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Sunday | October 04, 2026 | Dhaka

Lawmakers, experts call for coordinated action to end child labour

 Staff Reporter
 Published: 8:54 PM, 04 October 2026

Lawmakers and experts have called for coordinated efforts by the government and non-government organisations to end child labour in Bangladesh. They stressed the need to reduce poverty, expand quality education, strictly enforce existing laws and raise public awareness.

They made the call at a dialogue titled “What We Can Do to End Child Labour” at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium in the capital on Sunday.

The event was organised by development organisation Action for Social Development (ASD) with support from the Child Labour Elimination Platform (CLEP).

Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaisar Kamal attended the event as the chief guest. Engineer Md Ashraf Uddin Bakul, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Defence, and lawmakers Bithika Binte Hossain, Anna Minj and Shaukat Ara Akter were present as special guests.

In his speech, Kaisar Kamal said Bangladesh has many good laws, but their proper enforcement remains a major problem. He said law enforcement agencies often fail to take action when influential people are involved in crimes.

He also stressed the need for stronger accountability and monitoring of government officials and employees.

Ashraf Uddin Bakul said the government is now focusing on implementation, coordination and monitoring to achieve the goal of ending child labour by 2030.

He said the government plans to prepare a five-year national action plan, giving priority to ending child labour in hazardous jobs and the informal sector.

Lawmaker Bithika Binte Hossain said 43 types of work have currently been identified as hazardous for children. The government is also considering including domestic work on the list.

ASD Executive Director MA Karim said the informal sector remains one of the biggest challenges in ending child labour. Many children work in small factories, workshops, shops, hotels and restaurants, transport, construction and domestic work, he said.

He stressed that removing children from workplaces alone would not solve the problem. Their families also need alternative sources of income and financial security. He urged the government to link child labour prevention programmes with social safety-net programmes.