INTRODUCTION
Child labor is still a problem in Bangladesh, despite strengthened laws and better enforcement efforts in areas like agriculture, domestic work, and small family-run establishments. There is some protection provided through the Labour Act 2006, Children Act 2013 and Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2015 but enforcement is difficult because of infrastructure under-resourcing, corrupt practices and lack of coordination among institutions. Socially, economically (through poverty and lack of education), many of the underlying problems are on the social level. These complex issues must be addressed if children’s rights and sustainable development are to be ensured in Bangladesh. The international ratifications in Israel of ILO Conventions 138 and 182 prove its resolve to end child labor.
Bangladesh has a comprehensive system of laws and policies with respect to child labour, but enforcement is low as there is a massive implementation vacuum.1 It is beset by issues including resource availability, corrupt law enforcement and the interface with governmental and political structures.2 The Labor Department is short-staffed and underfunded, so no inspections or prosecutions are taking place on time. Coordination between agencies is weak, leading to insufficient enforcement of child labor legislation. Political attention in support of local interests: Local political interests may have some vested stake in child labour and hence a reluctance to enforce this law strictly.3 Society’s barriers to child work. Children’s dependence on their own earnings can clear the path for change. But despite legislation like the Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2015, children doing domestic work in the informal sector aren’t covered.4
NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON CHILD LABOUR IN BANGLADESH
Child labour is a major problem in Bangladesh, where millions are subjected to dangerous and often filthy working conditions. Enforcement is still a major hurdle despite the existence of legal frameworks such as the Labour Act 2006 and the Children Act 2013. This section analyzes the legal framework existing to protect children from exploitation, and ascertains the lacunas in their enforcement. Analyzing international conventions, it presents a full-profile of child labour in Bangladesh.
The Labour Act, 2006 (as amended)
When tested under microscope, 10 minutes with three times the weight of CHK-2 was found to significantly reduce viscosity.5 ROME 3 December, 2018 Worker Protection Act First adopted in 2006 then revised several times, focusing on child labor and working conditions.6 It prohibits hazardous labor by children under age 14 and can be subject to penalties for noncompliance.7 It also states 14- to 18-year-olds can work only at certain hours and in non-hazardous conditions. However, enforcement of these provisions is grossly inadequate in many sectors. The Labour Act, Section 34, provides that no child under the age of fourteen may be employed in any industrial undertaking or commercial business which is not suitable to the health, safety, morals and development of their career.8 Young persons between the ages of 14 and 18 are also forbidden from working in night duty or dangerous work. Child labor laws were not effectively enforced DOL operated with insufficient resources, rarely conducted inspections, and corruption was reported in enforcement.9
The Children Act 2013
The Children Act 2013 is an important Bill in Bangladesh to prevent child labor, it integrates the Labour Act and Child Liter Act.10 It bans children under 14 from working in factories or mines. The Act, however, is challenged in its implementation as it supplements the Labour Act that speaks to children’s rights.11 The infrastructure for rehabilitation and education is poor, while translation into practice is scarce.12 Josephine Kamara and others maintain that there needs to be an integrated approach between the two legislations for its successful enforcement.13
• International Instruments of Legal Framework on Child Labour in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has ratified international conventions, including ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182, aiming to abolish child labor.14 These conventions establish minimum standards in national legislation for member states. However, enforcement in Bangladesh is inconsistent, with child labor still present in informal sectors like domestic work and agriculture.15 The government has linked its task with international initiatives like the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to eradicate child labor by 2025.16 Despite these commitments, the country faces challenges in implementing these conventions due to inconsistencies between international obligations and domestic implementation.17 The government’s failure to update enforcement mechanisms could hinder its progress towards eradicating child labor.18
Other laws and provisions
Bangladesh’s Constitution bans forced labor and child labor, including in hazardous work, but there has been limited enforcement because of socioeconomic pressure and lack of policing.19 The Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2015 aims at child domestic labour, however, its effectiveness is constrained because of the informal nature of employment.20 The government sets sector-specific rules on child labor in particular industries, such as the code of conduct prepared by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.21 These laws are meant to curtail child labor, but they have often been irregularly enforced and virtually never monitored for compliance.22 Socioeconomic pressures and poor policing impede the nation’s efforts to protect children from exploitation.23
