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Child labour: A serious problem in Pakistan

By Senior Vice President

Syed Salman Mehdi Rizvi

Lotus Social Welfare Trust International

Email lotustrust@hotmail.com lotustrust@yahoo.com

On the global level, there are 250 million child workers. Of this figure, 100 million work in Southern Asia, 3.3 million of them in Pakistan. Pakistan thus has one of the highest numbers of child workers.

Child workers both live and work in appalling and highly dangerous conditions. They are deprived of their basic rights to physical, social, emotional and spiritual development. They are denied their right to education. Child labour is therefore a pressing social, economic and human rights issue.

Pakistan is a developing country. More than 40% of the population lives below the absolute poverty level; 30% earns less than one US dollar a day. Moreover, 70% of the country's population lives in villages, and the majority of child workers is concentrated in rural areas.

Population growth, unemployment and underemployment contribute to perpetuating child labour. Employment of very young children is a particularly alarming problem.

The issues of bonded child labour and exploitative child labour practices in Pakistan have received widespread attention from the media. There are many reasons why children are put to work prematurely. Some parents, for instance, sell their children to the landlord to work against a debt incurred by the family. There is also the lure of the money a working child can contribute to supplement the family's meagre income. Those defending the actions of poor families often present a strong case, asking why parents struggling to survive and to attain adequate sustenance should not send their children to work.

Parents are interested in obtaining money and employers are interested in cheap labour. It is universally acknowledged that child labour is cheap, means working long hours and enables employers to get a multitude of tasks done by innocent workers.

In Pakistan, children are a traditional source of labour in several export industries, such as soccer ball stitching, carpet weaving and surgical instrument manufacturing. Children are also employed in brick-making, in auto repair shops and as domestic servants.

Although child labour is a serious crime, people accept it as a fact of life. It is truly unfortunate that the issue of child labour cannot be eliminated overnight and that children cannot be removed from all type of work. Instead, child labour is a serious and complicated problem that cannot be solved by the stroke of a pen.

Even if we cannot easily resolve the issue of child labour, this does not mean that the problem must remain unsolved. Eradication of child labour calls for commitment, willpower and improvement of Pakistan's national economy.

Every child has the right to survival through the provision of primary health care, adequate food, clean water and shelter. Child labour in Pakistan will only be eliminated through long-term national efforts that include motivating employers to adopt long-term action plans aimed at reducing and eventually eradicating the use of child labour.

We suggest the following measures for the elimination of child labour

Making the rights of children known is the first step in increasing public awareness and in altering traditional views concerning children.
Education should be utilised as a preventive strategy in the fight against child labour.
Free, compulsory and meaningful primary education supported by the necessary infrastructure would automatically place the majority of poor children into school.
Through advocacy and mobilization, the family, the community, and social and religious institutions should be actively involved in countering child labour.
Prejudices and discriminatory practices against child workers should be eliminated at the family level and in society at large.
Both the employment rate and the earnings of adult workers should be raised, as there is a very close link between child labour and the employment and income levels of households.

Media, children and international law

The international legislative and regulatory framework concerning the role of the media and children's rights provides some important pointers for journalists and the media in general. For example:

Article 11 (1) of the International Labour Organisation Convention No. 29 concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (1930) states that "only adult able-bodied males who are of an apparent age of not less than 18 and not more than 45 years may be called upon for forced or compulsory labour."

Article 1 of ILO Convention 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (1973) commits each member organisation to pursue policies "designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and to raise progressively the minimum age for the admission of employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of young persons."

The United Nation Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) enshrines children's right to freedom of expression (Article 13); to protection of privacy and against attacks on his/her honour and reputation (Article 16); and calls on the mass media to disseminate information and material of social and cultural benefit to the child (Article 17). Articles 34 and 36 commit governments to protecting children from all forms of exploitation, including pornography.

The European Convention on the Exercise of Children's Rights (1996) This legislative instrument also emphasises children's right to express their own views in decisions affecting them, and calls on national bodies to provide information on children's rights to the media.

The Council of Europe Recommendation 1286 on a European Strategy for Children (1996) introduces the call for a change in the way children are viewed in society. The media should promote children's right to a healthy and balanced development, and all professionals who come into contact with children should have special training on children's rights (Article

New Delhi (India):

Child rights organizations from South Asia condemned the disbanding of nearly 2000 NGOs including the Human Rights Commission in Punjab province of Pakistan by the local government headed by Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif.
In a press communication to the Child Labour News Service, non-governmental organizations in the region termed the incident a gross violation of civil liberties. They said that the act clearly shows the growing insecurity among governments straying on social front around the world. Failing to sustain basic minimum social standards, the political leadership in these countries are now following repressive steps to stem efforts that expose the lack of an appropriate political will and social reforms.

