A large number of children are working as human hauler helper as it is a hazardous work and it is the time for the children to go school to build their future but children are doing this work to live their lives.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2003 report, 3.2 million children are involved in labour and 1.29 million of them are involved in hazardous labour. The bureau considers work more than 43 hours a week as hazardous since it is detrimental to children’s physical and mental health.
Previously, boys and girls below 14 years were considered as children. Following UN standards, the government is set to redefine a child, especially its age.
According to the new definition, the upper limit of a child’s age will be raised from 14 to 18 years. Evidently, from now on working boys and girls up to 18 years will be categorised as child labourers.
Yunus, 12 year old helper of a human hauler said, “I am working as a helper for last two year. I stopped my study after class five as my farmer father has no ability to continue my study further.”
While asked about the risk of the work, he replied that “I have to take risk of my life as I have to live my life by doing this and I do not know any other work which I can do.”
“We recruit small children as helpers because they follow our command attentively and work well” said Sariful Alam, a driver of a human hauler and who employs Yunus.
He also said children work at least 12 hours a day for Tk 250 to 300.
While asked about the criteria to recruit a helper, he replied “who can calculate the fare and clever enough can join as helper.
Sajib, a 13 year old helper said, “I am working here for last one year as a helper.”
While asked that why do u work as a helper as there are many other works to do, he replied that “before I started this work I worked as a sewing operator in a tailor shop for one year but the salary is very low while as a helper my income better than my last work.”
This year, “World Day against Child Labour 2010” was observed with the theme “End Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2016.” The government of Bangladesh and non-government organisations expressed their honest desire to eliminate child labour at any cost.
Sharfuddin Khan, Programme Officer of Urban Informal Economy Project of ILO said, “according to the Labour Law doesn’t allow employers to hire workers under 14 years and from 14 to 18 children can do work but light work not the hazardous work but the reality is that many children are engaged in various hazardous jobs.”
So according to law it is totally illegal if any children working as a human haler helper as it is a hazardous work, he added.
The ILO’s official also said, “They are being denied their right to education and the conditions for normal growth while the owner group using them as cheap labour. In addition they in serious danger as it is a hazardous work and we are seen many incident where they are the victim.”
He also said, “There is no one to monitor this hazardous work as they are doing in front of traffic police and police sergeant, over all this is a serious violation of child rights.”
International Labour Organisation (ILO) held a convention in 1999 titled ‘ILO Convention No.182’ considering the need to adopt new instruments for the prohibition and elimination of the worst from of child labour. Bangladesh ratified the convention in March 2001.
But the government is yet to define the worst forms of child labour, which is considered as the first step of elimination of child labour.
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