Occupational Safety among Working Children in the Export Sector of Bangladesh

Abstract

Consumers in the United States are reluctant to purchase imported products made using child labor, because working is considered harmful to children. This research uses 2002–2003 survey data to investigate whether illness or injury related to occupational hazards depends on whether a child works in the export sector in Bangladesh. Our results indicate that working in the export sector does not significantly contribute to illness or injury. We further analyze whether working in the export sector causes severe illness or injury, but we find no significant relationship between children's work in the export sector and the incidence of severe illness or injury. Our findings underscore the importance workplace safety compliance in the export sector.

Keywords:

• Bangladesh
• child labor
• international trade
• export
• working conditions

Jel Classifications:

• F16
• J81
• J28
• O10
• O24

Notes

¹This proposal is known as the Harkin Bill or the Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1993.

²The proposed Harkin bill threatened Bangladesh's export industries to such an extent that the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in signing a Memorandum of Understanding in July 1995. The result was that 50,000 jobs held by children in the garment industry were eliminated (Rahman et al., 1999). See McClintock (2001) for more discussion of the Harkin Bill.

³It should be noted that about 40% of the population in Bangladesh is under the age of 15, contributing to the country's supply of child labor (Mohiuddin, 2004).

⁴Because birth registration is uncommon in Bangladesh, working children's ages may be overstated, particularly in the garment industry which has been subjected to considerable scrutiny.

⁵We thank an anonymous referee for bringing this to our attention.

⁶We thank an anonymous referee for pointing this out.

⁷The detailed results are available from the corresponding author upon request.

⁸Dorman (2008) reports that work-related illnesses and injuries of child workers vary from a negligible amount in Mongolia to 47% in Cambodia. He finds that approximately 7.6% children faced work related illness and injury in Bangladesh.

⁹We thank an anonymous referee for the reference.