Giving an instance to underline the precarious state of social affairs in South Asia the press release states that in Pakistan, the Punjab Provincial Assembly took two years to pass a new law which made basic primary education compulsory in 1994. What calls for greater reproach is the fact that the Provincial Government is yet to implement the law.

It is in such situations that voluntary organizations in South Asia have played a vital role in developing the resource and the means to bring an end to various social problems including the critical issue of child labor. They have acted as determined "watchdog" groups, investigating into all cases of child abuse and child labor exploitation in the region. Any such ban on the working of the non-governmental organization therefore is deleterious to the well being of the vulnerable sections of the society.

The release urged the government of Pakistan to lift the ban and promote NGO activities in the country as voluntary action is strategic for developing and implementing effective and multidisciplinary interventions in many crucial areas, it stated.

For further information contact:

Mr. R S Chaurasia
South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude
L-6 Kalkaji, New Delhi, India
Tel: (91 11) 622 4899, 647 5481
Fax: (91 11) 623 6818
Email childhood@globalmarch.org

Dhaka (Bangladesh): Free and fair election were held in Tangail district of Bangladesh for the first time to elect a child council under a comprehensive Children Development Program. The children franchise was introduced in the country to evolve a proxy model of electoral structure for practicing democracy.

"The election has been introduced to familiarize children with the voting process", said Country Director of NGOs Sultan Mahmud. The election is a training process through which children can learn their democratic rights, he added.

As many as 10,000 child voters spread across 35 centers in nine unions of the Tangail district participated in this election.

More than 500 child councils comprising of children within the age bracket of 6-14 years have already been established as part of the ongoing child development program in the country. Of these constituted councils 50 percent are for girls.

The aim of these democratic bodies is to promote children's participation in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that stipulates "the right of the child to be heard in all matters affecting the child". The program is being implemented by Save the Children Australia (SCA) in partnership with nine local NGOs in the district.

For further information contact:

Mr. Muhammad Jahangir
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fax: (880) 2 9348582

Tamil Nadu (India): More than 325,000 children work in the beedi (domestically produced Indian cigarette) industry of India, most of them in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. One newspaper report estimates that at least half of these child laborers working in the beedi factories are bonded in debt.

Debt bondage, found predominantly in South Asia, occurs when, in return for a money advance or credit, a person having no other security to offer, pledges his labor or that of his child for an indefinite period of time. A combination of low wages and usurious interest rates make it impossible to repay the debt.

According to Human Rights Watch, a bonded beedi roller is paid between 20 to 30 percent of the wages offered to his non-bonded peer. The employer as interest on the debt keeps the remaining wages.

Beedi rollers are usually children and women. According to Small Hands of Slavery, "Entire families are dedicated to the production of beedi. Usually it is the children who work as bonded laborers....".

Children who work in bonded labor suffer in the ways, which cause the cycle to continue, mainly by not receiving an education. A source states, "Activists did not find a single child of a beedi worker attending school. They stay at home to do the work that their mothers cannot do."

The function of children in the beedi industry is to perform all tasks associated with hand-rolling the cigarettes. Young children between the age bracket of four to seven are used for the job.

The beedi manufacturers expect beedi rollers to keep a very rapid pace; older children are expected to roll 1,500 to 2,000 beedies each day. Employers keep close watch over the beedi rollers and scold them if they slow down. Some children are forced to work with a matchbox tucked between their chin and neck; in order to hold the box in place they must keep their head down and focused on the work. If the matchbox falls, the employer knows the child has looked away and so punishes him.
The children employed by the beedi industry are forced to work extremely long and tiresome hours. They are expected to work for six days a week for twelve to fourteen hours a day. In addition to strenuous hours and unequal wages, child beedi rollers are often subjected to employer abuse. Physical punishment is used for a variety of infractions, including arriving late, working slowly, making mistakes and talking to other workers.

Panjaran, a ten years old boy, illustrates clearly the experience of employer abuse. "The agent would beat me with a stick if I was not there on time or if I could not roll 1,500 beedies a day or if I was tired" he said.

A final hardship faced by children in the beedi industry is the health hazards caused by the work. Beedi is one of the twenty-five industries classified by the Child Labor Act as hazardous. Due to the position, in which the children sit for beedi rolling, they often suffer chronic back pain, as well as possible stunted growth or physical deformities. They may also suffer from pain in their hands and wrists from rolling and tying beedies from extended periods of time.
It is quite clear how devastating and difficult beedi rolling is for children in India; particularly for children in bondage. They suffer exploitation, unfair and hazardous working conditions and repeated episodes of physical abuse. It is for all the reasons outlined above that child labor in the beedi manufacturing industry clearly can be considered forced labor, and thus qualifies for international intervention.

