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The interim government has formed a 25-member executive committee to review the implementation progress of the programmes taken to eliminate child labour across the country.
The committee, headed by the labour secretary, will decide the next course of actions to accelerate the programmes, according to a notification.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment issued a gazette notification in this regard on August 17, announcing the designated committee members, comprising of the related ministries and departments.
The committee also included top representatives from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Unicef, Save the Children, and other related organisations and NGOs, according to the notification.
The committee will coordinate the activities among the government institutions and NGOs. It will also harmonise the activities of the NGOs and the development partners to determine the methods of coordination between them.
It has been tasked with taking steps to implement the decisions of the division, district and upazila-level monitoring meetings to eliminate child labour.
The committee that is scheduled to sit twice a month will also analyse and review the overall child labour situation in the country. It will provide recommendations on successful implementation of the National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010 and the related National Action Plan, according to the labour ministry officials.
A recent ILO-Unicef joint report, titled 'Child Labour: Global estimates 2024, trends and the road forward', has showed a sharp decline in child labour in the Asia-Pacific region, but overall child labour prevalence in Bangladesh remained stagnant.
While there has been a commendable decline in hazardous child labour, from 3.2 per cent in 2013 to 2.7 per cent in 2022 (representing about 1.07 million children), the overall proportion of working children (aged 5-17) slightly increased from 8.7 per cent to 8.9 per cent during the same period.
The broader child labour rate (detrimental forms of work) remained relatively stable at 4.4 per cent in 2022, up marginally from 4.3 per cent in 2013.
Most working children, while remaining in informal employment, often faced long hours and poor working conditions. The situation highlighted the urgent need for sustained efforts to protect such children across the nation.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com