Table of contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Background information
1.2. Problem statement
1.3. Research questions.
1.4. Objective of the study.
1.5. Scopes and limitations of the study.
1.6. Significance of the study.
2. Literature review
2.1.
2.2.
2.3.
3. Methodology
3.1.
3.2.
3.3.
3.4.
3.5.
1.Introduction
Who is a Child & Child Labor
Child
International conventions define children as aged 18 and under. Individual governments may define "child" according to different ages or other criteria. "Child" and "childhood" are also defined differently by different cultures. A "child" is not necessarily delineated by a fixed age. Social scientists point out that child’s abilities and maturities vary so much that defining a child's maturity by calendar age can be misleading. Child labour Child labor is the employment of children at regular and sustained labor. "Child labor" is; generally speaking, work for children that harm them or exploits them in some way physically, mentally, morally, or by blocking access to education. UNICEF defines child labor as work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of a child and on the type of work. Such work is considered harmful to the child and should therefore be eliminated. There is no universally accepted definition of child labor. Varying definitions of the term are used by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and other interest groups. Writers and speakers don't always speak what definition they are using and that often leads to confusion.
Child labor is done by any working child who is under the age specified by law. The word, “work” means full time commercial work to sustain self or add to the family income. Child labor is a hazard to a Child’s mental, physical, social, educational, emotional and spiritual development. Broadly any child who is employed in activities to feed self and family is being subjected to “child labor’.
What is not child labour?
Not all work done by children however can be classified as child labour. When children participate in stimulating activities, volunteering or work that does not affect their health and personal development, or interfere with their education, this is generally seen as being positive. For example, activities such as helping parents around the home or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays.
Child labour in mines and quarries:
Child labour in mining and quarrying is a Worst Form of Child Labour because of the extent and severity of the hazards and the risks of death, injury and disease.. It is literally back breaking work. size of the child labour population in mining and quarrying is 1 million.
The small-scale formal mining sector and quarrying employ children in its operations. While the large-scale formal mining sector does not generally employ children in its operations. The definition of small-scale mining and quarrying is not clear-cut as the basic aspects differ from country to country according to the general development of the mining sector and legal framework. However, typical for the sub-sector is that the activities are often artisanal, family-based and labour intensive. Small-scale mining and quarrying includes two broad categories: mining of relatively high-value minerals, such as gold and gemstones, and quarrying of construction materials and industrial minerals. The work related to both of these categories includes risks and health hazards.
Despite their small size, their low productivity and the simple equipment used, the small scale mines and quarries often contribute significantly to national economies. Informal mining refers to uncontrolled mining activities often operated by family members or of close relatives without any license or formal permission. “The more remote and more informal a small-scale mining activity, the more likely children are to be involved” There are some characteristics of small-scale mining and quarrying that influence the involvement of children in mining and quarrying activities.
These typical characteristics are also linked to the problems related to child labour in this sub-sector and include
1. Lack of or limited use of mechanization, and a lot of physically demanding work with Low levels of occupational safety and health protection posing extreme risks to children working in mining.
2. Low qualifications required of personnel at all levels of the operation which allows employers and parents to employ children for parts of the work.
3. Families feel forced to employ their children to increase the family income.
4. Mining of very small deposits, which are not economically exploitable by mechanized mining where the tunnels are sometimes so small that only children can fit through.
Lack of social security and healthcare which, in the case of accidents or injuries, result in
5. Incapacitation and injuries to their parents forcing children to work in their stead. 6. Insufficient knowledge or concern about the environmental hazards common in the mining areas (exposing children working in mining and living in mining camps to environmental, social and health hazards).
6. Chronic lack of working and investment capital (which is compensated by the use of unskilled workers, including children).
ILO conventions and child labour
Two international conventions have been of the utmost importance when confronting the child labour phenomenon and belong to the most ratified ILO treaties ever:
ILO Convention
138 (Minimum Age Convention)
It is obligatory for all countries to set a minimum age for employment according to the rules of ILO written in Convention 138(C.138). The stipulated age for employment should not be below the age for finishing compulsory schooling, that is not below the age of 15. Developing countries are allowed to set the minimum age at 14 years in accordance with their socio- economic circumstances.
