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Child Labor

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1. CHILD LABOR

Child labor can be defined as:
“The employment of children at regular and sustained labor basis. The term “child labor” is often defined as the work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”

2. CHILD LABOR IN FACTORIES IN PAKISTAN

In Pakistan, child labor is commonly found in all sectors and industries of the nation, be it in rural localities or urban localities. Underage labor being sought from children can be seen in factories, workshops, hotels, bazaars, etc. At times they have no choice but to do work that is beyond their physical capacity by force and circumstance which is the violation of law.
45.7% of the total population of Pakistan (2012) lives below the poverty line. Given these circumstances these children are compelled by their poor parents (who are prone to illiteracy and unawareness) to work even if it is affecting their childhood because the nominal wages that are brought home by these children helps to run their houses.
Working in factories promises these poor children a fixed amount of money throughout the month over labor in other forms such as working on the streets and signals and gives the employers cheap labor (who may be literate or illiterate). In country with such a fragile system for checks and balances it is very easy for these employers to exploit children for their own advantage of making more profit by making use of them as labor.
They are majorly working in: a) Carpet Factories

b) Brick Making Factories

c) Glass Bangles Factories

d) Surgical Industry

e) Mechanics Industry

f) Packaging Industry, etc

3 .EXISTING LAWS AND REGULATIONS IN PAKISTAN

* Pakistan Employment of Children Act, 1991

i. This Act is the main law regulating the employment of children in industry and businesses. This law governs the conditions for employment of children in safer types of work. Their right includes working hours, rest breaks and other rights. A number of occupational and processes have been prohibited.

ii. Child is a person below 14 years of age

iii. No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the occupations and processes listed below.

* Any Occupation Connected With:

i. Transport of passengers, goods or mails by railway.

ii. Cinder picking, cleaning of an ash pit or building operation in the railway premises;

iii. Work in a catering establishment at a railway station, involving the movement of a vendor or any other employee of the establishment from one platform to another or into or out of a moving train.

iv. Work relating to the construction of a railway station or with any other work where such work is done in close proximity to or between the railway lines.

v. A port authority within the limits of any port.

vi. Work relating to selling of crackers and fireworks in shops with temporary licenses.

* Any Processes Connected With: i. Bidi-Making

ii. Carpet-weaving

iii. Cement manufacture, including bagging of cement

iv. Cloth printing, dyeing and weaving

v. Manufacture of matches, explosives and fire-works

vi. Mica-cutting and splitting

vii. Shell as manufacture

viii. Soap manufacture

ix. Training

x. Wool-cleaning

xi. Building and construction industry

xii. Manufacture of slate pencils (including packing)

xiii. Manufacture of products from agate.

Manufacturing processes using toxic metals and substances such as lead, mercury, manganese, chromium, cadmium; benzene, pesticides and asbestos. A penalty of imprisonment up to one year / or a fine of up to Rs.20, 000/- is prescribed for initial violation of the law. Any person, police officer or Inspector may file a complaint of the commission of an offence under this Act in any court of competent jurisdiction.

4. INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION CONVENTION
When: 01st April-30th April 2013
Donor: European Community (EC)

Project Background
ILO-IPEC Pakistan with the financial assistance from the European Union (EU) is implementing the “Combating Abusive Child Labor II” Project. The project is being implemented in close collaboration with the Government of Pakistan under the National Time Bound Programme Framework (NTBP), 2008.
ILO Convention 182 titled “Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention-1999, Recommendation 190 is the basic international document that enshrines the principles and parameters to check and eliminate WFCL. Convention 182 aims at prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. It defines the child as a person below the age of 18 years. Article 3 of the Convention outlines the types of “worst forms” of child labor. Article 3 (d) provides parameters of the types of economic activities which may be considered as hazardous. This article reads as: “work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children”. This article is further elaborated under the Recommendation 190 of the ILO: a. Work which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse. b. Work underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces.

c. Work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools, or which involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads. d. Work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their health.

e. Work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or during the night or work where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the employer.

5. AUTHORITIES IN SINDH

1. PROVINCIAL CHILD LABOR UNIT SINDH

Provincial Child Labor Unit (PCLU) Sindh has been established in the Directorate of Labor , Department of Labor , Sindh. The PCLU has active support of the Project Combating Abusive Child Labor -II of the International Labor Organization and European Union. The main focal areas of PCLU are:

a. Enhancement of the capacity within the government to address child labor particularly its worst forms.

b. Testing a community based child labor monitoring system in selected districts.

c. Coordinate and provide support in implementation of laws, policies and programmes pertaining to child labor in the province.

d. To evolve, test and implement a district-based system to eliminate Worst Forms of Child Labor in selected districts.

e. Establishment of a Child Labor resource Centre to build a knowledge base on child labor and facilitate research as well as networking of stakeholders to address child labor.
However this organization does not have its office address or contact number or email address available in order to get in contact with it which makes it very difficult to approach it. The website only allows a one way message to be sent with a requirement of one’s email address for them to get in contact with but they did not reply to the email we sent them which shows their ineffectiveness.