Comparative Legal Insight
Compared to several other nations within South Asia, it is evident from the above discussion that Bangladesh has come a long way regarding legislative actions against child labor but enforcement continues to be the biggest challenge.24 For example, India has enacted a similar set of legal provisions under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 that was amended in 2016 to make child labor restrictions more stringent.25 In India, however, enforcement is also challenged by poverty and the extensive use of informal labor practices.26
Furthermore, Sri Lanka has achieved significant progress in eradicating child labor largely in the plantation sector through targeted legislation and NGO-government collaboration.27 The fact that child labor is still rampant in these industries demonstrates how difficult it is for the practice to be eradicated from poverty-stricken countries with substandard levels of education.28 Lessons can potentially be learned from some of the other countries in relation to how they achieve better coordination between different pieces of legislation, as well as strengthening the capacity of enforcement agencies for efficient implementation of child labor laws.29
CHALLENGES IN ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE
Bangladesh’s Labour Act 2006 and Children Act 2013 are two laws that address the exploitation of child labor, but operational obstacles, including institutional barriers, inadequate inter-agency coordination, corruption, lack of resources and legal ambiguities have precluded their full Application. Law enforcement is frequently unable to break down and tackle child labour because of the wider economic and financial context and ingrained problems within the legal system.
Institutional Limitations
The Bangladeshi Department of Labour is seriously under-equipped to address child labour because it does not have an institution based judiciary and has little resources.30 This sector has limited capacity to inspect and monitor workforces where child labour is very common, so it is a struggle for regulators to effectively enforce legal provisions such as the Labour Act 2006.31 The department is also understaffed and technologically unsupported.32 Inadequate orientation programs on child labor for enforcement officials, and poor knowledge of demand-side drivers further weakened the identification of cases in an environment that is not enabling.33 Strict law enforcement is unlikely to address subtler forms of child exploitation, particularly in informal sectors where labor regulations are poorly outlined. Moreover, there is not enough interaction between the Department of Labour and civil groups, NGOs and grassroots organizations are not in a position to detect child labor places and demand improvements.34
Lack of Interagency Coordination
Bangladesh has weak enforcement of child labour laws due to a lack of interagency and governmental coordination. The laws that fall under the purview of the Ministry of Labour and Employment need support from ministries like Social Welfare, Home Affairs and Education to comprehensively address child labor.35 This failure to effectively intercommunicate agency results in fragmented and inefficient strategies.36 Likewise, disjointedness among ministries for labor and education has ensnared working children in substandard educational offerings or reintegration. Other institutions such as the police, courts and welfare agencies are also working in silos, a few policing units having deprioritised child labor cases and judicial systems witnessing delays.37 Eliminating child labor requires action that is targeted and cut across sectors. Interagency coordination, possibly through task forces or coordinating units, must be enhanced. A holistic response of this nature would tilt action away from child labour and toward non-formal education, healthcare and rehabilitation to meet children’s multidimensional needs.38
Corruption and Political Influence
The child labor code in Bangladesh is increasingly decayed due to widespread bribery and the garlment industry’s her lack of real power.39 The minimum age limits are repeatedly breached in schools, as corrupt law enforcement authorities turn a blind eye to violations, take bribes or simply neglect compulsory inspections and checks where they should be obliged to arrest the culprits (employers) thus providing them with virtual impunity from punishment.40 Employers, especially in sectors where there’s capital and labor intensiveness such as those of garment factories, brick-kilns and agricultural work (where child labour is more rampant), can also be sheltered by political connections as these industries have strong lobbies with the politicians.41 In addition, political leaders may highly value economic growth and industrial production than labor rights and sometimes use child labor to increase consensus during elections especially in rural areas where children help their families in sowing crops. Local communities might also not welcome legal enforcement because of their economic dependence on child labor.42 To effectively fight child labor, the Government needs to
i. improve anti-corruption institutions and empower law-enforcement agencies to be free from political interference and
ii. build trust to monitor and prosecute regulatory violations.
