A five-year study with child workers in Bangladesh’s growing leather industry has uncovered children working in dangerous and harmful conditions at every stage of leather processing and production, driven by the need to support their families financially.
- As part of the project, a survey conducted in the Hazaribagh, Hemayetpur and Bhairab areas of Bangladesh found that over a quarter of workers at 158 small leather enterprises were children (27% of 880 workers).
- Hazardous child labour was found among children as young as eight, and their tasks included carrying heavy loads, manually dyeing leather using harmful chemicals, working in extreme heat and operating cutting tools and heavy machinery without safety measures.
- While not directly comparable, the CLARISSA (Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South‑Eastern Asia), a research programme on worst forms of child labour (WFCL), suggests a far higher prevalence of worst forms of child labour than was reported in Bangladesh’s last National Child Labour Survey (2022), which estimated that 4.4% of children were engaged in child labour, and just 2.7% of children worked in hazardous sectors, like the leather industry.
- CLARISSA aims to identify, evidence, and promote effective multi-stakeholder action to tackle the drivers of WFCL in selected supply chains in Bangladesh and Nepal.
SUGGESTIONS: To help eliminate the worst forms of child labour in Bangladesh and globally, the researchers want to see more direct engagement with communities, including working children, parents, health workers, schools and local businesses, financial support for families of child workers and recognition of the role of education and affordable, quality schooling.
- The researchers also want countries, including Bangladesh, to prioritise universal health coverage to alleviate child labour, as a health crisis in the family is often the reason children first have to work, to repay loans taken out to pay medical expenses or to cover the loss of income from a parent who is ill or has sadly died.
THE CONTEXT: A total of 160 million children are in child labour globally – equating to almost one in ten children worldwide and despite efforts of the UN, NGOs and governments to eliminate all forms of child labour by 2025, the target now seems a long way off.
- The leather sector is one of the most profitable sectors in Bangladesh and is a major contributor to the country’s economy.
- But this billion-dollar industry relies on the informal economy and its use of cheap labour, including children living and migrating into rapidly evolving informal settlements.
METHODOLOGY: Spanning five years, the programme’s focus in Bangladesh was on identifying the system dynamics of WFCL in Dhaka’s leather industry, and particularly the informal economy, where WFCL is prevalent.
- In addition to extensive participatory and qualitative research inquiry, 13 participatory action research groups of children and business owners spent 12–18 months learning about actions to reduce WFCL and its impact.
- The Action Research component makes the CLARISSA programme unique in the child labour space because it has learned about the dynamics of WFCL from action as well as inquiry.
THE STUDY & AUTHORS: The study — Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Bangladesh Leather Industry: A Synthesis of Five Years of Research by Children, Small Business Owners, NGOs, and Academics — has been brought out by CLARISSA Research and Evidence Paper 11 and published by Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.
- Authors: Jody Aked, A K M Maksud, Professor Danny Burns.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Many informal businesses rely on child labour simply because they lack financial options. By offering flexible business capital, we can help them transition to more responsible practices and reduce their dependence on child workers. At the same time, if employers are forcing children to work longer hours through abuse or coercion, they must be held accountable. This could mean stricter penalties for violations or giving them the training they need to implement ethical practices. Most importantly, we must listen to children’s voices and experiences, ensuring that any interventions we design are truly effective in bringing about positive change in their lives.
— Jiniya Afroze
Country Coordinator for Bangladesh
CLARISSA research project
It’s important to listen to children and their employers to understand how child labour has become critical in Bangladesh’s leather supply chain system and an important contributor to their households financially.
— Professor Danny Burns
Project Lead & Research Fellow
Institute of Development Studies