For further Information contact:

Ms. Laurie Moss
Tobacco Free Project
Booker T. Washington Community Service Center
800 Presidio St., San Francisco, CA 94115
Tel: (415) 928 6596
Fax: (415) 928 6927
Email lauramoss@hotmail.cSantiago (Chile): Calling for an amendment, child rights advocates from South America have urged the international community to think beyond the elimination of just the worst forms of child labor.

They fear that any such conformation will have a serious implication on the legitimacy of other forms of child slavery, thus putting in danger the rights of millions of children who labor in situation which fall outside the reach of the new convention.

The recommendation was made at a meeting organized by the Latin American coordinators of Global March in the Chilean capital of Santiago.

Underlining article 3 of the new convention, the participants called it unfortunate that the definition of the most intolerable forms does not include labor that by its nature or the conditions under which it is performed systematically denies the child an access to basic and primary education.

Substantiating their view, the activists reflected on the consequence of child labor with respect to education in their continent. A recent report on South America estimates that more than 78 percent of children who are engaged in any form of economic activity do not attend school.

On the threat to the ratification of the convention due to the inadequacy of many countries to ensure basic education, the participants said that the inclusion of their demand does not mean that the ratifying countries have to immediately promote basic education for all. "In fact what we propose is that the work that prohibits a child from attending school should be considered equally intolerable," asserted a child rights activist.

"In our continent inclusion of labor that denies a child an access to education in the definition of the most intolerable forms is extremely critical as other types of labor listed in article 3 of the convention does not weigh much in this part of the world", he added.

For further information contact:

Ms. Consuelo Contreras Largo
OPCION
Jaoquin Diaz Garces No. 070 - Providencia, Santiago, Chile
Tel: (56 2) 222 5725, 222 2971
Fax: (56 2) 222 2971
email opcion@consuel.mic.cl

By Anees Jillani

Islamabad (Pakistan): On April 16, 1995, Iqbal Masih was murdered near Muridke in Sheikhupura district of Pakistan. Iqbal Masih talked about the plight of child laborers in Pakistan and their rights. The whole State machinery instead of arresting his murderers after his death showed more zeal in substantiating through all kinds of documents and statements that Masih was not a child and that he was short for his age. The zeal with which the Government functionaries and some leaders among carpet manufacturers tried to prove this fact went to show as if age made a huge difference or the murder of adult in the country was legal as opposed to that of a child.

Masih was affiliated since his childhood with an organization called Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF). The Front, upon Masih's death accused the Association of the carpet Manufacturers for the murder. The Government instead of trying to resolve the issue came down heavily down on BLLF by seizing its bank accounts. Many of the schools run by BLLF for children in brick kilns had to be closed down due to lack of funds. The President of BLLF's managed to escape the wrath of the government and now is living in perpetual exile in Sweden.

Four years have passed since this gruesome incident took place, but the motive of the murder still evades the masses. The reason is not secluded to seek. The accused in the case has not been tried so far. The government apathy towards the case does make one ponder that if the Government, despite having at its disposal the whole state machinery, cannot resolve a simple murder like that of Iqbal then how can it be expected to settle the more complicated matters facing the State?
Strange irony, but it is not just the Government's failure to prosecute the killer, which is a cause of alarm. The fact that both the Federal and Provincial Governments have somehow forgotten the real issue, which is the existence of child labor in the country and its consequent elimination, is the taxing issue.

What steps have the Federal and the Provincial Governments taken since coming to power to eliminate child labor from Pakistan? Has the incidence of child labor been reduced in the country?

Child Labor is not one of those issues, which get solved by a stroke of a pen. Long term planning is required by the State. Steps taken today bear fruit many years down the road. So sooner those steps are taken the better it is, as the process of eradication is slow. Tragedy is that the Government has not taken any appropriate steps to eliminate this menace from the society. Its blunt denial further complicates the issue.

According to UNICEF estimates there are around 70 million children below the age of 18 years in Pakistan. Out of this estimated population, about 24 million are under the age of 5 years. In other words, Pakistan has a whopping 46 million children who should be going to school. All concerned authorities acknowledge the fact that only 50% percent of these children actually attend school. That is, out of 46 million children, not more than 23 million are going to school. If that is the state than what are rest doing?

The Government maintains that in Pakistan only 3.3 million children up to the age of 14 years are engaged in economic activities.

The situation is strange, as the government keeps no record of the activity of the remaining children who are neither in school, nor employed.