Inadequate Monitoring and Resources
The main point is Effective enforcement Capacity constraints and Lack of resources have greatly limited effective enforcement of child labor laws in Bangladesh. Insufficient funding hampers the enforcement of laws, when they exist.43 Inadequate equipment, funding, and personnel hinder the Department of Labor’s ability to conduct monitoring overall and especially in the informal sector where child labor remains a problem. Panelist Quotes Government monitoring programs such as these are hypothetical, the reality is that due to chronic underfunding, surveillance is entrusted for the most part visas provincial enforcement systems.44 This gap gives the child labour a chance to cover if not within organized sectors, certainly in domestic domain and unregulated jobs. And there are also few capacities or experiences in monitoring among local authorities and community organizations.45 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-led organizations struggle to work on the issue in an under-funded, low impact manner. In order to strengthen control and develop transparency, a strong monitoring system that is free of corruption is necessary.46 This should be supplemented by national level database of cases for child labor in all sectors to enable focused intervention. Increasing reliability and efficiency of enforcement of child labor laws could also require hiring more trained inspectors and adequate resources to do their work.
Legal Ambiguities and Loopholes
The current laws in Bangladesh contain a number of legal ambiguities and gaps which impede effective application of child labor legislation. Although the Labour Act 2006 and Children Act 2013 set clear minimum age for employment, however application “hazardous work” is vague in some sectors.47 This vagueness provides room for the employment of children in areas that may not be strictly categorized as hazardous by law, but are indeed injurious to their health and well-being.48 The law allows children between 14 and 18 to work under certain restrictions, but some end up working in places that expose them to long hours of labor, meager pay and hazardous conditions. Moreover, provisions in the law, particularly those related to family businesses, open fissures which allow nefarious employment practices – at times not significantly less exploitative than formal sector ones.49 There is a need for a complete overhaul of the law to have clear, strong definitions and protections that apply across all sectors and effectively prohibit exploitative child labor, as well as tackling the breadth of abuses under current legal terms.50
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CAUSES BEHIND CHILD LABOR
• Poverty and Economic Dependence
Poverty is recognized to be the major root cause for child labor in Bangladesh, as families are forced to depend on their children’s earnings because of a general system of economic difficulties.51 This economic imperative, especially in rural agrarian communities and the unregulated informal sector (domestic work, smallholder agriculture and street vending), perpetuates a spiral of restricted opportunities for the future of children.52 Poor enforcement of laws against child labor, especially in rural and informal sectors, puts children at risk for exploitation and unsafe working conditions that may go unnoticed by the authorities.53
• Inadequate Access to Education
Access to and quality of education is partly responsible for child labour in rural Bangladesh.54 Obstacles such as tuition, travel and opportunity cost of lost labour income deter school attendance.55 And even for students who are able to attend, inadequate facilities, unqualified instructors and lack of materials stymie the possibility of meaningful learning. In part, high rates of non-completion are driven by low quality education coupled with economic pressure and societal expectations to work, there is further lack of retention as it applies reduction in significance for education the more one works allowing child labour to prevail.56
Rural-Urban Disparities
The divide between the rich and poor children is wide in Bangladesh, where child labor situation is getting worse due to gap between city and village lifestyles.57 The role of children in farm work In rural contexts, children are important to farm labour and participate in hazardous activities, including spraying pesticides and harvesting, with inadequate protection. Urbanization, while expanding access to education, has also driven up child labour in informal sectors including street vending, domestic work and garment factories.58 These urban employments are often of hazardous conditions, long hours, and very low pay. A secured activity in the form of domestic work exposes specific risks to violence. The reference by the child labour report to both urban and rural areas make it evident that child labor is nomadic.59
RECOMMENDATIONS
Policy Recommendations
To address child labour in Bangladesh a holistic multi-faceted approach is needed that addresses the legal, social, economic and institutional issues at the same time. Given the poverty that is often cited as one of the key factors contributing to child labour, poverty reduction should be placed at the heart of national policy. Boosting social protection schemes, such as giving cash transfers to poor families on the condition that they send their kids to school instead of work, can limit dependency on children’s incomes. Creating national conditions to ensure equal and quality education, with focus on marginalized or rural children are important priority areas if sustainable alternatives for child labor in the short-term period are to be created.
