Children working in vulcanising shop

Children are widely being used as workers in the city’s scattered vulcanising shops that cater to services of motor vehicles but there is none to oversee the use of child labour even in hazardous jobs.

Allegations have it that a large number of children aged between 11 years and 18 years of age work in these shops and suffer from fatigue and some diseases due to pollution at the workplace.

According National Child Policy 2010, children under the age of 14 cannot be employed in any work. Where below 18 can do light work but cannot be employed in hazardous work.

The National Child Policy 2010 defines individuals under the age of 18 as children.

They have no fixed working hours and are constantly threatened with the fear of being fired, are depressed and deprived of education and entertainment.

Most of the children working in vulcanizing shops are paid TK 1200 to TK 2500 in a month, for more than twelve hours of labour each day.

Safiul Islam, a 13-year old worker of a vulcanizing shop said, “I am working her for the last 1 year. Actually I have learnt this work from this shop.”

While asked about the working hour, he replied that “I have to work here for 12 to 14 hour, most of the time I fell so tired after the evening but I have to stay for the 10pm. Sometime I got injured while working.”

“They pay me weekly and weekly I get 400 as my salary,” he added.

He said, “My father is a rickshaw puller and my mother is a domestic help as well as I have two sister and one brother. I am the big one of my family and I stopped my study when I was at class three.”

Dr Nazir Ahmed, a local physician, explains that the fumes emitted when vulcanizing tires contains components such as aromatic amines, aldehydes that can cause coughing.

Prolonged exposure can result to the loss of elastic tissue of the lungs. Possible consequences are chronic bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, and pulmonary tuberculosis, he added.

Dr Nazir suggested, people working in vulcanizing shops should also try to work opposite the flow of the wind in order to avoid inhaling the fumes. They can also wear a mask and must make sure that they have the right diet and proper hygiene.

Mustafa Rahman, Programme manager of Aparajeyo Bangladesh (a non government organisation working with the disadvantaged children) said, the first thing is that they are working for a long time from morning to night.

“The second thing is that most of the time owners abuse them physically, like slap, beating etc,” he added.

He also said, “Socially they are not in the pay roll because the owner pay them as there wish. They (child) have noting to say about their salary or wage”

“They are depriving from education which is the most important thing for their future progress” he added.

According to 2003 study of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 3.2 million children aging between 5-17 years are involved with child labour for wage. Of them, 1.29 million children are involved in hazardous work.

Posted in: Child Labour