Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 |
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| Ratified Convention 182 10/11/2001 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
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| National Child Labor Action Plan |
X |
| Sector Action Plan (bonded labor) |
X |
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The ILO estimated that 14.4 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in Pakistan were working in 2002.[3046] Most working children are found in agriculture, followed by informal activities in the non-agricultural sector, such as domestic work, street vending, and work in family businesses. Children are also employed in several hazardous sectors, including leather tanning, surgical instruments manufacturing, coal mining, deep sea fishing, brick-making,[3047] and glass bangle manufacturing.[3048] Bonded child labor is still reported in Pakistan, most commonly in agriculture, the brick-making industry, mining, and carpet production.[3049] Further, the exploitation of children in the sex and drug trades continues to be a problem.[3050]
Pakistan is a source, transit, and destination country for child trafficking victims.[3051] Girls are trafficked into Pakistan, primarily from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Burma, Nepal, and Central Asia, for the purposes of sexual exploitation and bonded labor. Girls are also trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation and other types of exploitative labor.[3052] Boys studying at local madrassas (Islamic theological schools) are recruited, often forcibly, as child soldiers to fight with Islamic militants in Afghanistan and Kashmir.[3053] Bangladeshi boys trafficked to Pakistan often work in manufacturing and sweatshops.[3054] Although boys continue to be trafficked from Pakistan to Gulf countries to serves as camel jockeys, more stringent enforcement efforts by authorities in both regions appear to have reduced the numbers.[3055]
The law does not make basic education free or compulsory.[3056] In 1998, the Ministry of Education set a goal for universal basic education as part of the National Education Policy.[3057] In 2001-2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 72 percent (61 percent for girls and 83 percent for boys), and the net primary enrollment rate was 42 percent (38 percent for girls and 46 percent for boys).[3058] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance statistics are not available for Pakistan. Even those children who attend school often fail to learn to read and write.[3059]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Employment of Children Act of 1991 prohibits the employment of children in specified occupations and processes deemed dangerous or hazardous to their health but not from working in family-run enterprises or government schools. The law limits the workday of a child to 7 hours, all of which must be between the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., and it provides for a 1-hour break after 3 hours of labor. A working child must be given at least one day off per week, and it is illegal to require or allow a child to work overtime. Employers must maintain an employment register of working children.[3060] The 1995 Employment of Children Rules details employers’ requirements for maintaining minimum standards of health and safety in a child’s working environment.[3061] Violations of these provisions can result in a maximum 1-year prison term and/or a fine of 20,000 rupees (approximately USD 352).[3062]
Forced labor is prohibited by the Constitution and by the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act of 1992, which was designed to abolish the bonded labor system, emancipate bonded laborers, and cancel remaining debts.[3063] Those found in violation of these provisions can face 2 to 5 years imprisonment and fines of 50,000 rupees (approximately USD 881).[3064] In August 2002, the Government of Pakistan passed the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking and Smuggling Ordinance, which prohibits trafficking in persons and assigns strict penalties for individuals or groups found guilty of engaging in or profiting from such activities.[3065]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Pakistan is implementing a National Policy and Action Plan to Combat Child Labor that calls for immediate eradication of the worst forms of child labor and the progressive elimination of child labor from all sectors of employment. It further seeks to prevent children from entering the work force by offering education as an alternative.[3066]
The National Commission for Child Welfare and Development is coordinating the National Project on the Rehabilitation Child Labour to withdraw children from hazardous employment and promote education.[3067] Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, a government welfare agency, operates 87 non-formal education centers, providing education to working children in all four provinces.[3068] Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal also is providing free school uniforms, books, nutritious meals, de-worming tablets, and a stipend to 500,000 girls in 26 of the poorest districts in Pakistan. The centers assist in withdrawing children from hazardous work environments and providing them with informal and primary education, vocational training, medical care and stipends for income generation activities. Approximately 120 children are enrolled in each center.[3069]
The government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper incorporates the reduction of child labor into its target-setting process. The National Committee on Abolition of Bonded Labour and Rehabilitation of Freed Bonded Laborers oversees the implementation of the National Policy and Plan of Action for the Abolition of Bonded Labour. Major accomplishments include establishing a bonded labor unit, registering brick kilns under the Factory Act, and creating Legal Aid Cells for workers trapped in bonded labor.[3070]
The government is participating in an ILO-IPEC Timebound Program designed to remove and rehabilitate child workers in six identified sectors over the next 5 to 10 years. The activities are glass bangle making, surgical instruments manufacturing, tanneries, coal mining, scavenging, and deep-sea fishing/seafood-processing.[3071] In addition, as of May 2004, ILO-IPEC was supporting over 17 active projects in Pakistan to prevent, withdraw, and rehabilitate child laborers.[3072] The two largest of these programs focused on the elimination of child labor in the carpet weaving and soccer ball stitching industries.[3073] In addition, a number of ILO-IPEC Action Plans have further formalized activities to combat child labor and helped to coordinate the efforts to eliminate child labor on the part of government organizations, NGOs, trade unions, employers’ bodies, and other interested parties.[3074] In cooperation with the Government of Pakistan, USDOL is funding a USD 5 million Save the Children-UK project designed to withdraw children in Punjab from hazardous labor and to provide them with educational and training services.[3075]
The provincial government of the Punjab is making efforts to improve education and stem the flow of yearly dropouts, estimated at four million. Programs include free textbooks through grade 5, hiring 16,000 additional teachers, stipends to support literacy projects for girls, and the establishment of a new district-level monitoring team. The Northwest Frontier Province also provides free textbooks through grade five.[3076] The Central Zakat Council administers 56 vocational training centers in the Punjab. Students receive a monthly stipend for attending and a tool allowance of Rs. 5,000 (USD 87) upon completion of the course.[3077] Due to critical needs in its education system, the Government of Pakistan is receiving intensified support from the World Bank in order to expedite its eligibility for fast track financing for the Education for All program. The Education for All Fast Track Initiative, which is funded by the World Bank and other donors, aims to provide all children with a primary school education by the year 2015.[3078] In addition, the ADB has supported multiple education projects in the Southern Punjab and the Sindh Province to provide incentives for girls to attend school and to promote the attendance, access, and quality of educational programs in general.[3079]
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