Strengthening Legal Mechanisms
Although Bangladesh has a framework in place to combat child labour, enforcement is weak because of institutional limitations:
• The Department of Labour needs massive expansion in its manpower and technical capacity, as well as material resources to extend the frequency and effectiveness of labour inspections.
• All laws must be thoroughly reviewed to fill the gaps, especially regarding what constitutes hazardous work and proper protections in all sectors.
• The judiciary should be sensitized and trained to expedite case management in matters related with child labour for quick judicial decisions, including use of special juvenile or labor courts.
• Whistle-blowing and community-reporting system should be developed as a safe mechanism, which provides an opportunity for citizens/CSOs to report violation without fear of being victimised.
• In keeping with Bangladesh’s ratification of international standards including ILO Convention No. 138, national legislation should be brought into line with internationally recognized norms, which exclude all children under eighteen from undertaking hazardous work in any form.
Community-Based Approaches
Community-based approaches are essential for combating child labour, emphasizing expanded, locally adapted awareness campaigns led by community leaders and grassroots organizations to educate families on its detrimental effects. Collaboration among local government, schools, health workers, and law enforcement is crucial for early identification and intervention, with Village- or ward-level Child Protection Committees acting as active monitors. Supporting parental livelihoods through skills training or microcredit can reduce economic reliance on child labour, requiring scaled support for successful income generation programs.
Role of NGOs and Civil Society
NGOs and civil society are essential for advocacy, monitoring and victim rehabilitation; they find cases in the informal sector that government inspectors sometimes overlook, and they need to be allowed access wherever children work. Increased collaboration between governments and NGOs leads to better information exchange and more cohesive interventions; NGOs also help train officials and local leaders. Significantly, however, NGOs do provide rehabilitative support in terms of counseling, education and skills training for rescued children; they need increased financing, legal status and partnerships to become more effective. Civil society must also work to strengthen public advocacy to hold government accountable in the enforcement of child labour laws.
CONCLUSION
Although there have been significant legal changes in Bangladesh in the development and implementation of legislation to abolish child labour, enforcement issues as well as social factors limit their practical effect. Weak institutions, poverty, irregular work practices and political meddling are some of the challenges that contribute to the high prevalence of child labour.
The guidelines provided in this chapter are focused on improving legal frameworks, developing institutions’ capability, engaging communities and involving civil society. Bangladesh can only successfully combat child labor and secure their rights if there are concerted efforts of all government departments, local communities, and the NGOs. Comprehensive, long-term investment is needed to disrupt the cycle of exploitation and create a better future for all children in Bangladesh that is safe, healthy, and fair.
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Footnotes
1. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (Act No XLII of 2006), ss 34-44 (regulation and enforcement framework).
2. Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2015, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Bangladesh.
3. International Labour Organization, ‘Child Labour in Bangladesh: Challenges in Enforcement and Policy Implementation’ (ILO Report 2020).
4. Save the Children Bangladesh, ‘Child Labour, Political Economy and Local Power Structures’ (2021) https://bangladesh.savethechildren.net/reports accessed 12 September 2025.
5. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, section 34.
6. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, section 34 (Amendment).
7. Ministry of Labour and Employment, “The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 and Child Labour,” 2019.
8. K. Hossain, “Challenges in Enforcement of Child Labour Laws in Bangladesh,” Journal of Law and Development (2018) 34(2): 112-134
9. ILO, International Labour Standards on Child Labour: A Comprehensive Guide (ILO, 2021). United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 8.7: End Child Labour (UN, 2020).
