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Bangladesh - Unique IPEC-backed concept reaps benefits in garment industry 
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Introduction

A project that features a unique concept of child labour monitoring and social rehabilitation, based on an agreement between employers and United Nations bodies, and endorsed by the national government, has made its mark in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The BGMEA/ILO/UNICEF Child Labour project - a world-first in which an entire industry has pledged to free its workplace of child labour - has become a replicable model and is already being applied in other countries and other industries.

Between 1995, when the project was launched, and end-1998, the number of textile factories employing children was reduced from nearly 45 per cent to 2.5 per cent of the total. The actual number of children employed has been reduced from nearly 10,000 in 1995 to around 1,500.

The IPEC-backed project is recognized internationally as a breakthrough and its success is especially significant in that it has been achieved in Bangladesh’s leading export industry.

Begun by children
IPEC was instrumental in convincing the Bangladeshi Garment Manufacturers’ Association (BGMEA) not to take such radical action but instead to stream children more gradually into education and compensate their loss of income.

Bangladeshi children workers themselves were responsible for the project’s inception, appealing to ILO and UNICEF to act after massive layoffs, brought on by the threat of a US boycott of Bangladeshi goods, put them on the streets.




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Results and Lessons Learnt
  • The project has proved itself and has been replicated in other countries - Pakistan, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras.
  • The Bangladeshi garment industry has saved millions of dollars in exports by avoiding trade sanctions.
  • Cooperation between employers, governments, NGOs and international organizations has worked.
  • IPEC has gained positive exposure.
    The main lessons learned to date in the project are:
  • Expectations must remain realistic.
  • Success comes in small steps.
  • Income maintenance is not always feasible.
  • Funding for all segments of a project must be obtained up-front.
  • Fines for non-compliance must be heavy and collected.
  • Credible alternatives must be guaranteed for the children to ensure they do not go back to work.





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Memorandum of Understanding
In 1995, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to this end between BGMEA, ILO and UNICEF, with the support of the Government and the United States, and also to prevent further recruitment of children under 14.

    Four key components of the MoU were:
  • An initial fact-finding survey.
  • A special education programme.
  • Monitoring and verification of withdrawal.
  • Income compensation for the children withdrawn.





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Survey
The fact-finding survey was conducted in 1995 and revealed a total of 9,546 child workers in the garment industry. This figure is negligible compared with the vast numbers of children working in the informal and agricultural sectors in Bangladesh, but as garment sector exports are vital to the country’s economy, any success in reducing or eliminating child labour will clearly have major implications elsewhere and also provide leverage for IPEC and other players in implementing child labour elimination projects.




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Education
UNICEF took on the three-year educational component in association with two national NGOs, and financial commitments were made by all sides. Enrolment in the special informal schooling programme reached a peak of 8,138 genuine ex-garment child workers, meaning that twin objectives of withdrawal and rehabilitation have mostly been met.




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Verification
IPEC led in setting up this aspect of the agreement and monitors were specially trained both to carry out continuous regular and surprise inspections in all the industry’s factories and workshops, and to monitor school attendance. The quality of the monitors and of their training proved to be a corner stone in the success of the project. The number of visits to factories in the city of Dhaka increased from 1,609 in 1996, to 4,542 in 1997, to reach 6,104 in 1998. Monitoring will continue into the year 2000.




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Income Maintenance
To ensure that children did not drift back into work elsewhere, a stipend of Tk. 300 per month was agreed for each child withdrawn and placed into the informal education programme. This, clearly, has been a costly and controversial exercise, but has the advantage of having provided a vital learning experience for other projects.




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Local Steering Committee
To oversee and coordinate the implementation of the MoU, a local Steering Committee was set up with members taken from BGMEA, UNICEF and ILO. It deals mainly with non-compliance and punitive measures, non-cooperation, running of schools and measures to avoid school drop-out.




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Advocacy
Awareness-raising has been an essential part of the project. Publicity campaigns have been run and have informed not only the Bangladeshi public but have also attracted international interest in the new programme model.




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Updated by Magic Software. Approved by RSG. Last update: 13 August 2001.