child labour in pakistan ..child labour as a social issue

8/7/2019 child labour in pakistan ..child labour as a social issue

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ASNA MASOODASNA MASOODASNA MASOODASNA MASOOD

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BS IIIRd yearBS IIIRd yearBS IIIRd yearBS IIIRd year

Department ofDepartment ofDepartment ofDepartment of

chemistrychemistrychemistrychemistry

CHILD LABOURCHILD LABOURCHILD LABOURCHILD LABOUR

Children are remarkablyChildren are remarkablyChildren are remarkablyChildren are remarkablyimaginative and resilientimaginative and resilientimaginative and resilientimaginative and resilient ---- butbutbutbut

also heartbreakingly fragilealso heartbreakingly fragilealso heartbreakingly fragilealso heartbreakingly fragile

and vulnerableand vulnerableand vulnerableand vulnerable


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The true picture of working childrens in pakistan can be describe by thissong of iqbal masih ,

My father sold me to a carpet manI go to his factory at 4 am

Im working all day as hard as I canIm just a child workin like a man

My father sold me to a carpet manWho runs a factory in Pakistan

For a twelve dollar debt he could not pay

I work like a slave for six cents a day

Chained to my loom...Pretty rugs for your room

My name is Iqbal And my lifes full of gloom.No breaks, no lunch... do the best I can

No school, no play... in Holy Pakistan.

Im four years young, and I only know one way

Makin rugs for your rooms ... and I dont how to play.Like some kids in China weaving pretty colored rugs..

They slave to make toys...No kittens...or hugs.

I sit at the loom 12 hours strong

I dont know this is very wrong

Working in silence all through the dayI dont even know theres another way.

When I ran away, I would pay, be attackedWith relentless beatings on my back.

I had no choice, for I needed to stay

And labor again for six cents a day.

My name is Iqbal and Im only five

I dont even know that I am alive.When Im six I hope this torture will cease

Or is this the way it must always be?

At the age of six, I dreamt of the loom.

No dreams of puppies, or toys in my room.

Now I am seven, and trust God has a plan...To save the children from the factory man.

Im eight years old, And think I can say...


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That I do what Im told, But I hate every day

Now I am nine and BLF* set me free

I escaped to a Rally from the factory.

The papers were sent when I was just ten...

Ill never return to the loom again!My story can now be told to more

We no longer owe the factory store

The school of knowledge

Fed my spirit a feast And then my light went out,

When I was shot near a beast.

Do not buy pretty rugs or toys,

That are made by children -- girls and boys.

Watch for the Rugmark that makes this decree:Im made by a worker thats grown-up and free!

Child labour : is refers to the employment of childrens whether it is regularor sustained .

Or

Child labour is often defined as work that deprives children of theirchildhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful tophysical and mental development.

It referes to the work that :

is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful tochildren

interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity toattend school, obliging them to leave school prematurely or requiring themto attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavywork.

One out of six children in the world today is involved in child labour, doing workthat is damaging to his or her mental, physical and emotional


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development.Whether or not particular forms of work can be called childlabour depends on the childs age, the type and hours of work performed, theconditions under which the work is performed and the objectives pursued byindividual. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectorswithin countries.

Forms of child labour :

The child labour exists in many forms sometime you can visualized it and sometimes it is hidden .we cannot able to identify it by our naked eyes .the some ofwidespread and worst forms of child labour are discussed below .

1. Domestic work: Very common and sometimes seen as acceptable, ithappens in the family home or outside the home. When domesticwork isoutside the home, children almost always girls work very long hours,have no chance to go to school and are isolated from their family and

friends.

2. Agricultural work: A lot of working children are found in agriculture.Theyoften work on the family farm or with the whole family, as a unit, for anemployer.

3. Work in industries: This work can be regular or casual, legal orillegal, aspart of the family or by the child on his own for an employer. It includescarpet weaving, gemstone polishing, making garments, chemicals,glassware, fireworks, matches or a range of other products. These tasks

expose the children to hazardous chemicals that can lead to poisoning,respiratory and skin diseases, radiant heat, fire and explosions, eyesightand hearing damage cuts, burns and even death.

4. Work in mines and quarries: Child labour is used in smallscale mines inmany countries. They work long hours without adequate protection andtraining. Child miners suffer from physical strain,fatigue and disorders ofthe muscular and skeletal systems.

5. Slavery and forced labour: It is most commonly found in rural areas. It isalso frequently linked to the oppression of ethnic minorities andindigenous peoples. Children are often also drawn into armed conflict,forced to be soldiers or to work for armed forces.


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their body there growth become retarded.these deficiency also impact on their

adult life.

Infections :Children making silk thread in India dip their hands into boilingwater that burns and blisters them, breath smoke and fumes from machinery,

handle dead worms that cause infections, and guide twisting threads that cut theirfingers

Sexuall transmitted disease and HIV :as childrens are easy to approach so manyof childs forced into prostitution they often become target of sexuall abuse and

victimize by HIV syndrome .