It is a very sad and frustrating situation, and is getting hopeless by day. The relevant Federal Ministries and the Provincial Departments are virtually clueless about finding a solution to this problem, and approach it more on a day to day basis. Bureaucrats would spend weeks lobbying to attend a conference in Geneva or Oslo on child labor. Or they would write quick summaries for their bosses on the issue when some foreign dignitary or a US Senator is coming to town to inquire about the issue. Yet another seminar or workshop would be organized on the issue with an eye on the sumptuous lunch or dinner as millions of children toil in the scorching heat.

The pet justification from anyone asked to explain the lack of progress in any social sector field in the country is lack of resources. India has much less resources than Pakistan and its population is almost one sixth of the total global population. Despite this, its literacy rate is 52% as opposed to Pakistan's 37%. What is even more disturbing in Pakistan is that the literacy rate was higher at the time when the country gained independence.

It may come as news to many that India, despite having a much larger number of child laborers, is taking more concrete steps to resolve the problem. It is targeting children in the hazardous sector and aspiring to abolish child labor at least in certain key areas of employment. The problem is being tackled at the rural level and many villages have succeeded in abolishing child labor completely. They have been declared as child labor free villages.

What better example do we have in the subcontinent than the Indian state of Kerala. The state records the highest literacy rate in India with 95%, and consequently has the least number of child laborers. This child labor free status in Kerala was achieved through sustained political and social commitment that placed a high premium on education. Sixty percent of state budget is spent on education and related activities. The results are there for everyone to see.

If Kerala can achieve the desired, why can't the rest of South Asia? Probably, the local and the federal governments in other states and countries in the region are yet to realize that child labor in itself is cause of poverty as it perpetuates the destructive inter-generational rhythm of exploitation and repetitive impoverishment. The day they do, South Asia will not have just one case of Kerala but an entire child labor free region to boast off.

For further information contact:

Mr. Anees Jillani
Society for Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC)
P.O. Box 301, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: (92 51) 279 255, 490 1692
Fax: (92 51) 279 256
Email: sparc@associates.sdnpk.undp.org

Rajasthan (India): To promote social justice through political participation at the grass root level, South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), organized a Bal Mazdoori Mukti Panchayat (Child labour liberation committee) in Virat Nagar in the North Indian state of Rajasthan.

Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson, SACCS said that for attaining meaningful elimination of child labour the Panchayati Raj (committee of village heads) institution has to be sensitized. He stressed on the need for a pragmatic approach to remove effectively all forms of child labour from the rural sites of India. He said that due to abject ignorance among successive governments around the world child labour problem still persists at the lowest ebb.

Expressing dismay over the large-scale migration of child labour in the state, he added that lack of political apathy and influence of Mafia operations in the region has compounded the problem of child labour.

Mr. Satyarthi, came down heavily on the issue of girl child marriage in the state. He termed this customary practice as an insult to human dignity and hence stressed on the need to mobilize the masses and change the entire systems.

The two-day convention was attended by NGO activists and elected members of the village community from 16 districts in the state.

The participants also passed a resolution in the meeting that for complete elimination of the menace, the Panchayats should be empowered to make schemes for the development of an individual and the village at large.

CHILD LABOR IN PAKISTAN

Child labor is a social problem throughout the world, especially persistent in developing countries such as Pakistan, where even though “children are not well paid they still serve as major contributors to family income. In a time when their lives should be filled with love, entertainment, health, focused on education and knowledge, children as young as five years old are the objects of extreme exploitation working in conditions that are especially severe for the proper development of their minds and bodies. They spend long hours working in factories making such items as carpet and soccer balls, deprived of the chance for natural and adequate human development. Even though child labour is a world known problem that needs immediate abolition, there are people who think that “work can help a child in terms of socialization, in building self-esteem and for training, that it is a healthy, invigorating pastime that instills ‘business values’,” “a respect for money, economic independence and promotes ‘useful learning avenues. But the environment in which children work in the carpet and soccer balls industries in Pakistan are far from being adequate places for children to grow up and enjoy a happy and normal childhood, and they certainly do not offer any of the benefits work gives.

“Children in every type of human society have always taken part in economic activities.” The notion that work affects a child natural development and that children should be protected against child labor, is a relatively recent concept that “came to the fore when paid child labour became common. Before there were any manufacturing industries children have always worked with their parents in the fields or at home. However, when manufacturing industries appeared, many countries did not adopt adequate legislation to meet the circumstances. In the nineteenth century it became common for children as young as six years old to work in factories for as long as fourteen hours a day. Recently, “in most developed countries a moral, economic and legal process” has almost abolished this kind of exploitation, but it is “in the developing countries and in southern Europe that children continue to work in places that do not provide an environment adequate for a normal childhood. Children can learn responsibilities by assigning them chores at home or in the fields, but sending them to work in factories with harsh conditions for long hours only deprives them of enjoying what are suppose to be the happiest years in a person’s life.

