| Children make efforts to draw attention to child labour |
| Saturday, 14 June 2008 | |
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School children who performed a play on Thursday to celebrate World Day against Child Labour were highly appreciated. They focused on the life of children who keep performing animals (monkeys) and roam the streets daily from morning to sunset to earn little amounts for their poor families. Through their unique performance, the school children depicted the real picture of child labourer. For the occasion, the event was organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC). A large number of children and teachers hailing from different schools participated in this programme. The children staged different theatrical performances including tableaus to condemn the issue of the day. Ameer Nawab Khan, Minister for Labour Sindh being a chief guest said that children are our future and if their foundation is weak we can not be a strong nation. He said that the provision of better education, health facilities and jobs is a world-recognised right and the Sindh government is implementing it through different projects it has already launched. He said that the government has also designed a plan to form vigilance committees at Sindh level to rescue these children who are being forced to work. Karamat Ali, Director Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research (PILER) in his paper “Development of Child Labour” in the country said that those people and organisations that want to abolish child labour should identify its real causes and make an effective strategy to find a permanent solution. He said child labour is basically the issue of developing countries, like Pakistan, despite the fact that the government has initiated many programmes to abolish it, all is seen going in vain. He said that Pakistan had 3.3 million child labours a few years back but at present it has about a ten million children workforce. The PILER Director added that in the recent budget the government has announced a 20 per cent increase in the salaries. It must be for government servants as the people working in the informal sectors would not benefit by this. He said 50 million children are working in hazardous conditions and their lives are at stake. Had the government wanted to bring any positive change in the system it should have announced an effective plan on the occasion of the Budget. The former AIG Legal Sindh Jail, shared his experience while he was deputed in the Juvenile jail in Karachi. He said that the Pakistani society is declining socially and morally. “When the Chief Justice of the country is being deatained, how can we ever expect the betterment of the society,” he added. He urged the civil society organisations and all saner elements to play their role to rescue the children, who are out of schools. The former AIG said at present 90 per cent criminals are children or teenagers involved in the street crime in the city. Asad Butt, Provincial Coordinator Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention is being violated in Pakistan. He said that the majority of child labourers can be witnessed in the agriculture sector, where they work in the fields. Apart from that, one million girl children work in the bangle industry which is a hazardous matter as well. He also pointed out that the number of street children has increased to 50,000. He linked it to the influx of population from rural areas to urban centres. The HRCP leader also demanded to make a policy to eradicate child labour from the country. Sadia Baloch, provincial coordinator SPARC, Salam Dharejo, and others also spoke on the occasion. |
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