The Crime Desk: Sohag is 11 years old. He came from Nayakandi, Madaripur, with his uncle and worked as an assistant in a garment factory in Keraniganj Tanaka Tower. He started working a year ago. He helps with spinning yarn, carrying loads of clothes (down the stairs from the top of six floors), and running machines. He is also learning to cut and sew clothes. 13-year-old Yasin, a seamstress at New Rifat Garments He sews clothes regularly with an electric sewing machine. Sometimes the needle sticks to the hand and bleeds. It was more like this in the beginning, but now it is decreasing a little. Now he has more colds and coughs.
Yasin said that he gets colder by sweating in factory clothes, piles of dust, and unbearable heat. More than 11,000 children are working in the Keraniganj industrial area with various health risks in factories without light and air. Those concerned said that the number of children between the ages of 8 and 14 is high. In such a situation, the World Day for the Prevention of Child Labor is being celebrated today with the theme ‘Justice for All, End Child Labor.” The government has set a target of ending all types of hazardous child labor by 2025. Accordingly, the Ministry of Labor and Employment is implementing the two-year plan of 2022 and 2023 to eliminate child labor in this region. This project is scheduled to be completed in December of this year.
However, an on-site inspection showed that there is not much progress in solving the problem. Even with six months left, there is no sign of ending child labor in Keraniganj. AKM Salauddin, Deputy Director General of the Factory Inspection Department, told the media, “Work is going on as per the plan.” However, child labor will not end by December. We are working on motivation. If one side is closed again, they employ children on the other side. As many as 40 cases have been filed against the owners in the last six months. He said that to eliminate child labor here, the children must be permanently rehabilitated. They have to provide financial support to their parents, along with arranging their education. We have given such a proposal above.
Hundreds of hours of child labor for almost no pay Md. Madness. Age 13 years. When his father died, he dropped out of class five and came to Dhaka from Barisal. At first, he worked by the sea. Then he was given only food and overnight accommodations. 100 was paid to him on Fridays a week. Within two years, she learned to cut and sew and became a worker. As a worker, he earns 3 rupees for each piece of cloth he sews or cuts. Some of these workers earn 3 thousand, some 4 thousand, and some 5 thousand in a week. But they don’t get the full amount. Half the money is given to them.
Half of the money is received when going home on Eid. 17-year-old Yasin, an eighth-grade student at Madaripur Multipurpose School He moved a year ago. After his father died, he had to come to work. Even if there is a fan, it is useless in extreme heat. Factory workers sweat all the time. After finishing the work, they put their clothes aside and slept here. Bathrooms and toilets are so dirty that you can’t even stand there for a minute without stuffing your nose. There are toilets on every floor, but it is dark even during the day. A child laborer named Monir said, “Folding, packing—everything is done by children like him. His salary is Rs. 1,000 per week. His father married someone and left; his mother lived elsewhere. So he doesn’t have to send money to anyone. He gives 700 taka of the 1000 taka to the renter; 300 taka remain with him. Various health risks Three organizations of workers are active here.
Bellal, general secretary of one of his garment workers welfare unions, said that he has been working here since childhood. Back pain, colds, coughs, and itching are common among the workers here. Many also have heart problems. When he started working at a young age, he got several needles in his hands. He points his finger and says, “All child laborers have needle pricks like mine.” What the research says A study by the Bangladesh Labor Foundation conducted in 5 thousand factories in 314 towers in 2022 shows that 10 thousand 256 children under the age of 14 work here. Among them were 9 thousand 221 boys and 1 thousand 35 girls. Factories in Aganagar and Subhadda unions. 5–8–10-story buildings sometimes have a single room in the factory.
Bangladesh Labor Foundation Executive Director AKM Ashraf Uddin said they work without any salary structure, working hours, or holidays. Child labor in this area is included in the risk list. Wages if you work, no wages if you don’t. Thus, they began to work. After two years, she is suitable as a worker. According to the study, they suffer from back pain, colds and coughs, skin diseases, and inflammation in the lungs, along with being victims of accidents with electrical appliances.