C-138 has also made provisions for flexibility for certain countries, setting the minimum age of 12 and 13 for their children , but only for partaking in light work. Light work can be defined as children’s participation in only those economic activities which do not damage their health and development or interfere with their education. work that does not obstruct with a child’s education is considered light work and allowed from age 12 under the International Labor Organization (ILO Convention 138). It is because of this that many children employed in part time work like learning craft or other skills of a hereditary nature are not called child labors. The same work translates into child labor if a child is thrown into weaving carpets, working into factories or some other employment to earn money to sustain self, or augment his family’s income - without being given school education and allowed opportunities for normal social interactions. A child working part time (3-4 hours) to learn and earn for self and parents after school, is not considered ‘child labor.
ILO Convention 182 (Worst Forms Convention).
Governing Body of the International Labour Organization met in its 87th Session on 1 June 1999, and Considered the need to adopt new instruments for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, as the main priority for national and international action.
Governing Body considered that the effective elimination of the worst forms of child labour requires immediate and comprehensive action, taking into account the importance of free basic education and the need to remove the children concerned from all such work.
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention; adopts this seventeenth day of June of the year 1999 the following Convention, which may be cited as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999. Article 3 of the convention states that the term the worst forms of child labour comprises:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
Article 4
1. The types of work referred to under Article 3(d) shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, taking into consideration relevant international standards, in particular Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999.
2. The competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, shall identify where the types of work so determined exist.
2. Each Member shall, taking into account the importance of education in eliminating child labour, take effective and time-bound measures to:
(a) prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour;
(b) provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration;
(c) ensure access to free basic education, and, wherever possible and appropriate, vocational training, for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour;
(d) identify and reach out to children at special risk; and
(e) take account of the special situation of girls.
1.1. Background information
History of Child Labor can be traced in some dark realms of industrialization. child labor was present, much before industrialization in various forms . Earlier, child labor was not a big problem as children used to accompany their fathers in agriculture and other jobs. The industrial revolution brought up the dispute over child labor, as schooling became more important, and concepts of laborers and rights of children were developed. History of child labor states that industrial revolution saw children working Factories, mines, and even having his own small business like selling food, flowers and doing much unusual kind of jobs. Some children started being tourist guides, some set up a small shop of their own and some opened up restaurants in their backyards and worked as waiters too. Some children however, choose to be actors and singers.
Children working in factories were forced to do jobs of high stress levels like assembling boxes, polishing shoes. Many jobs had children held up in small houses doing various jobs and were not within the reach of officials and inspectors. History has witnessed many children involved in military campaigns in spite of this activity being against the cultural morals. It was a custom for youths from the Mediterranean basin to serve as aides, charioteers, and armor bearers to their adult counterparts. A few examples can be found in Bible (David serving his King Saul), Greek Mythology (Hercules and Hylas). In Greece, this practice was considered to be an educational tradition, and the Man/Boy couple was considered to be an efficient fighting force. Hitler Youth (Hitlerjunged or HJ) was an official organization in the Nazi Army. During the Battle of Berlin, this youth force was a major part of the German Defenses.
In the late 1700's and early 1800's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for the making of most manufactured items. , it is believed that during 1780 and 1840, there was a massive increase in child exploitation. During the Industrial revolution, it was very common to find children working in factories. In 1788, more than 60% of workers in textile mills of England and Scotland were children. Many laws were passed to eradicate child labor, but hardly succeeded. Factories began to spring up everywhere, first in England and then in the United States. The owners of these factories found a new source of labor to run their machines i.e. children. Operating the power-driven machines did not require adult strength, and children could be hired more cheaply than adults. By the mid-1800's, child labor was a major problem.
By 1810, about 2,000,000 school-age children were working 50- to 70-hour weeks. Most of them came from poor families. When parents could not support their children, they sometimes turned them over to a mill or factory owner. One glass factory in Massachusetts was fenced with barbed wire "to keep the young imps inside." The "young imps" were boys under 12 who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40 cents to $1.10 per night
Child labour is very common in Latin America, Africa and Asia. According to some, in several Asian countries’ 1/10 manpower consists of child Labor. In India the number of children between the ages of 10-14 has crossed above 44 million, in Pakistan this number is from 8 to 10 million, in Bangladesh 8-12 million, in Brazil 7 million, whereas their number is 12 million in Nigeria. 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 Labor). 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.
