Tempo Boy

Tempo boys are child labourers involved in a particularly dangerous and illegal occupation, carried out in high risk circumstances. Tens of thousands of other children in Bangladesh are also invoiced in hazardous trade such as welding, carpet making at night and cigarette making, from which child labour is also specifically banned.

all these working children are unregistered and uninsured. They have begun to take on many of the attributes and responsibilities of adult life at the age of 7 or 8. They work long hours for low remuneration. They have also no trade union. They may be subjected to exploitation, abuse and violence. Their work may be physically and mentally damaging to their growth.

THE RIGHT OF THE CHILD

On August 3rd 1990 Bangladesh became one of the first countries in the world to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Three principles govern the Convention:
-That children need special safeguards beyond those provided for adults;
-That the best environment for a child's survival and development is within the family;
-That government and the adult world in general should act in the best interests of the child.

This book gives the tempo boys of Dhaka and Sylhet one more important right in Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - the right to be heard. The idea of the Convention was to provide an effective protection for children, and to make the adult world aware of children's vulnerability and their need to have their rights protected separately from adults.

Children are exposed to danger, pain, fear and stress. The adults responsible for them may be the very people who expose them to abuse and danger or who are unable to offer food, shelter and protection from ill health.

Bangladesh's ratification of the Convention reflects the aspirations of the Bangladesh Government rather than its achievements in protecting its 50 million children - 44% of its population according to UNICEF. In Bangladesh, as in so many countries, these rights exist largely on paper. Most children in Bangladesh are unaware that they have any rights. The enforcement of measures for their defence is seen as a particularly difficult task in such a poor country.

Article 28 of the Convention commits governments to ensure that free and compulsory primary education is available to all children. Education is a concern on the minds of many of the boys interviewed here. A third of the children in Bangladesh have never been to school at all. Less than a quarter complete five years of primary education.

In the Annexe are listed some of the labour laws that have been introduced in Bangladesh to regulate the minimum age for the employment of children and to protect them. In general employers, law enforcement agencies, parents and the authorities connive at turning a blind eye to this legislation.

Article 32 of the Convention spells out the State's obligations to protect children from exploitative employment and from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to their health, education or development. States are responsible for regulating conditions of employment, for establishing a minimum age for admission to employment, and for regulating hours and conditions of employment.

Article 31 enshrines the right of all children to leisure, play and participation in cultural and artistic activities.

Article 34 outlines the State's responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse including prostitution and involvement in pornography.