Child Labour in Bangladesh: Law and Reality

Child Labour refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interfere with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school. In Bangladesh, child labour is very common. In 2006, Bangladesh enacted The Bangladesh Labour Act and outlawed work by children under the age of 14. But reality is the numbers of child labourers is rising day by day. Socio-economic condition of Bangladesh is mainly responsible for child labour. Here in Bangladesh, Children work for helping their family financially as many families live under the poverty level. Also, the child workers are cheaper and considered to be more compliant and obedient than adults, so the employers take this opportunity. Bangladesh government and International Labour Organization are working for preventing child labour in Bangladesh. An attempt is made in this paper to present the comparison between law and reality in Bangladesh regarding child labour.