The history of child labor in Pakistan began primarily in the 1960’s as part of the country’s dedication to enlarge its manufacturing base. Until that time, child labor was common within family businesses but rarely did children work outside the home. With the rise of new factories and a desire by factory owners to keep labor costs down, Pakistan’s explosion of a child-fueled labor force invaded the country’s economy. In addition, many factory owners asserted that there was a deficit of able-bodied adults and in the face of this labor shortage, child labor was a clear answer, an assertion still held by some in the manufacturing industry today. During the three decades that followed, children as young as four years old began to work in carpet factories, brick-making facilities, and sports ball manufacturing enterprises, mining and quarrying.
By the early 1990’s, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan roughly estimated that 11 million children were working in Pakistan, half of those under the age of ten. In 1996, the median age for a child entering the work force was seven, down from eight years old just two years prior. It was estimated that one quarter of the entire countries work force was made up of child laborers.
In reaction to an increased awareness of rampant use of child labor by Pakistani factories, Western consumers began to boycott goods associated with child-labor practices that created a temporary by sharp decline in sales. As a response to international pressure, the Pakistan National Assembly ratified the U.N. Convention of the Rights of a Child in 1989 and passed two labor laws meant to slow the rising numbers of children in factories. The first was The Employment of Children Act of 1991 that prohibited the use of child labor under the age of 14 in any hazardous employment in a factory or mine. The second was The Bonded Labor Act of 1992 that ended the peshgi system (a form of bonded labor where employers give a cash advance to a worker (or to the worker’s parents) and then the worker is bound to the creditor until the debt is repaid). While both of these acts had significant effects on reducing the number of child laborers under the age of 14 in the months following their implementation (according to a study conducted by the World Bank published in 2007), but children are still working in manufacturing industries mining and quarries in Pakistan today because companies sourcing work there have failed to pay the adult workers a Fair Trade wage. for their work..
The Government of Pakistan has been a member of ILO-IPEC since 1994 With the enactment of the Employment of Children Act in 1991, the Government of Pakistan began to take measures to address child labor issues. An ILO-IPEC Action Plan formalized activities to combat child labor and coordinated such efforts by government organizations, NGOs, trade unions, employers' bodies, and other interested parties In May 2000, the Federal Cabinet approved the National Policy and Action Plan to Combat Child Labour.Bait al-Mal, a government welfare agency created in 1992, operates 33 rehabilitation centers throughout the country, targeting children (aged 8 to 14) who have been exposed to hazardous labor, and provides the children and their families with training and stipends for income generation activities.
During the year 2001 and 2002 the government of Pakistan carried out a series of consultation of tripartite partners and stakeholders (Labour Department, trade unions, employers and NGOs) in all the provinces. The objective was to identify the occupations and the categories of work, which may be considered as hazardous under the provisions of ILO Convention 182. As a result of these deliberations, a national consensus list of occupations and categories of work was identified which include mines, quarries, cutting machinery like saws, shears, and guillotines, glass and metal furnaces worksetc
Children today in Pakistan are working in very sector and exposed to all forms of violence but we have been unable to address the protection issues at any level from policy/legislation to independent private/public sectors employing children. There are no statistics available on child labor or indicators indicating the magnitude of protection issue. One of such sector is the coal mining and quarrying in Baluchistan that among others has employed millions of children but no one ever has turned their eye to the issues pertaining to coal mine children.
child right violation posing threats to the survival, protection, development and participation of coal mine and quarries children. The children working at the coal mines and qurries have to face or wait for any fatal Injury every day due to the ways of mining being hazardous and dangerous. They are exposed to abuse in the form of sexual exploitation, beating, and find resort in mimicking perpetrators through abuse of other children and using harmful addictive drugs.. The children of the coal mines are denied any right to express their view point or take part in any decision making process having implications directly on their lives.
1.2. Problem statement
In order to bring uniformity and pivot the study around a central theme a hypothesis was developed and based upon which objectives of the study were marked out around which the process revolved.
The child labour in the mines and quarries of Baluchistan are exposed to the worst form of child labour .
1.3. Research questions.
What are the main causes of child labour in mines?
