Analyze and discuss the status of forced labor in light of Constitution of Bangladesh .

Analyze and discuss the status of forced labor in light of Constitution of Bangladesh .

Fundamental rights give the citizens dignity of life in an atmosphere of freedom and justice beyond the man-made restrain. This man-made restrain had constricted their physical and mental horizons. Modern judiciary is regarded as an excellent product of civilization to put the concept of justice to work in the midst of different forces with conflicting class or individual interests. These types of conflict make it hard to bring about equilibrium in the society for a peaceful and orderly association of citizens for their common good. An independent judiciary and strong democratic institutions are the best guarantee against attacks on the rights of the citizens. The fundamental rights of the people of Bangladesh have been guaranteed in the Constitution of the country. All past laws inconsistent with these rights were made void by the Constitution, and it enjoined upon the State not to make any law inconsistent with these rights. Certain rights may, however, remain suspended under the provisions of articles 141(a), 141(b) and 141(c) during an emergency arising out of a threat to the country’s security or economic life. Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution provide that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law, and the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 31 and 32 provide that to enjoy the protection of the law, and to be treated in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, and no action detrimental to the life, personal liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law. Article 29 provides that there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making special provision in favour of any backward section of citizens for the purpose of securing their adequate representation in the service of the Republic.

Bangladesh is a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Children – both girls and boys – are trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation, bonded labor, and other forms of forced labor. Estimates from UNICEF and other sources since 2004 suggest that between 10,000 and 29,000 children are exploited in prostitution in Bangladesh. Some children are sold into bondage by their parents, while others are coerced into labor or commercial sexual exploitation through fraud and physical coercion. The Center for Women and Child Studies reports that trafficked boys are generally under 10 years old and trafficked girls are between 11 and 16 years old. Women and children from Bangladesh are also trafficked to India and Pakistan for sexual exploitation. Bangladeshi men and women migrate willingly to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon, and Malaysia for work. Women typically work as domestic servants; some find themselves in situations of forced labor when faced with restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Similarly, Bangladeshi men and women migrate to Malaysia, the Gulf, Jordan, and Finland to work in the construction sector or garment industry; they are sometimes induced into forced labor through fraudulent job offers, or after arrival in the destination country. Illegal fees imposed formally by Bangladeshi recruitment agents sometimes serve to facilitate debt bondage situations. Some Bangladeshi women working abroad are subsequently trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. Bangladeshi adults are also trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and bonded labor. Some Burmese women who are trafficked to India transit through Bangladesh.[1]

Fundamental Rights and Constitution of Bangladesh

According to Article 34: Prohibition of forced labor of Constitution of Bangladesh

1. All forms of forced labor are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.

2. Nothing in this article shall apply to compulsory labor.

by persons undergoing lawful punishment for a criminal offence; or
required by any law for public purpose.[2]

According to Article 40: Freedom of profession or occupation

Subject to any restrictions imposed by law, every citizen possessing such qualifications, if

any , as may be prescribed by law in relation to his profession, occupation, trade or business

shall have the right to enter upon any lawful profession or occupation, and to conduct any

lawful trade or business.[3]

Forced Labor in Bangladesh

Tens of thousands of people are working as bonded laborers in rural Bangladesh, say activists. Even though it is illegal, entire families, including children, are bonded to their employers while they struggle to pay back loans.[4] Although rare in urban Bangladesh, bonded labor is common in rural areas. Unlike in cities where workers are paid a daily or fixed wage, the rural workforce mostly has to make verbal arrangements for wages, which are often manipulated by unscrupulous landlords and loan sharks, known as Mahajan. Still another way to become bonded is being forced to take out a loan due to a temporary financial crisis, often caused or aggravated by a poor harvest or family emergency. Once bonded, the laborer is then forced to work long hours for little or no pay, often seven days a week. Many, mostly women and children, end up as domestic servants, working in conditions that resemble servitude. Many suffer physical abuse, sometimes resulting in death, activists say.