There are difficulties associated when trying to define child labor. A definition of ‘child’, taking into consideration only the chronological age, is inadequate because attitudes vary considerably depending on the culture. Defining “labor” is also difficult without taking into consideration the social context. Despite these problems, child labor has been defined as “work which does not take place under relatively idyllic conditions.” It is “work which impairs the health and development of children. The only kind of job that “can be classified as ‘child work’ opposed to ‘child labor’” is the kind of job that does not affect a child’s physical and mental development, and that gives a child enough time to dedicate to other activities. If a child spends most of the day in a factory stitching soccer balls, tying knots or performing another skill it is not child work, it is child labor.

In 1993 the U. S. Senate started a worldwide campaign against child labor, and the situation of children in Pakistan was exposed to the world, making it clear that immediate action was needed to stop the exploitation of young workers. survey in order to determine the number of children working in Pakistan .The results were that out of the 40 million children between the ages of five and fourteen in Pakistan, about 3.3 million were economically active during the reference week.The survey showed that 71 per cent of the children who worked during this week were engaged in “unskilled occupations related to agriculture, sales and services, construction, mining, manufacturing and transport sectors where farm activity dominates.” Craft and related trade activities such as the carpet and soccer industry are the next major occupational groups with 19 per cent of the working children.“However, it must be noted that in spite of the scientific approach undertaken by the FBS, there is surely more child labour than what has been indicated in the survey,” even 4 million children could be economically active . This means that these children are not having a normal childhood, and that probably most of them are not attending school.

Over 3,000 children less than fifteen years old enter the labour market each month in Pakistan. Even though children work in numerous areas, the worst forms of child exploitation take place in the carpet and soccer industry. “Pakistan produces seventy five per cent of the world’s billion-dollar soccer ball market and out of all the balls stitched in Pakistan, one quarter are produced by children .The first survey indicates that 46 per cent of the children work more than the normal 35 hours per week in these industries sewing footballs for world famous events such as the World Cup. Children are exposed to, and work with dangerous equipment, spending most of the day in an environment that causes health problems due to a lack of sanitation facilities and safety gear, such as gloves and rubber shoes that are necessary to protect the children from being injured. In these industries there are reported cases of children being forced to work “with exertion, sweat, and blisters as proof of their toil. It is unacceptable that children have to work in these conditions just because employers want to reduce production costs.

The environment in the carpet industry is even worse than the sporting goods industry. Children work from twelve to fifteen hours a day in “squalid looms sheds, without proper ventilation or light.” Due to the dust from the wool they work with, many suffer from respiratory problems because they are not supplied with protective masks while they are working. Other health problems involve “anemia, tuberculosis, skin diseases, cuts, deformation of the backbone and loss of eyesight.” Children in the carpet industries are treated in the most inhumane way. An example of this kind of treatment occurs when children work with sharp knives to trim the carpet knots and accidentally hurt themselves. Employers, instead of giving proper medical care, use matchstick powder and burn the wounds to seal the cut. The children are forced to continue working. Employers do this simply because they do not want to lose working hours that the children provide . The people who employ children in carpet factories prefer them to adults for many reasons, not only so they can reduce their production costs by paying them low wages, but “children’s small hands and nimble fingers are good at tying knots” and they can also work faster than adults . But these reasons cannot be use as excuses to harm a child’s life. Children should be protected against this kind of treatment, they have the right to receive an education and have a career instead of being condemned to work in factories.

There are many reasons given by parents in Pakistan for allowing or making their children work, being the most common the situation of poverty they live in. Another reason why parents seek employment for their children is because there is no access to schools, they are too far or they do not exist where they live. Even if schools are close, most of them “suffer from problems such as overcrowding, inadequate sanitation and apathetic teachers.” This is why many parents believe that it is more productive to send their children to work than to school, to supplement the family income, or to make them stay at home so they can learn a skill such as agriculture and help in the house. If parents place a high value on school it is more likely that they will sacrifice the extra income in order to invest in a good education for their children. These are usually parents that have gone to school and received an education, but in a country like Pakistan were only 26 per cent of the population over the age of fifteen are literate, the knowledge that education is the most important investment for the future almost does not exist. Most parents in developing countries who cannot afford their child’s education and depend on the extra income they make by working, view schools as a waste of money and time.

