Child Labour

Adnan Aslam (BSc Mechanical Engineering) HITEC University Taxila, Islamabad Pakistan.

CHILD LABOUR IN PAKISTAN

he most beautiful creature of ALLAH ALMIGHTY is man , that experience different phases

of life, one of the best part of his life is childhood in which he is purest in nature, have

beauty of innocence and fun in itself.

But due to some reasons in

Pakistan, all of their purity and beauty

transform into harmful employment. This

is termed as, CHILD LABOUR IN

PAKISTAN

T

Adnan Aslam

Approved


Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1

2. COMPARISON ................................................................................................................. 2

2.1 PROVINCE WISE COMPARISON: ...................................................................................................... 2 2.2 COMPARISON BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS: ........................................................................... 3

3. FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR ....................................................................................... 4

3.1 CARPET INDUSTRY ....................................................................................................................... 4 3.2 GLASS BANGLE INDUSTRY ............................................................................................................. 5 3.3 SURGICAL INDUSTRY .................................................................................................................... 5 3.4 DEEP FISHING INDUSTRY .............................................................................................................. 5 3.5 RAG PICKING BUSINESS ................................................................................................................ 6 3.6 BEGGING PROFESSION ................................................................................................................. 6 3.7 DOMESTIC SERVICE ..................................................................................................................... 6

4. CAUSES ........................................................................................................................... 7

5. SOLUTIONS .................................................................................................................. 8

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1. INTRODUCTION

It is equally frustrating that child labour considered to be one of the core issues of

PAKISTAN, is being neglected by the government. It is difficult to make a precise estimate of

the magnitude of child labour in Pakistan due to lack of data.

The last child labour survey conducted

by the government was in 1996. According to

the survey, 11 million of the totals of 40

million children were found to be active on a

full time bases. Most of the children are

between 5 -16 year of age. This includes both

boys and girls i.e. 73% (8.03 million) are boys

and the remaining 27% (2.97 million) are girls.

Officially children made up about seven

percent of the total work force according to the

finding of survey.

The rule of ILO (International Labour Organization) convention stated it is necessary for all

countries to set a minimum age of employment.

The age above 15 year is set for employment.

Developed countries are allowed to the minimum age of 14

ILO also defines that those children who want to learn the skills must of age 12, and with

the time limit of 3 to 4 hours.

The survey of 2012, gives the information that 96% of working boys work as wholesale and

retail industry followed by 22% in the service industry and 22% in manufacturing in urban areas.

48% girls employed in service industry.

Child labour is very common in north-eastern city, Sialkot, which is a main Centre for exporting

goods.

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2. COMPARISON

2.1 Province wise comparison:

The child labour in Pakistan is 3/5 (60%) of the total number of children. The ratio is

maximum in Punjab. This is because 23 million children of school going age not attending

school, and the population growth nearly 2% annually.

Province Total No. of

Children in age

group of 5-14

years (millions)

Total No. of Economically

Active Children in Age

group of 5-14 years

(millions)

Ratio of Child Labour

Punjab 22.63 1.94 8.6%

Sindh 8.62 0.30 3.5%

KPK 6.71 1.06 15.8%

Baluchistan 2.07 0.01 0.5%

Total 40.03 3.31 8.3%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Punjab Sindh KPK Balochistan

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

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2.2 Comparison between rural and urban areas:

Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Islamabad,

Sargodha and Sialkot, being larger sized cities, have been treated as independent strata. Each of

these cities has been further sub-stratified into low, middle and high-income groups.

In the rural areas of Punjab, Sindh and NWFP each administrative district has been treated as an

independent stratum. In Baluchistan province the administrative division has been considered as

a stratum.

Urban Rural TOTAL

Low Middle High TOTAL

PUNJAB 166 282 52 500 342 842

SINDH 149 233 28 410 116 526

KPK 56 100 16 172 124 296

BALOCHISTAN 58 83 2 143 58 201

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

PUNJAB SINDH KPK BALOCHISTAN

Low

Middle

High

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3. FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR

Child labour prevails in many form of Pakistan. Majority of children

are employed in agricultural occupation and

in urban areas children are enrolled in

occupation like loading and unloading of

goods, workshop, shoe shinning etc.

Following are some major industries in which

child labour is common:

Carpet Industry

Glass Bangle Industry

Surgical Industry

Deep fishing Industry

Rag Picking Business

Domestic Services

Begging Profession

Sports Goods Industry

Agricultural Department

3.1 Carpet Industry

Rugs are among South Asia’s top export product and a high-employment sector for the

poor. In Pakistan, young children whose parents take money in advance for their work on carpet

looms are victims of a debt-bondage system.

