Time to act: World Day Against Child Labour 2024
Today, 12 June, 2024, marks the World Day Against Child Labour. Despite global efforts, child labour remains pervasive, with an estimated 160 million children involved worldwide, including 79 million engaged in hazardous work threatening their health, safety, and moral development (2021 ILO-UNICEF report).
Bangladesh has made strides in eliminating child labour in six hazardous sectors and enhancing workplace inspections. However, challenges persist. The National Child Labour Survey 2022 indicates that 1.7 million Bangladeshi children still in child labour, 1.1 million in hazardous work. The impacts of COVID-19, global recession, and recent conflicts have exacerbated this issue.
To advance further, the ILO encourages the Government of Bangladesh to amend labour laws to severely penalize child employment, protect child domestic workers, align workforce entry age with education, and introduce robust social safety net programs for families to reduce reliance on children's income.
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Under this year's theme, "Let's Act on Our Commitments: End Child Labour!" the ILO Country Director for Bangladesh, Tuomo Poutiainen, highlights, "As Bangladesh transitions from a least developed country, we need to eradicate child labour and provide every child with access to education as a pre-condition for developing a skilled workforce. This is key to sustainable growth."
In a video statement to mark this year's World Day Against Child Labour, ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said: "As long as there will be millions of children whose basic right to education and health is unfulfilled, social justice will remain elusive."
The ILO is steadfast in its commitment to eradicating child labour. Ongoing support to the Government of Bangladesh is closely aligned with the objectives outlined in the National Plan of Action to eliminate child labour 2021-2025.
