A.

Introduction

Who is a Juvenile or Young Person or an Adolescent?

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines the word “Juvenile” as “a

young person who is not yet adult (as a noun) and “characteristics of a young
people who are not yet adults”.

The Oxford dictionary also defines the word “Adolescent” as “a young person in
the process of developing from a child into an adult, i.e. roughly between the
ages of 13 and 17.

The adolescent grows up to become the adult. The words adolescent and adult
ultimately come from forms of the same Latin word, adol scere, meaning "to
grow up." The present participle of adol scere; adolescence, from which
adolescent derives, means "growing up," while the past participle adult us, the
source of adult, means "grown up."

Finally, the formal definition of the word “Child” is, “a young person from birth to
the age of full physical development”.

Provisions in the law for employment of Children & Young Persons1?

The Employment of Children Act, 1938 and Rules 1955

The Employment of Children Act 1938 prohibits the employment of children

below the age of 15 in any occupation connected with transport of passengers,
goods or mails by railway or involving the handling of goods within the limits of

1
The terms “young persons” and ‘juvenile” shall be used interchangeably in this write-up

1
any port. It further prohibits the employment of children below 12 years in any
workshop wherein the process of bidi making, carpet weaving, cement
manufacture, cloth printing manufacture of matches and explosives, mica-
cutting and depleting are carried on.

The Act (& rules) mentions that Employing or permitting children of less than 15
years is prohibited in any occupation [sec 3(1)]. Children up to the age of 17 must
not be employed in any such occupation referred to in sub-sec. (1) unless interval
of at least 12 consecutive hours is allowed to them, which must include 7
consecutive hours between 10pm and 7am [sec 3(2)].

Criteria as mentioned in different labor laws

(before Bangladesh Labor Code 20062)

The Factories Act of 1965 fixes the minimum age of children as 12 years for
employment in factories. No child is allowed to work in a factory unless he is
certified physically fit, and children between 16 and 18 years of age not certified
fit as such, are treated as children under the provisions of the Act. Under the
Factories Act, the employment of children less than 15 years of age is prohibited
for cleaning or oiling any moving part of the factory. The government is further
empowered to make rules prohibiting or restricting the workers for work which
has the risk of serious bodily injury, poisoning or disease.

Under the Mines Act 1923, child below 15 years is allowed to work in mines
either on surface or below ground. The employment of children between 15 and
17 years underground is dependent on their being declared medically fit.
Persons below 17 years shall be employed in such manner that they get a rest
interval of 12 consecutive hours out of which 7 hours shall fall between 7 pm and
7 am.

2
Many of the laws mentioned below have been repealed after the passing of the Bangladesh Labor Code
2006 but many sections and provisions have been used in the new labor law.

2
For employment in shops and commercial establishments, the Shops and
Establishment Act of 1965 provides that no person below the age of 12 years is
to be employed in a shop or establishment covered by this Act.

For employment at sea the minimum age fixed under the Merchant Shipping
Act, 1983 is 14 years. A young person between fourteen and eighteen years of age
can only be carried to sea in any capacity if declared medically fit. Persons below
18 years of age may not be employed as stokers or trimmers, except in coastal
ships where they may be employed if above 16 years of age.

Definitions as per the Bangladesh Labor Code 2006

According to the Bangladesh Labor Code 2006 [sec 2(63)], “child means a person
who has not completed fourteen (14) years of age” and “adolescent means a
person who has completed fourteen (14) years but has not completed eighteen
(18) years of age” [sec 2(8)].

According to section 34 (1) & (2) of the Bangladesh Labor Code 2006, ‘no child
shall be required or allowed to work in any profession or establishment, and a
young person shall be allowed to work in any factory if he has a certificate of
fitness granted to him in the custody of the owner of the establishment & he
carries a token giving a reference to such certificate.

3
Table 01: Comparative View of the definition of Children in different laws
Name of Act/Ordinance Who is a Child?
Children Act, 1974 up to 16 years
Children (Pledging of Labor) Act 1933 up to15 years
Employment of Children Act 1938 up to 15 years in case of railway
(& rules 1955) transport and carriage of goods
in port up to 12 years in case of
specified hazardous occupations
Tea Plantation Labor Ordinance, 1962 up to 15 years
up to 16 years
Factories Act, 1965
Shops and Establishment Act, 1965 up to 12 years
Road Transport Workers' Ordinance, 1961 up to 18 years
Mines Act, 1923 up to 15 years
Bangladesh Labor Code 2006 up to 14 years

So, it is evident that due to varying age limitations (of being called a child or a
young person or an adolescent), young persons and children are being employed
in different establishments (garments, transport, mines, other manufacturing
concerns) from time to time.