The situation of “Child labor in Pakistan has been accepted as a grave national issue, has been discussed and debated, and has been programmed to be gradually eliminated. Still, the government of Pakistan does not take the situation of working children seriously, and has not provided the changes that the country needs. However, the government has taken the first step towards the elimination of child labor by authorizing the first child labor survey and by But the eradication of child labor will only come when the government takes responsibility for the education of Pakistani children, making schools free and worthwhile for children to attend.

Besides the survey, there are numerous programs that are being instituted to abolish child exploitation. Examples of these are the “Rugmark” labels on carpets and the campaigns held by sporting goods giants such as Nike and Reebok (Newberry). The main objective of the Rugmark program is to abolish child labor in the carpet industries by giving the consumer the knowledge that the carpets they are buying are not made by young workers. The Rugmark label also certifies that the employees of the industry are paid at least the minimum wage established by the government and that owners allow, without any previous notice, the inspection of their factory. Although right now the Rugmark label has only been implemented in carpets, it will be expanded in a future to other factories such as apparel and footwear . Since how children produce sporting goods in Pakistan for the American market was revealed, sporting goods giants such as Nike and Reebok have been taking action. In 1997 they announced a campaign to stop the exploitation of Pakistani children who stitch soccer balls working 10 hours a day for pennies. The Chairman of Reebok, Paul Fireman, urged the FIFA to allow only those balls “manufactured by companies in the program,” and to prohibit balls made by children for competitions such as the World Cup (Newberry). These kinds of programs and campaigns stop employers from hiring children as workers, they allow people to distinguish between those products in which child labor has been used and those that have been legally made, and they pressure the government to provide laws that will protect children’s rights.

Even though there are problems defining child labor because of the different minimum age work restrictions and varying regulations depending on the type of labour each country has, all “children under 15 years of age are at a very crucial level of development and need to be surrounded by an environment that allows them to grow in a healthy scenario with enough time to dedicate to educational and leisure activities. Child labor cannot meet these requirements, “it is illegal and immoral, therefore, goods produced by exploiting children must be totally banned from the purview of all local and global trade” . Schools are the key factor to draw children out of the labor market; this is why the government has to provide affordable and worthwhile education. Even though child labor in Pakistan is a social problem that is being taken care of, it will not be abolished any time soon. To accomplish this, “employers, employees, the government, social activists, and the news media” need to work together “on a pragmatic and realistic agenda to achieve the objectives.. Contrary to what many people believe, a child’s mind and body are not sufficiently developed for him to work without suffering any damages. Their growing bodies suffer from the environment in which they work because of the bad weather conditions, contact with dust and dangerous equipment. Children who work long hours suffer from fatigue, anemia and even severe damage to the central nervous system can occur. Children are not young adults, and the results of child labor will be carried over into adult life.

Survey On Child Labour 5-14 Year Old

Background

Information on child labour in Pakistan is sketchy. For the last few years some case studies on child labour focusing on certain geographic areas and industrial sectors have been conducted. However, no comprehensive national picture of child labour in the country exists. Without the availability of statistical data on the volume and nature of child labour, it is extremely difficult to convince the public of the urgency of child labour as a public issue and for the Government to formulate appropriate action programmes and allocate the necessary resources for improving the situation and eventually solving the various problems relating to working children. The lack of data on working children 5-14 years old even diverts attention from those categories of children who critically require attention and assistance.

In Pakistan, the main source of statistical data on the labour force is the annual Labour Force Survey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). Currently, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects information on persons above the age of ten years. In reality, there is a wide range of economic activities performed by many children below the age of ten. For this reason, the Government of Pakistan decided to carry out a sample survey of households to provide baseline information on the extent and socio-economic characteristics of child labour throughout the country. This nationwide survey was undertaken by the FBS, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis (Labour Wing) and the International Labour Organization, as a component of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). This survey is the first of its kind in Pakistan.

Objectives

The Child Labour Survey (CLS) has the following main objectives:

(1) to collect information on the dimensions of working children by age, sex, location, occupation and industry;

(2) to collect information on the working conditions of the children, i.e. hours worked, wages received and terms of employment as well as on the safety and health aspects of their workplace; and

(3) to collect data on the socio-economic characteristics of the children and their families.

Specifically, the complete data sets that have been generated

Specifically, the complete data sets that have been generated from this survey may be utilized in:

(1) establishing targets and formulating and implementing intervention programmes;

(2) monitoring the effectiveness of policies, regulations and programmes aimed at the eventual elimination of child labour;

(3) mobilizing support to generate public concern and interest on the issue of child labour;

(4) formulation and/or amending legislations to protect the health and well-being of children; and

(5) designing information materials directed at parents and children who are not aware of hazardous conditions in their working environment.