What are the living and working conditions of the working children in mines of Baluchistan?
What are the solutions to the problem of child labour in mines?
What consequences does child labour have for the working children?
What type of strategies have been used by government and NGOs in eliminating
child labour in Baluchistan.
1.4. Objective of the study.
One of the central objectives of this research is to map the working and living conditions of children who are working in mines and quarries of Baluchistan and what the consequences of this work are for their physical and emotional well-being. To identify several activities that falls within the group “hazardous forms of child labour”.
The second focus of the research is to investigate the reasons why children are working in these particular worst forms sectors. The research is expected to give relevant insights into the currently polarised debate between those who state child labour is above all related to cultural considerations and those who state that economical reasons are fundamental to the phenomena of child labour.
The third objective, to accommodate policy making in the field of the worst forms, is to map the different policy initiatives for child labourers in the worst forms and to identify the best practices.
1.5. Scopes and limitations of the study.
1.6. Significance of the study.
2. Literature review.
“Child Protection Assessment Among Afghan Refugee and Host Communities in Quetta” by SEHER .This study highlights the serious issues that affect the Afghan refugees children as well host communities in Quetta. The main objective of this assessment is to have an idea of the gravity of the protection issues that confront the children in not only the war torn communities but also among communities who are devoid of basic amenities of life and are thus forced to live a life more exposed to dangers and thus more vulnerable.
The sampling and the tools of data collection have been dealt with in detail. There were more than seventeen hundred respondents from 880 households in 19 different clusters in the urban and periurban areas of Quetta, where the data was collected, covering the Majority Afghan communities, Mixed Majority Afghans, Mixed Majority Pakistanis and the Control group (Pakistanis). The questionnaire had two parts the adult module – to be interviewed with a parent – and a child module to be filled in by a child in a household. In filling the The research had a detailed quantitative questionnaire. The qualitative data was collected through the focused group discussions, the detailed accounts of the enumerators, interviews of individuals, case studies. Poverty is the main cause of lack of protection of children and a cross cutting theme of the whole assessment. The displaced communities are more at risk of being involved in crimes of various degrees compared to the host community, as the legal status could play a vital role when it comes to dealing with the authorities.Cultural dimension is very ruthlessly misused in order to protect the interests of the dominant forces. A large number of children do not get enrolled in a school, madrassah or a workplace. There is no space for a child to share his / her feelings. This gap of communication serves the interest of the perpetrators.Beating is an imitative act and has penetrated in the culture of the people. Child beating emerged as the most common form of child abuse. Social construction of the society is such that girls are considered as symbols of family honor, therefore, they are given ‘protection’ which sometimes results in the violation of the basic child rights. Girls are forced to live a hard life within the four walls of the homes, Male children are more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation than the females.
The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America:Identification and Policy Options
Main findings from Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru by IREWOC Foundation May 2008.
One of the central objectives of this IREWOC research was to map the working and living conditions of children who are working in specific economic sectors and what the consequences of this work are for their physical and emotional well-being. The second focus of the study was to investigate the reasons why children are working in these particular worst forms sectors. The research results were expected to give relevant insights into the currently polarized debate between those who state child labour is above all related to cultural considerations and those who state that economical reasons are fundamental to the phenomena of child labour. The third objective, to accommodate policy making in the field of the worst forms, was to map the different policy initiatives for child labourers in the worst forms and to identify the best practices
Research phases and methodology
Three countries where selected: Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru. These specific countries were chosen based on a combination of factors, of which the most important was the estimated incidence of child labour, as the numbers of working children in the selected countries appear to be on the rise. A specific background mapping period was conducted in each research country. A total of 62 key-resource persons working for child-centered NGOs, UN organizations, research institutes and various ministries were interviewed. In addition, three fieldwork trips were carried out to mining and quarrying areas in different regions in the three countries. following sectors were selected for this study: coffee plantations and stone quarries in Guatemala; tin/silver mines and sugar cane plantations in Bolivia; gold mines, waste disposal/recycling and fruit/vegetable markets in Peru. For research project, we collected insights directly from the source, by doing detailed anthropological fieldwork in the communities and “on the work floor”, and by documenting the views and opinions of the children, their caretakers, as well as development workers. The study also involved more formal methods, such as structured interviews, and alternative methods, such as taking photographs with the children and filling in questionnaires. The research revealed that these alternative methods in particular can lead to interesting additional information on how children perceive their living and working conditions. In all economic sectors in the research countries several interventions