“Evidence of child labour found at Hashem Foods Ltd factory”, 9 August 2021

An investigation committee of the Narayanganj district administration has found evidence of child labour at the factory of Hashem Foods and Beverage Company Ltd in Rupganj, Narayanganj, which caught fire in July.

However, the authorities of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) have disagreed with the report.

Narayanganj Deputy Commissioner Mostain Billah told Dhaka Tribune…that the Narayanganj district administration's investigation committee had submitted a 44-page investigation report on the fire…

“The investigation report found evidence of child labour at the factory. We spoke to the families of 36 workers who were injured and the 51 workers who died in the fire, and I have personally spoken to workers of the factory. They all confirmed that children were working there,”… “We also found the body of a 13-year-old worker named Hasnain,”…

Soumen Barua, deputy inspector general of the DIFE Narayanganj unit, meanwhile disagreed with the findings reached in the Narayanganj district administration investigation report.

"We did not find any child labour at the factory," he told Dhaka Tribune. “The families of the workers injured in the blaze and the victims that have been spoken to were all over 14 years old. If the investigation report mentions child labour, they will be able to say it better. We did not find any such evidence,”…