This study aimed to know how and what factors have contributed in
changing the patterns and perspectives of the employment of children
over the last 15 years. Based on an in-depth research on 120 children
and 40 employers of child labour in a Dhaka slum and a rural
community in the poor northern district of Nilphamari this paper
articulates employers’ perspectives on child labour, with particular
emphasis on understanding what factors have caused them to change
their own practices over time. The paper addresses four main issues: a)
why employers depend on child labour; b) how the types and forms of
children’s employment are believed to have changed over the last 15
years; c) factors that employers believe have contributed to these
changes; and d) how employers are adapting to the changing situation
with respect to the employment of children.

Firstly, we tried to show why employers depend on child labour. It has
been found that certain tasks were deemed to be reserved for children
since adults were unwilling to execute those tasks. These tasks effectively
‘institutionalize’ children’s work, usually within informal setting. The
physical structure of the children was found to be vital. Since they can
move in and out very easily around the busy work places it has made
their existence well-liked. In many of the cases the adults withdrew
themselves from many tasks performed by children on grounds of status,
particularly if they were seen as dirty tasks. Also employers were found
less willing to pay full-time adult employee wages for tasks, which are
intermittent, unskilled or low priority.