by government and nongovernmental organisations aim to improve the situation of working children. Based on our analysis of these initiatives we offer the following conclusions and recommendations: Improving school attendance, improving access, offering good quality education and monitoring the attendance of the working children and their results, helps to reduce the time children are working. It is important to state that the focus should not only be on primary education. As more adolescents are working in the worst forms, it is essential also to focus on improving quality and access to secondary and tertiary education. Informal (child right) education for children and parents also helps since, in some cases, parents do not send their children to work anymore. Additionally, educating parents and children on the dangers of child labour motivated This was the case in the mines, where, because of an increase in the mineral prices, many adolescents left their work in rural villages, to come and make more money in the mines. children and adolescents to stop working. However, it was also discovered that offering better
access to and improving the quality of education as a strategy alone is often not enough to get children out of the worst forms. Many children in the worst forms combine their dangerous working activities with schooling. This means that strategies directed to education should be combined with other strategies that solve other structural reasons why children keep working in the worst forms. Many young children become involved in the worst forms because their parents have no place to leave them and therefore are forced to take the children with them to the work site. In these cases offering free day-care can help to reduce the amount of children becoming involved in the worst forms. Mechanising the sectors in which children are working has been successful in some cases. Mechanisation replaces manual labour and results in an increase of production and therefore of income, reducing the need for child labour. There are certain conditions which have to be taken into account before mechanisation of a sector can be successful: the communities have to be relatively small and well organised if they are going to successfully share responsibilities for the maintenance of the machines and income. As many children are involved in the worst forms because of a lack of safe, well-paid and stable jobs for parents, generating alternative employment deserves recommendation. The productive
projects implemented with this objective have seen successes28, however only when the alternative jobs created took the local demands into account, when these were at least as
lucrative as the dominant sector and when the people received continuing guidance and assistance in the process. As several worst forms sectors concern migrant labour, income generating jobs should primarily be created in the areas of origin. A relatively successful strategy to end the worst forms of child labour has been to separate the working and living areas29. In this way children are moved away from the often dangerous and
. SEHER initiated a comprehensive research study “Assessment of Child Protection Issues at Coal mines of Baluchistan through participatory approach in Collaboration with Save the Children Sweden” to assess the quantum and magnitude of the child right abuse and to identify protection issues. Problem statement The children working in the coal mines Baluchistan are exposed to exploitation and abuses ranging from sexual abuse, to hazardous working environment, mental torture to physical beating.child right violation in coal mines posing threats to the survival, protection, development and participation of coal mine children. The children working at the coal mines have to face or wait for any fatal injury every day due to the ways of mining being hazardous and dangerous. The information collection varies from children to other stakeholders. As with children the information collection process included the active participation of children in activities that lead to uncovering realities and facts.
Data collection and methodology
The research was orientated towards qualitative information gathering regarding the most sensitive issue of child protection. There are numerable mining fields in Baluchistan out of which seven were sampled out for the research namely Mach, Sorange, Degari, Marwarh, Duki, Harnai,Shahrig. The primary informants i.e. the children were involved in activities on group level that proved to be interesting means of obtaining the required information. The strategy employed for the information collection from the rest of stakeholders was thorough FGDs. Detailed FGDs/dialogues were carried out with adults, mine owners, contractors/managers, contractors, members of CSOs, truck drivers and concerned government officials. This facilitated the research process at two levels one in the collection of information and second in the creating awareness among through initiating dialogues . Reflective sessions In order to obtain maximum and authentic in formation, the research team followed a strategy of having reflective and planning session at the end of each day’s activity. Detailed FGDs/dialogues were carried out with adults, mine owners, contractors/managers, contractors, members of CSOs, truck drivers and concerned government officials.
conclusion
There is no opportunity for the children to recreation for the positive development of the personalities and building their self confidence, self esteem and courage to ward off exploitation. There is completely no concept of children in the decision making processes or voicing their in matters affecting their lives. They belong to the rigid tribal cultural where the adults are the only decision makers and children are not allowed to interfere. There is no space for a child to share its feelings. Children are completely neglected by adults and neglect is a serious emotional abuse. This gap of communication serves the interests of the perpetrator. There exists a lack of primary care givers with the children at the mines that render them at the mercy the perpetrators. In many instances a kin usually himself is the perpetrator. Child beating emerged as the most common form of child abuse. This is because child beating has social acceptance among the labor communities. A general feeling about child beating is being a part of their proper development.