6. SINDH EDUCATION FOUNDATION – GOVERNMENT OF SINDH
(INDIRECTLY COMBATING CHILD LABOR BY PROVING EDUCATION)

I. Vision:
'To empower disadvantaged communities towards social change by creating and facilitating new approaches to learning and education'

II. Objectives:

a. Take steps which are necessary for the expansion of educational facilities.

b. Conceptualize and spearhead projects for the establishment of educational institutions especially in less developed or less privileged areas.

c. Evolve programs for raising the standard of education (quality) and improvement in literacy rate (access).

d. Conduct research or surveys or hold workshops, conferences and symposia to study the educational system to identify its shortcomings and make suggestions for its improvement.

e. Provide financial help or grants to various NGOs and other educational agencies.

II a, SINDH EDUCATION FOUNDATION HAS:

a. 2,300 Schools

b. 285,000 Students c. 7,800 Teachers

1. VICTIM’S POINT OF VIEW

We interviewed a group of kids who worked in one of the shops at “Jodia Bazaar”, Karachi. We asked them some questions to which they readily answered and reflected their life's work. One kid, Shakeel told us that he works because of being the eldest of all his siblings, he had to go out and earn for this family. This was because the victim’s father did not work while mother was a maid and could not generate enough to support the family.

When he was asked why he had to work, he pointed out that his mother asked him to do so as she alone could not feed the whole lot with the limited income she earned. These kids earn a remuneration of 100-150 rupees per day. Although they know this wage was not enough and this minor amount could hardly bring a change to their lives, but they never gave up and worked majorly in order to support their families in this era of high prices and inflation.

We live in a society where these families can hardly afford 3 meals a day. The reason for working in these conditions that we contracted out of their interview was the increasingly high prices of commodities, which forced these children to work and as they are not educated they are satisfied on what they earn.

2. OFFENDER’S POINT OF VIEW:

According to the employer of these kids, he assures that the tasks these children are assigned with are relatively small and easy. And elders don’t do that work. This is one reason they're paid below the usual labor. Secondly they are available at cheap rate which allows them to hire more children then grownups. He also out up a statistic that said the wages of 3 children equals to one grown man. The employer on questioning his ethics accepted that child labor was wrong. However, he counter argued that employment was for the betterment of both parties. He also gave some other reasons that were: a. The areas that they were coming from are highly volatile. If they are not kept on work they would either get involved into drugs or would become thugs. Hence it’s better to employ them then let them be on their own.

b. Secondly they are efficient in their work. The output is much greater as 3 or 4 children are doing the same work.

c. Saves time, energy and money.

d. The circumstances these kids live in are not much suitable. Hence work allows them to earn something and support their family .

The employer said that they were given light work. For instance, they are assigned to bring tea, cleaning the tables, and packaging. When asked of his views on eradication of child labor, the employer simply said it was not possible. Until there is poverty in Pakistan, these children will have to work like this only. Until and unless government provides them with proper education, literacy and skill with better living conditions, this society cannot overcome child labor.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
We came across numerous circumstances and we also experienced the working conditions that these kids have to face every day of their lives just to earn themselves food. What we figured out was not only astonishing but also sad at the same time. The conditions which society puts them under are way below par. and no sane person knowingly would want to go through these circumstances. However, the conditions back at their homes provoke them do come to such workplaces to earn livelihood every day. in a society where many homes cannot afford to feed 3 meals a day and with smaller siblings wandering into space, it is highly imperative for the elder ones to go out and earn. That not only supports family, but also helps employer on many levels as mentioned earlier; economic basis (cheap labor) and ease of availability of such labor.

This group believes that until there are problems like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and education, these children might never get a chance to do better, and be better like other kids of their age. These kids do not go out there and work because they want to, rather, because they have to. Their family and lives of others depend on their earnings. For instance, one of the children we interviewed said that his father was unemployed and was rather drunk most of the time. His mother worked and since he was the eldest of his 3 siblings, his mother provoked him to work.

Might I remind that there prevail government laws that restrict from employing children and there are government organizations that are there to help these kids? However, there is no check and balance or accountability of such people who do employ them. with this fact realized and understood that these children cannot be stopped from earning because there are people dependent on them, we would make a proposal that try solve problems of both ends. Since there are hundreds and thousands of children who're out there trying to earn bread, we would not focus on eradicating such employments for children, and making life even harder for them.
However, we propose to offer close jobs to these kids. Provide these kids with such employment opportunities that not only will earn them bread for them and their families, but also develop for them a skill of that particular industry that will help them in the long run and will find them a sustainable job in the near future as they master the skill. For that, first and foremost is creating awareness among the employers. With awareness spread around, jobs shall be given to children, provided better working conditions and not only that but the jobs shall remain close for children of a particular age only. So that no older agents out there in search of jobs would take over this vicinity. Also, some technical skill shall be developed through these jobs and tasks in the kids. This would not only ensure a long term better future, but also solve their short term prevailing problems.
Moreover, the group stresses on the fact that the government should take initiatives and try and establish such learning centers throughout the country. Where they would employ children and teach them a skill at the same time. Therefore, ladies and gentleman, this group proposes that managing such children is the best policy to adopt for the betterment, rather than cutting them off completely of the work floor. Our proposal is not only realistic but might also bring about a healthier literate life out of these kids.

Bibliography

* www.pclusindh.com * www,Sef.org.pk * www,Ncabl.pk * www.Ilo.org

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