In 1972, Bangladesh ratified both ILO Convention No. 29 (1930), the Forced Labor Convention and ILO Convention No. 105 (1957), the Abolition of Forced Labor Convention. The law prohibits forced or bonded labor and the Factories Act and Shops and Establishments Act provide for inspection mechanisms to strengthen laws against forced labor. Forced labor has been present in Bangladesh for centuries. After the liberation of Bangladesh, it changed its form and has taken the new face of various ‘contracts’ associated with loans taken by poor farmers from the usurers,” Mohamad Abul Quasem, founder of the human rights related NGO Uddyam and member of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, said.

Fundamental Rights and Forced Labor

Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution provide that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law, and the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 31 and 32 provide that to enjoy the protection of the law, and to be treated in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, and no action detrimental to the life, personal liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law. Article 29 provides that there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making special provision in favour of any backward section of citizens for the purpose of securing their adequate representation in the service of the Republic.[5]

Article 36 provides that subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest, every citizen shall have the right to move freely throughout Bangladesh, to reside and settle in any place therein and to leave and re-enter Bangladesh.

As per Articles 37 and 38 every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, to assemble and to participate in public meetings and processions peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interests of morality, public order or public health. Freedom of thought and conscience is guaranteed in Article 39 of the Constitution. Subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interests of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence the right of every citizen to freedom of speech and expression, and freedom of the press are guaranteed.

Article 40 provides that subject to any restrictions imposed by law, every citizen shall have the right to enter upon any lawful profession or occupation, and to conduct any lawful trade or business. As per Article 42 of the Constitution every citizen shall have the right to acquire, hold, and transfer or otherwise dispose of property, and no property shall be compulsorily acquired, nationalized or requisitioned save by authority of law.[6]

Child Forced Labor

Child labor is simply the most severe form of child exploitation and child abuse in the world today. In any society, working children, as a socio-economic group, happens to be the most disadvantaged of all since “they are forced to work for a living, sacrificing their childhood as well as their future for bare survival of self and family” (Masum 1999). Today, as individual well being increasingly depends on literacy, numeracy and intellectual competence, a child working is in fact a future denied. 0 The overwhelming majority of working children is found in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Child labor also exists in many industrialized countries and is emerging in a number of East European countries that are now in transition to a free market economy. Although Bangladesh accounts for less than 2 percent of the world population, it is the home of 6.6 million working children, accounting for more than 5 percent of the world’s working child population numbering 120 million. In Bangladesh children are found working in almost all the sectors of the economy except mining, quarrying, electricity, gas and water. Many of them work 48 hours a week on an average, earning less than 500 taka per month. A large number of children work in occupations and industries, which are plainly dangerous and hazardous.[7]

Conclusion

Forced labor is a sheer reality in Bangladesh. Labors are engaged in hazardous jobs, working under most unhygienic conditions. Yet the prevailing socio-economic conditions do not permit outright elimination of forced labor overnight. Experiences indicate that the elimination of forced labor from one particular industry may culminate in an increase in forced labor in another. Under these circumstances the government should immediately come forward to formulate a comprehensive National Plan of Action, aimed at gradual elimination of forced labor from the country in not too distant a future. Such a plan of action should attach priority to a large-scale replication of the UCEP model of integrated human resources development for workers and actively seek to put an immediate end to the most intolerable forms of forced labor.[8]

Bibliography

1. http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/F_0190.HTM

2. http://bdfeature.blogspot.com/2010/10/fundamental-rights-in-constitution-of.html

3. http;//www1.umn./humanrts/research/Bangladesh-constitution.pdf

4. Irin. 7 August 2009. DHAKA

5. http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/F_0190.HTM

6. http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/F_0190.HTM

7. http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/F_0190.HTM

8. http://www.banglarights.net/HTML/Childlabour-2.htm

9. http://www.lawyersnjurists.com/resource/articles-and-assignment/labor-rights-or-workers/

10. http://www.ilo.org/wcmp5/groups/public /@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_106143.pdf

[1] Retrieved from http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/F_0190.HTM