1. Introduction
1.1. Background information
1.2. Problem statement
1.3. Research questions.
1.4. Objective of the study.
1.5. Scopes and limitations of the study.
1.6. Significance of the study.
2. Literature review
2.1.
2.2.
2.3.
3. Methodology
3.1.
3.2.
3.3.
3.4.
3.5.
1.Introduction
Who is a Child & Child Labor
Child
International conventions define children as aged 18 and under. Individual governments may define "child" according to different ages or other criteria. "Child" and "childhood" are also defined differently by different cultures. A "child" is not necessarily delineated by a fixed age. Social scientists point out that child’s abilities and maturities vary so much that defining a child's maturity by calendar age can be misleading. Child labour Child labor is the employment of children at regular and sustained labor. "Child labor" is; generally speaking, work for children that harm them or exploits them in some way physically, mentally, morally, or by blocking access to education. UNICEF defines child labor as work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of a child and on the type of work. Such work is considered harmful to the child and should therefore be eliminated. There is no universally accepted definition of child labor. Varying definitions of the term are used by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and other interest groups. Writers and speakers don't always speak what definition they are using and that often leads to confusion.
Child labor is done by any working child who is under the age specified by law. The word, “work” means full time commercial work to sustain self or add to the family income. Child labor is a hazard to a Child’s mental, physical, social, educational, emotional and spiritual development. Broadly any child who is employed in activities to feed self and family is being subjected to “child labor’.
What is not child labour?
Not all work done by children however can be classified as child labour. When children participate in stimulating activities, volunteering or work that does not affect their health and personal development, or interfere with their education, this is generally seen as being positive. For example, activities such as helping parents around the home or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays.
Child labour in mines and quarries:
Child labour in mining and quarrying is a Worst Form of Child Labour because of the extent and severity of the hazards and the risks of death, injury and disease.. It is literally back breaking work. size of the child labour population in mining and quarrying is 1 million.
The small-scale formal mining sector and quarrying employ children in its operations. While the large-scale formal mining sector does not generally employ children in its operations. The definition of small-scale mining and quarrying is not clear-cut as the basic aspects differ from country to country according to the general development of the mining sector and legal framework. However, typical for the sub-sector is that the activities are often artisanal, family-based and labour intensive. Small-scale mining and quarrying includes two broad categories: mining of relatively high-value minerals, such as gold and gemstones, and quarrying of construction materials and industrial minerals. The work related to both of these categories includes risks and health hazards.
Despite their small size, their low productivity and the simple equipment used, the small scale mines and quarries often contribute significantly to national economies. Informal mining refers to uncontrolled mining activities often operated by family members or of close relatives without any license or formal permission. “The more remote and more informal a small-scale mining activity, the more likely children are to be involved” There are some characteristics of small-scale mining and quarrying that influence the involvement of children in mining and quarrying activities.
These typical characteristics are also linked to the problems related to child labour in this sub-sector and include
1. Lack of or limited use of mechanization, and a lot of physically demanding work with Low levels of occupational safety and health protection posing extreme risks to children working in mining.
2. Low qualifications required of personnel at all levels of the operation which allows employers and parents to employ children for parts of the work.
3. Families feel forced to employ their children to increase the family income.
4. Mining of very small deposits, which are not economically exploitable by mechanized mining where the tunnels are sometimes so small that only children can fit through.
Lack of social security and healthcare which, in the case of accidents or injuries, result in
5. Incapacitation and injuries to their parents forcing children to work in their stead. 6. Insufficient knowledge or concern about the environmental hazards common in the mining areas (exposing children working in mining and living in mining camps to environmental, social and health hazards).
6. Chronic lack of working and investment capital (which is compensated by the use of unskilled workers, including children).
