Nari Unnayan Shakti demand to increased Budget Allocation and Stronger Measures to Eliminate Hazardous Child Labour
Published: 05:12 PM, 14 June 2026
Nari Unnayan Shakti demand to increased Budget Allocation and Stronger Measures to Eliminate Hazardous Child Labour
Hazardous child labour remains a serious social and human rights concern in Bangladesh. According to the National Child Labour Survey 2022 conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), approximately 3.54 million children are engaged in labour across the country, of whom 1.07 million are involved in hazardous forms of work. These children are employed in construction, workshops, transportation, agriculture, domestic work, waste collection, and other dangerous occupations. As a result, they are deprived of education, exposed to significant physical and psychological risks, and denied the opportunity to develop into skilled and productive members of society. This has long-term negative consequences for individuals, families, and the nation as a whole. Against this backdrop, a dialogue meeting titled “Increasing Budget Allocation for the Elimination of Hazardous Child Labour” was jointly organized by the Young Women for Development, Rights and Climate (YWDRC) and Nari Unnayan Shakti (NUS).
The event was supported by the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), Textile Garments Workers Federation (TGWF), Domestic Worker Employers Association Bangladesh (DWEAB), and the Forum for Culture and Human Development (FCHD). The keynote paper was presented by Ms. Nusrat Sultana Afroj, Executive Chairperson of YWDRC. In her presentation, she highlighted poverty, unemployment, limited access to education, the impacts of climate change, and social inequality as key drivers of child labour. She emphasized that eliminating hazardous child labour requires increased investment in family-based economic support, education, skills development, and social protection programmes.
The meeting was chaired by Dr. Afroja Parvin, Executive Director of Nari Unnayan Shakti (NUS). In her remarks, she stated that child labour is not merely a labour issue; it is fundamentally linked to child rights, education, health, and social justice. She stressed the need for adequate budget allocations to support the identification, rescue, rehabilitation, education, and skills development of children engaged in hazardous labour. The Chief Guest, Mr. Abdul Hossain, Freedom Fighter, labour leader, and President of the Textile Garments Workers Federation, emphasized that hazardous child labour cannot be eliminated without improving the incomes of working-class families and expanding social protection programmes.
Special Guests included Mr. Khairuzzaman Kamal, Vice-President of the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum and Executive Director of the Bangladesh Human Rights Journalists Forum; Ms. Nasima Haque, General Secretary of the Domestic Worker Employers Association Bangladesh; Mr. Syed Anisur Rahman, Migration Advisor to Nari Unnayan Shakti; and Mr. Abdul Momin, Executive Member of the Forum for Culture and Human Development. Representing marginalized communities, Ms. Hasi Akter shared that many families are compelled to send their children to work due to extreme poverty and lack of employment opportunities. She noted that child labour can be significantly reduced through income-generating opportunities and economic support for vulnerably families.
Key Demands Raised to the Government
The participants urged the Government of Bangladesh to:
- Ensure a dedicated and adequate budget allocation for the elimination of hazardous child labour within the national budget.
- Establish a special fund for the identification, rescue, rehabilitation, and family reintegration of children engaged in hazardous labour.
- Expand social safety net programmes, cash assistance, and food support for poor and vulnerable families.
- Strengthen school reintegration initiatives through stipends, educational materials, and alternative education programmes for working children.
- Provide market-oriented vocational and skills development training opportunities for adolescents.
- Enforce labour laws effectively and take strict action against employers who engage children in hazardous work.
- Strengthen monitoring and inspection mechanisms in domestic work, construction, transportation, agriculture, and other informal sectors where child labour is prevalent.
- Introduce special protection programmes for children in climate-vulnerable and migration-prone areas.
- Increase budget allocations for national awareness campaigns on child labour prevention and child rights.
- Implement a coordinated national action plan involving government agencies, civil society organizations, labour unions, and child rights networks.
The speakers concluded that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be possible without eliminating hazardous child labour. They called upon the Government to urgently increase budget allocations for child labour prevention, education, rehabilitation, and social Security.
