The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Speakers at a workshop on 'Elimination of Hazardous Child Labour Movement in North-Western Region' on Thursday stressed the need for concerted efforts of all stakeholders to eliminate child labour from the society.

Child Labour Elimination Action Network (CLEAN) with the help of ESDO and Manusher Janno Foundation organised the workshop at Rangpur Shishu Academy auditorium and Director of Rangpur Regional Labour Department (RLD) Shafikul Islam Dulu chaired it.

Assistant Director (Labour) of Rangpur RLD Alamgir Kumkum attended the workshop as the chief guest while District Women's Affairs Officer Shameem Ara Begum was present as the special guest.

Latifpur Union Chairman Shah Hafizur Rahman, President of CLEAN Mizanur Rahman, Child Organiser of Rangpur Shishu Academy Mokhlesur Rahman, Cluster Manager of District unit of Hazardous Child Labour Maruf Ahmed, addressed. Public representatives, government and NGO officials and experts, elite, journalists, professionals and public representatives, child labours, among others, addressed the workshop.

The speakers elaborately discussed different reasons and aspects of the problems and its present situation and suggested to save the hundreds of child labours engaged in hazardous works in the region. The children are engaged in hazardous works like battery charging, garments, bedding shops, welding, household iron-made necessary goods making shops, breaking of stones and bricks, car and furniture colouring, binding bidi at the bidi factories, etc. Many of the child labourers have been suffering from severe and deadly diseases like lung ailments, lung cancer, cough, pneumonia, gastric and peptic ulcers, traumatis, tuberculosis, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and many other diseases, they said.

The children should be freed from hazardous labour, given the opportunity of education, training on different trades and should be properly rehabilitated by protecting their fundamental rights to make them as worthy citizens of the country, they said.

They called upon the NGOs and concerned government departments for playing their due role in a concerted manner to provide all necessary facilities to eradicate child labour so that they can be built up as a competent workforce in the country.