CHILD LABOUR IN PAKISTAN

Labour below  the age of 14 is called child labor. Child labour is defined in ILO Conventions. It is work that children should not be doing because they are too young to work, or – if they are old enough to work – because it is dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for them. Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their education, is generally regarded as being something positive. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed and the conditions under which it is performed, as set out in the ILO Conventions. India has the largest number of child labour in the world. According to the census figures of 1991, India has 11.29 million child labourers, which constitute 1.34 per cent of the total population of our country. Children work in dhabas, eateries helpers or cleaners in trucks and as domestic servants etc. They have long working hours, bad and unhygienic working conditions and fewer wages. The main reason behind child labour is poverty. Children born in poor families are forced to work not only for their own survival but also for their family. Awareness of the people and Government also compels poor parents to make their children employed as laborers in agricultural forms, factories, brick kilns and as domestic servants. Let us all take a step to ban this evil.

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 ILO’s IPEC (International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour). The findings were that 3.8 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 children are in age group of 5 to 9 years. Even out of these 3.8 million economically active children, 2.7 million were claimed to be working in the agriculture sector. Two million and four hundred thousand (73%) of them were said to be boys.

Consider the point that if 30% of our country’s 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 don’t have the security of social life. There is no aid plan or allowance 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 into practice 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.

Causes of Child Labour

·         Poverty

·         Culture and tradition

·         Barriers to education

·         Market demand

·         The effects of income shocks on households

·         Lack of legislation and/or poor enforcement of existing legislation

                Child Labour is a complex problem which demands a range of solutions. There is no better way to prevent child Labour than to make education compulsory. The West understood this a long time ago. Laws were enacted very early to secure continued education for working children; and now they have gone a step forward, and required completion of at least the preliminary education of the child before he or she starts work.

Child labour is a serious crime all over the world. The Unicef defines child labour as some type of work performed by children below the age of 18. There is something seriously wrong with our country which not only fails to educate all its children but also depends on them to keep its economy afloat.The country is heading back into the dark ages with only a few lucky one receiving education. The number of child labourers in our country is about 12 million.

According to statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics last year, 3.8 million children in the age group of five to 14 years are working in our country out of a total of 40 million children. Fifty per cent of these economically active children are in the age group of five to nine years. Even out of these 3.8 million children, 2.7 million were claimed to be working in the agricultural sector. About 2,400,000 (73 per cent) of them were said to be boys.

The present government in Pakistan has made elementary education compulsory. Along with this, the government has distributed free books in primary schools so that parents, who cannot afford their children’s school expenses, send their children to schools. The major point is that this decision must be acted upon at all levels. There is strict need to stop child Labour in this country. Awareness must be raised and the attention of parents ought to be diverted to the education of their children. Child Labour Laws should be put into practice strictly. In addition, the educational system of the country-must be reshaped and restructured according to national development goals. The orphans and other deserving children must be helped financially on a prolonged basis. It is also essential to eliminate child Labour from the country, that the political, economical and social system of the country are need to be reshaped and such steps taken that make child Labour in this country a crime. They should bring on the well-being of a lay man, good governance and end to exploitative thinking. If we succeed to act upon these principles, our country can easily get rid of this problem i.e. child Labour. The agreement that has recently been approved by Pakistan, Norway and ILO to eradicate child Labour must be given importance and we hope that our rulers must put this agreement into practice using all means at their disposal.

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