4
2. Working Hours, Leave &
Other facilities of Juvenile Workers
(as per the Bangladesh Labor Code 2006-Comparisons & Criticisms)

Working hours for juvenile workers/ young persons [sec 41 (1-8)]

According to the Bangladesh Labor Code 2006 [sec 41 (1-8), the maximum limit
allowed for a juvenile worker in any factory or establishment is five (5) hours per
day and shall not exceed thirty (30) hours in a week.
Previously, as per the Factories Act, 1965, Section 70:
A child cannot be employed in a factory to work for more than five hours in a day and
between the hours of 7pm and 7am.
Again, the Shops and Establishments Act, 1965 and Rules 1970 mentioned:
A young person who has not completed eighteen years is allowed to work in any
establishment provided that he does not work for more than seven hours a day or 42
hours per week. These limits may be extended to 52 hours per week if overtime
payments are included.

This means that any juvenile worker can work six (6) days a week maximum
without being engaged in overtime.

Overtime provisions
Again, the law mentions [under sec 41(2)] that no young person shall be allowed
or required to work in any establishment for more than seven (7) hours in any
day and forty-two (42) hours in a week.
Additionally, sec 41 (4) specifically mentions that no young person shall be
allowed to work for more than thirty six (36) hours (in a week) in case of factory
or mine and forty eight (48) hours (in a week) in case of other establishments.

5
Weekly Holidays & bar on working on holidays
Provisions for weekly holidays for adult workers shall also apply to young
persons working in any establishment, but young persons cannot be made to
work in any establishment during holidays (although adult workers can work
during holidays provided they are given 2 day compensatory leave (if he worked
during festive holidays) and additional one day leave ( for working on weekly
holidays only) , according to sec 104 & sec 118 (3) of the Bangladesh Labor Code
2006.

Restriction on double employment3

Young persons already employed in any establishment cannot work in another
establishment in a given day.

Restriction on night time work4

According to sec 41 (3), no young person can be engaged in any work from 7p.m
evening till 7a.m in the morning i.e. for any overnight work.

Shifting & Relay work5

Young persons can only be engaged in two shifts and this cannot extend or
overlap for more than seven and a half hours each.
Young persons employed in relays cannot be changed to another relay without
written permission of the Inspector of Labor and only once a month.

3
The Factories Act, 1965, sec 70 (1-5) had similar provisions.
4
ibid
5
ibid

6
Presentation of Notices for period of work for young persons
In any establishment, where young persons are employed, the employer shall
display a notice showing the working hours or shifts or relays which young
persons may be required or allowed to work.

Certain prohibitions (sec 39, 40, and 42 of the Bangladesh Labor Code)
Prohibition of employment of young persons in certain type of jobs
No young person shall be allowed in any factory to clean, lubricate or adjust any
moving parts/or fixed and moving parts of any machinery.

Prohibition of employment of young persons in dangerous machines6

Unless fully instructed as to the dangers arising from such work or unless he has
received sufficient training in work, no young person can be employed at any
machine. The trainer has to have through knowledge and expertise in the
machine.

Prohibition of employment of young persons in under ground or under water7

Young persons cannot be employed to work in under ground and under water in
any establishment.

6
The same provision existed in the Factories Act, 1965, sec 25
7
As per sec 26 of the Mines Act, 1923, no child can me made to work under ground or under water

7
3. Major Loop Holes: provisions for medical examinations
& related sections
Requirement of Medical Certificate; is it really the answer?
The law8 has clearly mentioned that all juvenile workers have to be certified9 by a
registered physician (& kept with the employer) and a token to be carried by
such workers giving reference to such a certificate.

But this is both a stringent requirement and a loop hole of the law as employers
wanting to employ youngsters and even children in factories for meager wages
may get assistance from local registered physicians to provide a “certificate of
fitness”.
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The minimum age for employment used to vary by industry. The law prohibits
the employment of children younger than 12 years in shops and other
commercial establishments, and in 10 processes including tanning; carpet-
weaving; stone-cutting; and the manufacture of bidis (hand rolled cigarettes),
cloth, wool, cement, shellac, soap, matches, explosives, and fireworks, unless
they are working in a family workshop. The minimum age for work in ready-
made garment factories is 15 years, while the minimum age for work in other
factories is 14 years. Young persons 14 to 17 may work in factories for no more
than 5 hours per day, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. However, young
persons working in factories may not use certain dangerous machines without
adequate training and supervision, and the law provides a list of 18 hazardous
activities in factories from which children and young persons should be
restricted. Employers who repeatedly violate these restrictions on factory work
face prison terms of up to 6 months. Children under 15 may not work in mines,
in tea gardens, in the railway transportation sector, or in ports, although young

8
The Bangladesh Labor Code, 2006
9
Certificate of Fitness, sec (2a) & (2b)

8
persons ages 15 and 16 may work in railways and ports, provided they receive
adequate rest overnight.318 Employment of young people under 18 on roads and
under 21 as drivers is prohibited, and employers in violation of these provisions
can face prison terms of up to 1 year. The law requires children to attend school
only to age 10, leaving a gap between the end of compulsory schooling and the
minimum working age that may result in children entering work illegally.

