President, PM for preventing child labour

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called for a more effective role of private organizations, individuals, national and international agencies, civil society and media alongside the government to prevent child labour.

"The government has fixed child labour elimination as one of the indexes to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. So the government is determined to keep children safe in all fields including disaster and conflicts," President Hamid said in a message marking the World Day Against Child Labour.

The theme of the day this year is "In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labour".

The President appreciated the theme saying that it is very time-befitting.

He said Bangladesh has already ratified the UN charter on child rights, the ILO convention on prevention and elimination of hazardous child labour.

Abdul Hamid said the government has formulated National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010 to prevent child labour. The President said the government has identified 38 jobs as hazardous for children and they are being withdrawn from hazardous jobs and given vocational and technical education. He said the government has been implementing Education For All programme for the sake of children's welfare and development.

All students are being given textbooks and education materials free of cost, stipends are being provided, he said adding school feeding programme is functioning at poverty-hit areas.

In a separate message on the occasion, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government has formulated Domestic Worker Protection and Welfare Policy 2015 to ensure rights of children working as household activities.

She said National Child Labour Welfare Council with the association of ILO has been working to strengthen the capacity of divisional, district and upazila committees to eliminate child labour.

Echoing the remarks of the President, Sheikh Hasina also said all students are being provided with textbooks, education materials as well as stipends under 'Education For All' programme and school feeding programme is functioning at poverty-stricken areas for the development and welfare of children.

She said Labour Welfare Foundation has been providing Taka 3 lakh financial assistance for off-springs of workers of institutional or non-institutional sectors for receiving higher education at public medical colleges, agriculture, engineering or technology universities and other public universities.

"Due of our government's pragmatic steps, child labour has reduced in the country," she said.

The President and the Prime Minister wished success of all programmes marking World Day Against Child Labour 2017.

Source: bss