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.