Certification: validity and abuse of the law

The law10 specifically mentions that only a registered physician can provide
proof of age and his report shall be conclusive11. But the fact is, mere physical
examination cannot always ensure whether a young person is fit to work or not
and also whether he is underage or juvenile.
There are incidences of inspectors suspecting foul play from factory owners
(regarding age of young workers) have been forcefully proven wrong (i.e. the
registered physician certified in favor of the factory owner).

The Final Twist

Also, the Bangladesh labor Code has also included a new provision where any
child attaining twelve (12) years of age can be employed in any establishment
provided it does not hamper his education/prevent him from school going12.
Also, all provisions of Chapter III (regarding employment of juvenile workers)
shall be applicable to those child workers.
Sec 34 (4) also gives power to the Government to employ children in time of
national crisis (famine, War time etc).
This means that Child Labor is now a legal option for many factory owners and a
major loop hole in the law.

10
Bangladesh Labor Code, 2006,
11
Sec 36(2) BLC 2006
12
Sec 44 (1 & 2) of BLC 2006

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4. Employment of Young Persons/Children in factories
-The Humane side
Marching the Young into Factories and Away From Schools

In 2002/03, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) conducted the second

National Child Labor Survey (NCLS)13. This survey has been designed and
conducted in the context of the commitments made by the Government of
Bangladesh, following the ratification of the International Labor Organization
(ILO) Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention (No. 182) 1999. According to the
survey, there are 4.9 million working children —14.2 per cent of the total 35.06
million children in the age group of 5-14 years. The total working child
population between 5 and 17 years old is estimated at 7.9 million.

• The proportion of boy and girl child workers, in the age group of 5-17
years, is 73.5 per cent and 26.5 per cent, respectively;
• The total number of working children aged 5-17 years in rural areas is
estimated at 6.4 million as against 1.5 million in urban areas;
• As many as 93.3 per cent of all working children in the age group of 5-17
years operate in the informal sector. Agriculture engages 4.5 million (56.4
per cent children), while the services sector engages 2 million (25.9 per
cent), and industry, 1.4 million (17.7 per cent);
• A total of 1.3 million children are estimated to be working 43 hours or
more per week. More boys than girls are engaged in this form of child
labor across all age groups.

13
International Labor Organization (ILO) website

10
Why is this occurring?
The incidence of child labor/ young persons being employed is attributed to
several factors such as poverty, lack of income earners in a household and the
expectations of the parents.

Firstly, it is part of a vicious cycle wherein the main cause and consequences are
poverty. Other elements which play a role in it include rapid population growth,
adult unemployment, poor working conditions, inadequate minimum wages,
exploitation of workers, low standard of living, poor quality of education, lack of
legal provisions and enforcement and low capacity of institutions.

Secondly, the lack of income earners in a household or adult unemployment also

forces a child/young person to work to contribute to the household expenditure.
In fact, the 2000 NCLS noted that 50 percent of the household incomes are
contributed by child workers. Those who engaged in income-generating work
earned an average of 43 takas per day when they are daily laborers. Meanwhile,
those aged 15 and above earned 62 takas per day. On an aggregate level, a
significant 3 percent of the total incomes in Bangladesh were earned by children.

Thirdly, the type of work the parents have can affect the probability of such
labor. In a study conducted by Salmon on the 2000 NCLS, children were more
likely to work when their mother was also working. It suggests that the mother
and the child are substitutes for each in the paid labor market. The data from the
survey revealed that children were less likely to work when the mother is
working in the paid labor market than when she does not work or is an unpaid
family worker.