Children are paid half the wages of that

paid to an adult worker and they are not allowed

to leave the premises until the debt is fully paid.

Adult workers and employers sexually abuse these

children, about a quarter of whom are girls under

the age of 15.


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3.2 Glass Bangle Industry

Children in large numbers are employed in the glass bangle making

industry. District Hyderabad in Sindh province is known for producing beautiful, creative and

high quality glass bangles. Bangles are a much loved ornament worn by women of Pakistan, and

in some cultures, bangles is a must for married women. It is a must on festive occasions as well,

such as marriages, Eid etc. As such bangles are bought and sold throughout the country and

therefore is in high demand.

3.3 Surgical Industry

The city of Sialkot is famous for the manufacture and export of various items

including sports goods, leather apparel and surgical instruments. Surgical industry is one of those

industries that require nimble fingers and fast work, only possible from children. Children are

involved at different stages of manufacture of surgical instruments.

3.4 Deep Fishing Industry

Gwadar is an important district of Balochistan because of its upcoming sea-

port. The district has over 1.8 million population.

Fishing is the main economic activity

here, followed by agriculture, livestock rearing,

farming and government and social services. A

large number of children are working in deep-

sea fishing, boat-making and processing. These

children work with either their fathers or some

other family members and learn their family

craft.

Moreover, children are also supposed to

fetch water from community tanks/ponds, collect fuel wood etc. All these tasks that are

performed by children are considered as help to their families and not as child labour.

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3.5 Rag Picking Business

A study conducted by the Sustainable

Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Rag

Pickers/Scavengers in 2003 reveals that there are

roughly 89,500-106,500 children engaged in

scavenging in five major cities of the country i.e.

Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad.

The survey identifies three types of

scavengers: migratory scavengers, roaming

scavengers and site based scavengers.

3.6 Begging Profession

There are two types of child beggars; one who is doing it as a profession and

the other is child peddler who begs in order to

survive.

There is no data that gives the magnitude

of the problem. However, there is no doubt that it

is huge and growing. One can hardly miss the

number of little outstretched hands begging for a

rupee or more, boys and girls alike. Time is no

constraint, especially for the boys

3.7 Domestic Service

Child labour in domestic service is very common and acceptable. It may be paid

or unpaid work. It takes place in the home and duties include cleaning, cooking, baby sitting and

caring among many other small and big chores. Domestic work is predominantly the domain of

female child labourers. These children work long hours, do not go to school and many of them

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are separated from their parents for long periods of time. They often face the risk of sexual and

physical abuse from their employers.

4. CAUSES

Following are the causes of child labour:

Poverty

Parental illiteracy

Tradition of making children learn the family skills

Absence of universal compulsory Primary education

Social apathy and tolerance of child labour

Ignorance of the parents about the adverse consequences of Child labour

Ineffective enforcement of the legal provisions pertaining to child labour

Non-availability of and non-accessibility to schools

Irrelevant and non-attractive school curriculum

Employers prefer children as they constitute cheap labour and they are not able to

organize themselves against exploitation.

International Labour Organization (ILO) suggests poverty is the greatest single cause

behind child labour. Pakistan has a income of approximately $1900. A middle class person in

Pakistan earns around $5 a day on average. The average Pakistani has to feed nine or ten people

with their daily wage. Further to that there is also the high inflation rate to contend with.[5] As of

2008, 17.2% of the total population lives below the poverty line, which is the lowest figure in the

history of Pakistan.

Poverty levels in Pakistan appear to necessitate that children work in order to allow

families to reach their target take‐ home pay On the side of the firms, the low cost of child

labour gave manufacturers a significant advantage in the Western marketplace, where they

undersell their competitors

from countries

prohibiting child labour, often

by improbable

amounts.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour_in_Pakistan#cite_note-5


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5. SOLUTIONS

Most of the families in Pakistan have a problem of low income or amount of earning due

to this we have to take some steps to increase their income at individual and government level

family income.

Children need to learn how to read and write. They need social and professional skills

that only school and a nurturing environment can provide. Some countries have compulsory

schooling and some provide free public schooling.

Providing a better compulsory education.

Accommodate them with some money as a

Social Service.

Strictly conduct family control program

Eliminate poverty

Enforce labour laws

Abolish child trafficking

Promote fair trade Fair

Replace child workers by adult workers

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Lifestyle

Child Labour