Concepts and definitions

Household: A household is a single person living alone or a group of persons who normally live and eat together under common cooking arrangements and have no other usual place of residence elsewhere.

Household members: These include all such persons present or temporarily absent whose usual place of residence falls in the selected household at the time of enumeration.

Reference population: In this survey, “child” refers to persons 5-14 years old.

Reference period: Two reference periods were used – the last 12 months (for measuring the usually active population) and the week preceding the interview (for measuring the currently active population).

The usually active population: The usually active population comprises all persons 5 years old and above who fulfill the requirements for inclusion among the employed or unemployed during the reference period, i.e. one year preceding the date of the interview. The definitions of “employed” and “unemployed” covered under the usual active population approach are: the usually “employed” comprises all persons 5 years old and above who worked during most of the weeks (or most of the days) of the year. The usually “unemployed” comprises all persons 5 years old and above who were without work and available for/seeking work during most of the weeks (or most of the days) of the year.

The currently active population: The currently active population comprises all persons 5 years old and above who fulfill the requirements for inclusion among “employed” and “unemployed” during the short reference period, i.e. one week preceding the date of the interview. Definitions of “employed” and “unemployed” covered under the currently active population are: the “employed” comprises all persons 5 years old and above who worked in economic activity for at least one hour during the reference period and were either “paid employed” or “self employed”. The “unemployed” comprises all persons 5 years old and above who were without work during the reference period and who are currently available for/seeking work.

Sampling methodology

The sampling methodology of CLS has been evolved with the basic objective to estimate the prevalence of child labour incidence in a precise way. For this, a cluster approach has been adopted.

Universe

The “universe” consisted of all urban and rural areas of the four provinces of Pakistan as defined in the 1981 population census and changes made therein after by provincial governments. Military-restricted areas and federally administered tribal areas (FATA) have been excluded from coverage. The population of excluded areas constitutes about 3 per cent of the total population.

Sampling frame

Urban areas

The FBS has developed its own urban area frame through the quick count record survey scheme. According to this scheme, each city/town of urban domain has been divided into small areas called “enumeration blocks”. Each enumeration block comprises about 200-250 households. This frame was updated during 1994-95. It has been used for drawing samples from urban areas. Within each ultimate stratum formed for CLS, all enumeration blocks falling therein have been treated as primary sampling units (PSUs).

Rural areas

The list of villages/mouzas/dehs published by the Population Census Organization as a result of the 1981 population census has been taken as a sampling frame for drawing samples from rural areas. Villages in each ultimate stratum have been treated as primary sampling units (PSUs).

Stratification plan

Keeping in view the geographical level of the estimates at national/provincial levels and to control heterogeneity among different population groups for catching child labour, a stratification plan has been formulated as under:

Urban area

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.

After excluding the population of big cities from the population of respective administrative division, all cities and towns have been grouped to form a stratum. Each stratum of remaining urban areas, i.e. the administrative division, has been further sub-stratified into low, middle and high-income groups. The objective of classifying the urban population into low, middle and high-income groups was to distribute samples to low and middle-income groups in a higher proportion, as child labour activities are expected to be prevalent in these groups.

Rural areas

In the rural areas of Punjab, Sindh and NWFP each administrative district has been treated as an independent stratum. In Balochistan province the administrative division has been considered as a stratum.

Sample coverage

Enumeration blocks (EBs) in urban areas and villages in rural areas were treated as primary sampling units (PSUs). In all, 1,865 sample PSUs covered in the survey were selected from each ultimate stratum by the probability proportionate to size (PPS) method of selection. Within each sample PSU, clusters of approximately 75 households were formed. These clusters were treated as secondary sampling units (SSUs). One cluster from each sample PSU was selected randomly and listed all households within a cluster on a special listing form developed for the CLS. The number of households listed in this manner totalled 140,298. Then, all households within a cluster having at least one economically active child within the ages 5-14 years were enumerated. The detail of sample PSUs covered in the survey is given in the following table.

Sample Coverage : PSU's

	Urban				Rural	Total
	Low	Middle	High	Total
Punjab	166	282	52	500	342	842
Sindh	149	233	28	410	116	526
NWFP	56	100	16	172	124	296
Balochistan	58	83	2	143	58	201
Pakistan	429	698	98	1 225	640	1865

From the covered sample clusters, 13,962 economically active children within the age group 5-14 years were enumerated by following the current status approach (last week reference period) and usual status approach (last 12 months reference period). These children were members of 10,438 households out of 140,298 households listed, representing about 7.4 per cent.