ILO conventions and child labour
Two international conventions have been of the utmost importance when confronting the child labour phenomenon and belong to the most ratified ILO treaties ever:
ILO Convention
138 (Minimum Age Convention)
It is obligatory for all countries to set a minimum age for employment according to the rules of ILO written in Convention 138(C.138). The stipulated age for employment should not be below the age for finishing compulsory schooling, that is not below the age of 15. Developing countries are allowed to set the minimum age at 14 years in accordance with their socio- economic circumstances.
C-138 has also made provisions for flexibility for certain countries, setting the minimum age of 12 and 13 for their children , but only for partaking in light work. Light work can be defined as children’s participation in only those economic activities which do not damage their health and development or interfere with their education. work that does not obstruct with a child’s education is considered light work and allowed from age 12 under the International Labor Organization (ILO Convention 138). It is because of this that many children employed in part time work like learning craft or other skills of a hereditary nature are not called child labors. The same work translates into child labor if a child is thrown into weaving carpets, working into factories or some other employment to earn money to sustain self, or augment his family’s income - without being given school education and allowed opportunities for normal social interactions. A child working part time (3-4 hours) to learn and earn for self and parents after school, is not considered ‘child labor.
ILO Convention 182 (Worst Forms Convention).
Governing Body of the International Labour Organization met in its 87th Session on 1 June 1999, and Considered the need to adopt new instruments for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, as the main priority for national and international action.
Governing Body considered that the effective elimination of the worst forms of child labour requires immediate and comprehensive action, taking into account the importance of free basic education and the need to remove the children concerned from all such work.
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention; adopts this seventeenth day of June of the year 1999 the following Convention, which may be cited as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999. Article 3 of the convention states that the term the worst forms of child labour comprises:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
Article 4
1. The types of work referred to under Article 3(d) shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, taking into consideration relevant international standards, in particular Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999.
2. The competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, shall identify where the types of work so determined exist.
2. Each Member shall, taking into account the importance of education in eliminating child labour, take effective and time-bound measures to:
(a) prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour;
(b) provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration;
(c) ensure access to free basic education, and, wherever possible and appropriate, vocational training, for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour;
(d) identify and reach out to children at special risk; and
(e) take account of the special situation of girls.
1.1. Background information
History of Child Labor can be traced in some dark realms of industrialization. child labor was present, much before industrialization in various forms . Earlier, child labor was not a big problem as children used to accompany their fathers in agriculture and other jobs. The industrial revolution brought up the dispute over child labor, as schooling became more important, and concepts of laborers and rights of children were developed. History of child labor states that industrial revolution saw children working Factories, mines, and even having his own small business like selling food, flowers and doing much unusual kind of jobs. Some children started being tourist guides, some set up a small shop of their own and some opened up restaurants in their backyards and worked as waiters too. Some children however, choose to be actors and singers.
Children working in factories were forced to do jobs of high stress levels like assembling boxes, polishing shoes. Many jobs had children held up in small houses doing various jobs and were not within the reach of officials and inspectors. History has witnessed many children involved in military campaigns in spite of this activity being against the cultural morals. It was a custom for youths from the Mediterranean basin to serve as aides, charioteers, and armor bearers to their adult counterparts. A few examples can be found in Bible (David serving his King Saul), Greek Mythology (Hercules and Hylas). In Greece, this practice was considered to be an educational tradition, and the Man/Boy couple was considered to be an efficient fighting force. Hitler Youth (Hitlerjunged or HJ) was an official organization in the Nazi Army. During the Battle of Berlin, this youth force was a major part of the German Defenses.
In the late 1700's and early 1800's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for the making of most manufactured items. , it is believed that during 1780 and 1840, there was a massive increase in child exploitation. During the Industrial revolution, it was very common to find children working in factories. In 1788, more than 60% of workers in textile mills of England and Scotland were children. Many laws were passed to eradicate child labor, but hardly succeeded. Factories began to spring up everywhere, first in England and then in the United States. The owners of these factories found a new source of labor to run their machines i.e. children. Operating the power-driven machines did not require adult strength, and children could be hired more cheaply than adults. By the mid-1800's, child labor was a major problem.