Children harvesting sugar cane in El Salvador use machetes to cut cane for up tonine hours a day in the hot sun; injuries to their hands and legs are common and

medical care is often not available.

Child labour statistics around the world :60% in Asia, 32% in Africa, 7% in Latin

America and 1% in US, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations.Laws :

National Policy on Child Labour was formulated in 1987. prohibition of children being employed in hazardous occupations and processes. Poverty being the main root cause the govt has decided to generate the

employment supplementary nutrition and regular health check ups so as to prepare them to join

regular mainstream schools

THE CHILD LABOUR (Prohibition and Regulation) ACT, 1986

OBJECT:To prohibit the engagement of children in certain employments and toregulate the conditions of work or children in certain other employments

DEFINITION:Child: Child means a person who has not completed his fourteenyears of age.

APPLICABILITY: In extends to the whole of India WEEKLY HOLIDAY:Every child shall be allowed in each week a holiday of one

whole day. HOURS AND PERIOD OF WORK: The period of work on each day shall not

exceed three hours and no child

shall work for more than three hours before he has had an interval for rest for at least one hour. No child shall be permitted or required to work between 7 P.m. and 8 a.m. No child shall be required or permitted to work overtime.


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PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN CERTAIN

OCCUPATIONS AND PROCESSES :

Transport of passengers, goods; or mails by railway Cinder picking, clearing of an ash pit or building operation in the railway premise. Work in a catering establishment at a railway station, involving the movement of vendor or any other employee of the establishment from one platform to another or into or out of a moving train. Work relating to the construction of railway station or with any other work where such work is done in close proximity to or between the railway lines. The port authority within the limits of any port. 107 Work relating to selling of crackers and fireworks in shops with temporary

licenses Abattoirs/slaughter Houses Automobile workshops and garages. Founderies Handling of taxies or inflammable substance or explosives Handlom and powerloom industry Mines (Under ground and under water) and collieries Plastic units and Fiber glass workship

Child labour in Pakistan :Child labour in Pakistan :Child labour in Pakistan :Child labour in Pakistan :

In Pakistan children aged 5-14 are above 40 million.During the last year, the Federal

Bureau of Statistics released the results of its survey funded by ILOs IPEC(International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour). The findings were that3.8 million children age group of 5-14 years are working in Pakistan out of total 40

million children in this age group; fifty percent of these economically active childrenare in age group of 5 to 9 years. Even out of these 3.8 million economically activechildren, 2.7 million were claimed to be working in the agriculture sector. Two millionand four hundred thousand (73%) of them were said to be boys.

STATISTICAL PROFILE OF CHILD LABOR IN PAKISTAN

Approximately 3.6 million children are involved in child labor in Pakistan now a days.

These children get low wages but over worked. Most of the child labors remain hidden

from statistical and planning procedures because they are working in the invisible sectorof the economy. The child workers do not enjoy basic needs of life.

Measures taken by government of Pakistan to prohibit child labour :


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During the year 2001 and 2002 the government of Pakistan carried out a series of

consultation of tripartite partners and stakeholders (Labour Department, trade unions,

employers and NGOs) in all the provinces. The objective was to identify the occupationsand the categories of work, which may be considered as hazardous under the provisions

of ILO Convention 182. As a result of these deliberations, a national consensus list of

occupations and categories of work was identified, which is given below:

1. Nature of occupation-category of work

2. Work inside under ground mines over ground quarries, including blasting and assistingin blasting

3. Work with power driven cutting machinery like saws, shears, and guillotines, (

Thrashers, fodder cutting machines, also marbles)4. Work with live electrical wires over 50V.

5. All operation related to leather tanning process e.g. soaking, dehairing, liming chrome

tanning, deliming, pickling defleshing, and ink application.

6. Mixing or application or pesticides insecticide/fumigation.

7. Sandblasting and other work involving exposure to free silica.8. Work with exposure to ALL toxic, explosive and carcinogenic chemicals e.g. asbestos,

benzene, ammonia, chlorine, , carbon tetrachloride, carbon disulphide, epoxy, resins,formaldehyde, metal fumes, heavy metals like nickel, mercury chromium, etc

9. Work with exposure to cement dust (cement industry)

10. Work with exposure to coal dust11. Manufacture and sale of fireworks explosives

12. Work at the sites where Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas

(CNG) are filled in cylinders.13. Work on glass and metal furnaces

14. Work in the clothe printing, dyeing and finishing sections

15. Work inside sewer pipelines, pits, storage tanks16. Stone crushing

17. Lifting and carrying of heavy weight specially in transport industry ( 15b kg and

above)

18. Work between 10 pm to 8 am ( Hotel Industry)19. Carpet waving

20. Working 2 meter above the floor

21. All scavenging including hospital waste22. tobacco process ( including Niswar) and Manufacturing

23. Deep fishing ( commercial fishing/ sea food and fish processing

24. Sheep casing and wool industry25. Ship breaking

26. Surgical instrument manufacturing specially in vendors workshop

27. Bangles glass, furnaces

Causes of child labour in Pakistan :

It is an outcome of socio-economic factors and has its roots in poverty, lack of

opportunities, high rate of population growth, unemployment, uneven distribution of


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wealth and resources, outdated social customs and norms . According to the United

Nations Development Program (UNDP) the daily income of 65.5% people of Pakistan is

below 2 U.S. dollars a day.