10. Children Act 2013, section 77.ILO, International Labour Standards on Child Labour (ILO, 2021).
11. Bangladesh Children Act 2013, section 77.
12. Ministry of Social Welfare, Children Act 2013 and Its Implementation (2019).
13. S. Roy, “Implem & entation of the Children Act 2013,” Asian Child Welfare Review (2020).
14. ILO, Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age (ILO, 2019).
15. Bangladesh Government, Ratification of ILO Conventions (2020).
16. ILO, Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age (ILO, 2019).
17. Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2020, Child Labor and its Enforcement (BangladeshBureau of Statistics, 2021).
18. United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 8.7: End Child Labour (UN, 2020).
19. Constitution of Bangladesh, Article 34.
20. Bangladesh National Labour Report, Child Labour and Constitutional Provisions (2019).
21. Bangladesh Ministry of Social Welfare, Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy (2015).
22. Bangladesh Ministry of Social Welfare, Challenges in Implementing Domestic Workers Policy (2018).
23. Ministry of Labour and Employment, Domestic Labour and Child Exploitation (2019).
24. S. Roy, “Comparative Perspectives on Child Labour in South Asia,” Asian Labour Review (2020) 45(1): 22-40.
25. India Ministry of Labour, The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 (2016).
26. India Ministry of Labour, Challenges in Enforcement of Child Labour Laws (2020).
27. S. Wijesekera, “Sri Lanka’s Progress in Child Labour Eradication,” South Asian Law Review (2020) 28(4): 90-105.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
30. Bangladesh Ministry of Labour, Annual Report on Labour Regulations (2018).
31. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, Section 34.
32. Bangladesh Ministry of Labour and Employment, Child Labour: Institutional Constraints (2019).
33. ILO, Child Labour in Bangladesh: A Review of Policies and Impact (ILO, 2020)
34. K. Hossain, “Challenges in Enforcement of Child Labour Laws in Bangladesh,” Journal of Labour Studies (2021).
35. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, section 34(3).
36. Ministry of Education, Child Education and Labour: Barriers to Access (2019).
37. Bangladesh Judicial System, Report on Child Labour Cases (2020).
38. S. Rahman, “Interagency Cooperation in Child Labour Enforcement,” South Asian Policy Journal (2020).
39. Transparency International, Corruption and Child Labour in Bangladesh (2020).
40. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, Section 45.
41. S. Begum, Political Influence on Child Labour Enforcement in Rural Areas, Labour Policy Review (2019).
42. S. Alam, “The Political Economy of Child Labour in Bangladesh,” Asian Journal of Development Studies (2021).
43. Bangladesh Ministry of Labour, Monitoring and Enforcement of Labour Laws (2019).
44. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, National Child Labour Survey 2020 (2021).
45. Annual Review of Child Labour Reports (2020).
46. Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2020.
47. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, Section 34(2). Bangladesh Ministry of Education,
48. Educational Access for Child Workers (2020).
49. Bangladesh Ministry of Labour, Labour Protection for Family Enterprises (2018).
50. S. Roy, Legal Gaps and Child Labour Laws in Bangladesh (2019).
51. UNICEF, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2016: A Fair Chance for Every Child’ (UNICEF 2016).
52. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, ‘Labor Force Survey 2016-2017’ (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2017).
53. World Bank, ‘The Informal Economy in Bangladesh’ (World Bank, 2018) https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/bangladesh accessed 14 August 2025.
54. Asian Development Bank, “Education in Bangladesh: A Roadmap for the Future” (Asian Development Bank 2017).
55. World Bank, ‘Access to Education in Rural Bangladesh: Gaps and Opportunities’ (World Bank, 2019) https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/bangladesh accessed 14 August 2025.
56. UNESCO, ‘Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2015: Achieving Education for All’ (UNESCO 2015).
57. ILO, ‘International Labor Organization Report on Child Labor in Agriculture’ (International Labor Organization, 2019).
58. W. Jones, ‘Urbanization and Informal Labor: Child Labor in Bangladesh’ (2016) 31 Urban Studies Journal 223.
59. R. B. Rahman, ‘Urbanization and Child Labor: An Analysis of Socioeconomic Effects in Dhaka’ (2017) 29 Economic Studies Journal 104.