is unknown whether investigations into suspected cases of the worst forms of child labor were conducted, prosecutions were initiated, or perpetrators were convicted.
The Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) is the official body of the government to promote, attract, and facilitate foreign investment in the Export Processing Zones, and is also responsible for ensuring business compliance with social, environmental, safety, and security regulations in these zones. Although the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) has authority to conduct inspections in the Export Processing Zones, it is required to notify the BEPZA's chairman in advance. Since some employers receive notification ahead of labor inspections, child labor violations may go undetected in the Export Processing Zones.
IV. Coordination, Policies, and Programs‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor.
For information about USDOL’s projects to address child labor around the world, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-project-page-search
† Program is funded by the Government of Bangladesh.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (52)
Although the Bangladesh Labor Act (BLA) allows formal sector workers to form and join trade unions, it excludes some informal workers including laborers, agricultural workers on farms with fewer than 10 workers, and domestic workers, in which large number of children work. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Labor Act prohibits trade unions in the export processing zones, which employ more than 502,000 workers. The government does not adequately enforce laws protecting freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, and labor leaders and organizers face violence, dismissal, blacklisting, and arrest. Since unions play a pivotal role in identifying and combating child labor, these restrictions may allow violations, including in the informal sectors, to go unreported.
