Dhaka: The Secretary of Labor, Md. Isahon Elahi expressed hope that the government will definitely succeed in eliminating child labor in all sectors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) declared by the United Nations.
On Wednesday (November 22), at a seminar titled “Implementation and Exchange of Experience in the Realization of the Project to Eliminate Hazardous Child Labor in Bangladesh (Fourth Phase)” organized under the supervision of the Ministry of Labor and Employment at the Biam Foundation in Dhaka, he expressed this hope.
The Secretary stated that child labor is one of the significant social problems in Bangladesh. Despite efforts at both government and non-government levels to ensure occupational safety, many children are still employed in hazardous labor. The issue of child labor elimination is very challenging for the government and the Prime Minister. Therefore, the Ministry of Labor and Employment has relentlessly worked to implement the National Plan of Action.
He mentioned that in order to achieve success in the elimination of child labor, the Ministry of Labor and Employment is working in collaboration with all relevant ministries, departments, directorates, and NGOs at both the government and non-government levels. The implementation of the fourth-phase project is progressing towards successful completion. Nearly eight thousand crore taka has been allocated for a new project for this purpose before 2025.
Regarding the ongoing progress in the fourth phase of the project to eliminate hazardous child labor, the Secretary held that efforts will be made to expand the coverage of this project to eliminate child labor in all sectors. The government aims to build a child-labor-free Bangladesh for the next generation under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Creating a database of child laborers employed in various professions, providing training to them, and ensuring the social security of their dependent families are key aspects of the project. Efforts are also being made to discourage child labor by enforcing existing laws. The number of child laborers has decreased due to various initiatives of the government, and so far, eight sectors have been declared child-labor-free.
Project Director Md. Monowar Hossen spoke in the welcome address at the seminar. Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Mohammad Taufiqul Arif, Director General of the Labor Department, Khaled Mahmud Choudhury, representatives from various NGOs, and officials from various departments and directorates of the Ministry of Labor and Employment also spoke at the seminar.
