20000101

About 3.3m child workers in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: There are 3.3 million economically active children in the age group of 5-14 years in Pakistan, according to a survey conducted by Federal Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with International Labour Organisation.

Sources at the labour ministry of Friday refuted the claims made in a news report that there are 10 million child labourers in Pakistan.

Quoting the figures from the survey, the officials said that out of 3.3 million, 2.4 million or 73 percent are boys and the remaining 27 percent are girls.

They survey revealed that about 71 percent of the employed children worked in elementary or unskilled occupations in the field of agriculture, sales and services, manufacturing and transport sector and 19 percent were involved in craft and other related activities.

The survey was conducted in 1996 and there are plans to conduct another survey on child labour to ascertain the accurate figures of under-age workers.

Taking cognizance of this serious issue the government, with active cooperation of International Labour Organisations (ILO), is taking measures from time to time to eliminate this menace from the country.

The ILO has been playing an effective role in sponsoring activities under its International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).

These programmes include network of employers for protection of working children; PCMEA/BLCC programme of training and education for carpet weaving children (TECC); programme of employers' federation of Pakistan for protection of working children; Printing of translations on national and international instruments on child labour; education and training centre for carpet weaving children.

Apart from all these programmes, the latest programme of ILO is to launch a new anti-child labour project at a cost of $700,000 in NWFP. APP