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The factors that generate child labor in Bangladesh can thus be summarized as
follows14:

 Extreme forms of poverty play a crucial role. Child labor is part of a

vicious cycle, with poverty as a main cause as well as a main consequence.
This implies that child labor cannot be addressed in isolation. Among
factors contributing to child labor are rapid population growth, adult
unemployment, bad working conditions, lack of minimum wages,
exploitation of workers, low standard of living, low quality of education,
lack of legal provisions and enforcement, low capacity of institutions,
gender discrimination, conceptual thinking about childhood, etc. One or
more of the above contribute to the large numbers of children working
under exploitative or hazardous conditions;

 There is a direct link between child labor and education. Nearly 50 per
cent of primary school students drop out before they complete grade 5,
and then gravitate towards work, swelling the number of child laborers.
The high drop-out rates are correlated with the low quality of public
primary education, low adult literacy, low awareness of the importance of
education, teacher-student ratio (sometimes this goes up to 1 per 100),
non-availability of didactic and learning materials, and the cost of
education. Basic primary education is free as far as direct costs and school
books are concerned. But many indirect costs are involved as well, such as
transport, uniforms, pens, pencils, and paper/notebooks. Bangladesh has
only limited provision for pre-vocational/vocational skills training and
there are related constraints such as the quality of the skills training,
market and employment linkages and certification. While this could be an
attractive option to working/disadvantaged children and their families,
neither the Government of Bangladesh nor many of the non-governmental
14
ILO Study Report, March 2005

12
 organizations have the institutional capacity and technical expertise
required to deliver skills training facilities effectively;
 Finally, the level of awareness on the issue of child labor is still low.
Society in general has a rather indifferent attitude towards the problem. In
many cases, it is not realized that the children who are employed in, for
example, domestic service, often have no access to education or medical
care.

What can be done and what is being done?

The Office of the Chief Inspector of Factories under the Ministry of Labor and
Employment is responsible for implementation and enforcement of labor laws,
including child labor provisions. According to the U.S. Department of State, child
labor enforcement is seriously inadequate relative to the scope of the problem.
The ministry has approximately 100 inspectors to investigate more than 21,000
factories; less than 50 violations were recorded in 2006. Although the vast
majority of child labor occurs in the informal sector, officials inspect only formal
sector workplaces and focus primarily on the ready-made garment industry.

ILO has tried to implement some steps to curb the trend, but the flaws behind
these are:
Monitoring. Employers often have the advantage of an "early warning" system,
whereby they can learn well in advance of a visit by ILO's inspectors, who are
residents of the area.
Rehabilitation. Although the program was to provide educational opportunities
for the children, there is no rechecking.
Transferring Work and Workers. Because the ILO program is concentrated in
specific regions, some manufacturers have relocated to other districts nearby,
outside the jurisdiction of the ILO's inspectors. Besides, when work is seasonally

13
slow, some children are sent off elsewhere to work in the surgical instrument
industry, which is also notorious for exploiting children.

The minimum age for voluntary military service is 18 years, and there is no
forced conscription in Bangladesh. However, the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child has expressed concern that many under age 18 are able to enlist in the
armed forces because of this.

Related Material: UNICEF Bangladesh

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the elimination of child labour

from the garment industry in Bangladesh was signed in July 1995 by the
BGMEA, UNICEF and ILO. By August 1996, 130 new schoolrooms were
operational and more than 2,100 children were enrolled. The children are
receiving primary health care, skills development training and a monthly
cash stipend to compensate for their lost wages. In addition, personal bank
accounts and credit facilities for their families are being set up. Under the
terms of the 1995 MOU, four key provisions were formulated:

a. The removal of all under-age workers - those below 14 - within a period

of four months;

b. No further hiring of under-age children;

c. The placement of those children from the garment factories in

appropriate educational programmes with a monthly stipend;

d.The offer of the children's jobs to qualified adult family members.

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5. Conclusion and Recommendations

Child labor or percentage of juveniles working is still rife around the world. The
International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 246 million children are
involved in the kind of labor which jeopardizes their health. One out of six
children/young person in the world today is involved in labor, doing work that
is damaging to his or her mental, physical and emotional development. These
young people work in a variety of industries worldwide. The vast majority are in
the agricultural sector, where they may be exposed to dangerous chemicals and
equipment. Others are street children, peddling or running errands to earn a
living. Some are domestic workers, prostitutes, or factory workers. All are
children who have no fair chance of a real childhood, and education, or a better
life. Most children and young people work because their survival and that of
their families depend on it. Juvenile labor persists even where it has been
declared illegal, and is frequently surrounded by a wall of silence, indifference,
and apathy. But that wall is beginning to crumble. While the total elimination of
child labor is a long-term goal in many countries, certain forms of child labor
must be confronted immediately. The effective abolition of juvenile labor is one
of the most urgent challenges of our time. Ending such labor is not a simple
issue. Therefore, family incomes must rise in countries where child/juvenile
labor is a major issue, by paying fair wages to adult workers.

15