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International Union Rights, n. 3 1997
by Ehsam Ullah Khan
In the South Asian Countries there are three different types of child labour:
- Child labour connected with export industries which are producing footballs, textile, leather, surgical instruments, cotton, thread, fish and semiprecious stones.
- Child labour connected with import goods and the workshops for repairing of these imported items like cars, motorcycles, tractors, air conditioners, wool, pesticides and other chemicals.
- Child and bonded labour connected with agriculture dominated sector. Huge groups work during harvesting and cotton picking, children in domestic work, in castling of the animals and all children in the tea shops.
In fact. in our countries 70 per cent child
labour and bonded child labour is directly related with import
and export business and trade which means that child labour in
South Asia is providing cheap items and cheap service to industrialised
and developed countries and to multinational companies. Due to
that child labour is growing days by day and children are loosing
their rights of a childhood, love, education, the rights of playing
and pleasure. The adults are jobless which increase problems like
the gap between poor and rich, illiteracy, weak trade unions,
failure to develop democracy etc.
Consumers' pressure
Due to pressure from American children and
other consumers ILOhas succeededon the 14th February to bring
representative of big importers like Nike, Adidas and Sialkot
Chamber of Commerce and industries in all agreement to eliminate
child labour in football and soccer ball industry within 15 months.
But the weak point in this agreement is that there is not mentioned
anything about the leather which is also used in the football
making and where the tanneries are also using child labour. Anothter
weak point is that nothing is said about those footballs coming
from India, they are also male where child labour is involved.
They are front places in interior Punjab like Jalander and surrounding
places like Basti Bagho, Basli Nfithoo, Basti Sheikh etc.
Consumers should not be cheated
Up to now there is no monitoring system existing
which can guarantee that child labour is not used in processing
of carpets, foottballs, soccer balls etc but in many European
countries like Sweden, Finland, France etc carpets from India,
Nepal and Pakistan are available with self made, false "Child
labour free labels" and no one is taking notice of this which
is an open exploitation of consumers as well as the rights of
the child.
Child labour main challenge for South Asia
South Asia is facing some big challenges, those are violence, high population, bonded labour, child labour and corruption. Due to these problems their economy and political situation is not stabile and progressive. In fact, to meet these challenges it is very important that every country of the region have to make short term and long terms plans of action to overcome the problem. But these evils can not be eradicated without the awareness and education of the people about the rights of the child and the importance of education for all.
According to an estimation 80 million children
in servitude exist in South Asia. Out of them 55 million are in
India and 7,5 million in Pakistan. Due to lack of political will
the rights of the child are not enforced in these countries.
Child labour cause of poverty
Mostly it is said that poverty and financial depravation are reasons for sending small children to work under rigorous and hazardous conditions. But what forces the factory owners to employ child labour which is a clear violation of the national law and the constitution and the UN declaration of the rights of the child? It cannot only be because they are caring for the poor and helpless families. It has to do with the availability of cheap and obedient laboul who will not ask for raise of the salary or less working hours not even protection of social security allowed by the law. The intention is quite clear. It is to make larger and larger profit but at the cost of the future generation of the nation.
First: According to surveys made by BLLF in different industries we found that working children are not always contributing to the family income because first they usually are not getting proper wages added to this due to bad working conditions and bad environment they are getting sick which often effects their future life. In this way they often beconae a burden of their families.
Secondly: Why are the owners not employing
the adults instead of the children? This would give jobs to millions
of adults who are now jobless. If they are getting job the level
of poverty and unemployment will go down. If more children are
getting education also a more modern industry can develop in Paki£stan.
Check the political will
Turing 30 years we have not met any bonded child worker's family who was happy and confident. They always asked about help to get rid of this situation. Bonded and child labour is always connected with the political will of the rulers and the possibility of the education. For the children political will of the rulers can be checked with how much a government is spending on education and development of the children and looking at the rate of literacy in the country.
Along with other low income countries Sri Sanka
however has achieved a remarkable high enrollment rate, high retention
rate and a corresponding decline in child labour.
Within India
Kerala government is spending more on education
than any other state govemment. 64 rupies per capita its compared
to 33 rupies in average for the other states. Kerala was spending
36 per cent of the GDP of the state revenues. Due to high level
of education Kerala produces high quality skilled labour force.
Kerala government has made no special effort to end child labour.
It is the result of the school system rather than the enforcement
of labour legislations that has reduced the amount of child labour.
Bonded labour in Pakistan
According to ILO report 1993, 20 million bonded
labourers exist in Pakistan. But they don't exist in government
records and they even don't have the right to vote due to the
provision of section 7 of the electoral roles 1974 that deny bonded
labourers and nomads the right to vote. The last census was held
in 1981. The next was planned for 1991 but was never held.
Struggle of BLLF
In 1967 the Bonded Labour Liberation Front of Pakistan (BLLF) beganits campaign to free the bonded brick kiln labourers and totally abolish their peshgi debts. We were opposed by religious leaders of different creeds. Christians said that our campaign was against the Bible, which commands workers to obey their masters, who are feeding them. Hindus said that their castle system is God's will this and should be accepted while muslims said that BLLF campaign was against nature, because "God has not created all of our fingers equal" and therefore the different castes and classes of mandkinf are unequal: they accused us of disregarding the Koran and said we were in league with the Christians - who had already denounced us!
Our freedom movement faces challenge and opposition
from employers. Employers and government collude to confuse and
distort the picture, and deny the very existance of child and
bonded labour in Pakistan. The struggle for child rights and the
elimination of child slavery was against the established order,
but we persisted although it was difficult to go on.
ILO
ILO should also make the country officies active against child and bonded labour and the staff in charge should have a good awareness about the rights of the child, moreover ILO should arrange awareness training program for their governing body trade union members who are not fully aware of the rights of the child.
- The goods made by children should not be allowed to import if it is not guarantees that they are not made by children.
- Agriculture workers should be given trade union rights and nomeds and bonded workers should be registered in voter's list.
We should remember the last words of Iqbal
Masih when he got Reebok Award. He said: "Today I am free
and you are free. It happened because BLLF did the same with me
as which Abraham Lincoln did for the Americans".
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