It was found that out of 1,865 sample clusters (or 140,298 households) covered, no economically active child was found in 461 sample clusters, i.e. 24.7 per cent of the clusters covered. The highest proportion of 58 per cent was observed in Balochistan, followed by 31 per cent in Sindh, 18 per cent in Punjab and 10 per cent in NWFP.

The large sample size of PSUs was fixed keeping in mind the relatively low prevalence rate of economically active children in the entire population. The analysis indicates that coverage in the rural domains of Balochistan and Sindh are probably on the lower side. The impact of this under-coverage on estimates is discussed under the next heading. The details of procedures used for the sample selection and for deriving the estimates and their variances are given in Appendix 1.

Precision of estimates

Based on the sample design adopted for the CLS, the sampling errors have been worked out for national and provincial estimates of the number of children by age group. For the purpose of this presentation, the results of sampling errors at the national and provincial levels will be presented for children between 5 and 14 years old.

At the national level, the number of economically active children between 5 and 14 years old, based on survey estimates, is 2,657,539. Its standard error has been estimated as 142,131. The coefficient of variation (CV) is 5.4 per cent. At the 95 per cent level of confidence, the confidence interval of the national estimate would be as follows:

(a) Confidence interval for economically active children between the ages of 5-14 based on survey estimates: = 2,657,539 + 1.96 (142,131); = 2,657,539 + 278,577; = 2,378,962 to 2,936,116.

(b) Confidence interval for economically active children between the ages of 5-14, population as in January 1996: = 2,975,921 to 3,672,884.

The confidence interval describes that we are 95 per cent confident that the true value of the number of economically active children between the ages of 5 and 14 as in January 1996 would be within the interval of 2,975,921 to 3,672,884. Details of standard errors and coefficient of variations at national/provincial levels are given in table 1. From the analysis of the CLS figures it appears that economically active children between the ages of 10 and 14 in Sindh (rural) and in Balochistan (rural) have been reported on the lower side. The comparisons of participation rates for the CLS, 1996, and the Labour Force Survey (LFS), 1993-94, are given below to give the extent of lower coverage.

Province Participation rate (%)

CLS, 1996 LFS, 1993-94

Sindh (rural) 8.08 14.58

Balochistan (rural) 1.26 14.16

It has been worked out that, due to this under-coverage within age group 10-14, approximately 300,000 economically active children have been underestimated. If we add this figure to 3.31 million, then the overall estimate of economically active children between 5 and 14 years old would be 3.61 million, representing an economically active children participation rate of around 9 per cent. The FBS thinks that the under-enumeration will be validated by attaching a module to the ongoing Labour Force Survey.

The questionnaire

A well-structured questionnaire was designed to collect information on households and individuals through face-to-face interview. All households that reported child labour within the age group 5-14 years were interviewed. The questionnaire consists of 11 sections and it was structured as follows:

Section 1: Household identification;

Section 2: Field operation's particulars;

Section 3: Editing/coding at headquarters particular;

Section 4: Household composition and demographic information;

Section 5: Usual activities of household members 5 years old and above;

Section 6: Current activity of persons 15 years old and above;

Section 7: Current activity of each child aged 5-14 years old;

Section 8: Perception of parents/guardians or other relatives with whom the working child usually resides;

Section 9: Questions addressed to children aged 5-14 years old;

Section 10: Household income and expenditure; and

Section 11: Housing conditions.

Pilot test

The pilot test was carried out to test the questionnaire and other instruments like concepts and time required. On the basis of this pilot test, some questions were revised in accordance with the recommendations of the enumerators, such as questions which are difficult to answer or not easily understood, particularly by the child interviewed. In addition, standard output per day per enumerator was established in preparing the plan for field enumeration.

Training and field operation

The training of staff was conducted in two phases. In the first phase the training was imparted to the headquarter staff. The training course consisted of instructions in general interviewing techniques, field procedures, concepts and definitions of the terms used in the questionnaire. The participants of the first phase acted as the master trainers for the second phase where training to the usual field enumerators and supervisors at different stations throughout the country was imparted. For quality control, field supervisors and supervisors from headquarters made frequent visits to the field for spot-checking during the data collection process. Field operation was started in January 1996 and completed by the end of June 1996. In total, 250 enumerators and 50 supervisors were deployed to carry out field activities.

Data processing

Editing/coding of the questionnaire was done by headquarter staff and data processing was carried out by the Data Processing Centre of the FBS.

Response rate

A total of 140,298 households were listed, out of which 10,438 sample households reported to have child labour. All the households reporting child labour were successfully interviewed. As some working children were away from the household at the time of enumeration they could not be contacted for the interview.

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