Consider the point that if 30% of our countrys total population is leading life below the

poverty-line wherein the people are deprived of basic necessities of life like clothing,shelter, food, education and medication, the children of these people will be forced to

become Labourers or workers in order to survive. Another reason of child Labour in

Pakistan is that our people dont have the security of social life. There is no aid plan orallowance for children in our country. Class-based education system is another reason for

increasing child Labour; villages lack standardized education systems and as a result,

child Labour is on increase in rural areas. The government has not put its laws intopractice to stop child Labour in our country. Employers after exploiting child Labour,

extract a large surplus, whereas child Labour, despite increasing poverty, unemployment

and other problems, are pressed to do anything and everything for their livelihood and the

survival of their families.

According to non-government reports, there are

more than 12 million child labourers in Pakistan and our poor education system

and the high birth rate are the main reasons. These children compete with adults in

whatever little work that is available. As many as 1,459 cases of child trafficking

were reported by mainstream print media in Pakistan between 2001 and 2009, while

19 boys and girls have been trafficked within the first quarter of 2010.

An estimated 1.2 million children are on the streets in the big cities of Pakistan.

Among a total of 52,962 reported cases of child abuse in Pakistan, Punjab was at the

top with almost 60 per cent, followed by Sindh with 34 per cent, then Khyber-

Pakhtunkhwa with five per cent and Balochistan with nearly one per cent. Mostly,

children who are domestic servants are subjected to abuse.

foot ball stitching and child labour :

By the late 1990s, Pakistan had come to account for 75 percent of total world production

of soccer balls (or footballs, as they are known in most countries), and 71 percent of allsoccer ball imports into the United States. The International Labor Rights Forum and

allies called attention to rampant child labor in the soccer ball industry. According to

investigations, thousands of children between the ages of 5 and 14 were putting in asmany as 10 to 11 hours per day stitching

CHILD LABOR DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT

During our analysis of furnaces in Gujranwala,it found that how government is the cause

of child labor. it analyzed that there were 3 child labors in every 10 employees in onefurnace.That means on average there are 42 furnaces in Gujranwala employed 4000


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EFFECTS OF CHILD LABOR IN PAKISTAN

As a cause child labor is having some effects on the economy of Pakistan from which

some are given below. The first effect of child labor is low literacy rate of country. As a

result the economic figure of country looks very bad, which ultimately results in bad

view of country in whole world. Similarly effect of child labor is also on the society.Because if the society is having illiterate people in its society they will be creating poor

society. Thirdly these children are the future of country as they will not going to get

education they will not going to have better future. Similarly any country may have a lotof more negative effects of child labor. But there are some positive effects also there.

Firstly it can help to reduce the poverty from the country. As we know that inflation

increases in Pakistan but income doesnt increase with such rate. Secondly, it helps thosechildren not having resources of getting education, to get experience for there better

future. And similarly Positive effects also go on.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Increase awareness in the general public. The production processes of goods should be question regarding the use of child

labour.

The contracts made at government and institutional level must be ensured to freeof child labor.

The employers who are working to eliminate child labor from the society shouldbe supported.

Make ground for the approval and implementation of UN, ILO declarations andconventions.

Convince international and national bodies to eliminate the factors whichcontribute to child labor

The projects creating favorable environment for children such as education,minimum wage rate legislation etc should be supported.

Promotion and development of codes of conducts of workforce. Cooperation to protect children at national and international level. Promote basic trade union rights for all workers, including the right to a safe work environment. Further research on the side effects of child labour.

SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE CHILD LABOR

Family incomes enhancement Educate children, it will help the children to increase their skills and hence

earning Promotion of social services (shelter and help in crises) to help the families and

children. Control the family size to minimize the children burden on the family.


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CONCLUSION

Along with the findings from other countries, this study confirms that there is a strongrelationship between poverty and child labor. Poverty is considered as an important factor

of child labor or in other words we can say that profile of child labor is mirror image of

profile of child labor. Further it is confirmed that poverty and child labor are morecommon in rural areas, agriculture sector and in families where household head is less

educated or illiterate. This study also discovered that child labors are poorest among

children. We also found in this study that child labor is not a complete dimension of childlabor but there are also other divisions which do not relate to poverty. It also supports the

idea that there is a cruel cycle of child labor and poverty. The suppliers of child labor and

mostly heads of poor families with no or little education. So the working children growpoor. So there is strong probability that when these working children will become heads

of their families, they will also send their children in thelabor market.

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child labour in pakistan ..child labour as a social issue