By 1810, about 2,000,000 school-age children were working 50- to 70-hour weeks. Most of them came from poor families. When parents could not support their children, they sometimes turned them over to a mill or factory owner. One glass factory in Massachusetts was fenced with barbed wire "to keep the young imps inside." The "young imps" were boys under 12 who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40 cents to $1.10 per night
Child labour is very common in Latin America, Africa and Asia. According to some, in several Asian countries’ 1/10 manpower consists of child Labor. In India the number of children between the ages of 10-14 has crossed above 44 million, in Pakistan this number is from 8 to 10 million, in Bangladesh 8-12 million, in Brazil 7 million, whereas their number is 12 million in Nigeria. 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 Labor). 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.
The history of child labor in Pakistan began primarily in the 1960’s as part of the country’s dedication to enlarge its manufacturing base. Until that time, child labor was common within family businesses but rarely did children work outside the home. With the rise of new factories and a desire by factory owners to keep labor costs down, Pakistan’s explosion of a child-fueled labor force invaded the country’s economy. In addition, many factory owners asserted that there was a deficit of able-bodied adults and in the face of this labor shortage, child labor was a clear answer, an assertion still held by some in the manufacturing industry today. During the three decades that followed, children as young as four years old began to work in carpet factories, brick-making facilities, and sports ball manufacturing enterprises, mining and quarrying.
By the early 1990’s, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan roughly estimated that 11 million children were working in Pakistan, half of those under the age of ten. In 1996, the median age for a child entering the work force was seven, down from eight years old just two years prior. It was estimated that one quarter of the entire countries work force was made up of child laborers.
In reaction to an increased awareness of rampant use of child labor by Pakistani factories, Western consumers began to boycott goods associated with child-labor practices that created a temporary by sharp decline in sales. As a response to international pressure, the Pakistan National Assembly ratified the U.N. Convention of the Rights of a Child in 1989 and passed two labor laws meant to slow the rising numbers of children in factories. The first was The Employment of Children Act of 1991 that prohibited the use of child labor under the age of 14 in any hazardous employment in a factory or mine. The second was The Bonded Labor Act of 1992 that ended the peshgi system (a form of bonded labor where employers give a cash advance to a worker (or to the worker’s parents) and then the worker is bound to the creditor until the debt is repaid). While both of these acts had significant effects on reducing the number of child laborers under the age of 14 in the months following their implementation (according to a study conducted by the World Bank published in 2007), but children are still working in manufacturing industries mining and quarries in Pakistan today because companies sourcing work there have failed to pay the adult workers a Fair Trade wage. for their work..
The Government of Pakistan has been a member of ILO-IPEC since 1994 With the enactment of the Employment of Children Act in 1991, the Government of Pakistan began to take measures to address child labor issues. An ILO-IPEC Action Plan formalized activities to combat child labor and coordinated such efforts by government organizations, NGOs, trade unions, employers' bodies, and other interested parties In May 2000, the Federal Cabinet approved the National Policy and Action Plan to Combat Child Labour.Bait al-Mal, a government welfare agency created in 1992, operates 33 rehabilitation centers throughout the country, targeting children (aged 8 to 14) who have been exposed to hazardous labor, and provides the children and their families with training and stipends for income generation activities.
During the year 2001 and 2002 the government of Pakistan carried out a series of consultation of tripartite partners and stakeholders (Labour Department, trade unions, employers and NGOs) in all the provinces. The objective was to identify the occupations and the categories of work, which may be considered as hazardous under the provisions of ILO Convention 182. As a result of these deliberations, a national consensus list of occupations and categories of work was identified which include mines, quarries, cutting machinery like saws, shears, and guillotines, glass and metal furnaces worksetc
Children today in Pakistan are working in very sector and exposed to all forms of violence but we have been unable to address the protection issues at any level from policy/legislation to independent private/public sectors employing children. There are no statistics available on child labor or indicators indicating the magnitude of protection issue. One of such sector is the coal mining and quarrying in Baluchistan that among others has employed millions of children but no one ever has turned their eye to the issues pertaining to coal mine children.
child right violation posing threats to the survival, protection, development and participation of coal mine and quarries children. The children working at the coal mines and qurries have to face or wait for any fatal Injury every day due to the ways of mining being hazardous and dangerous. They are exposed to abuse in the form of sexual exploitation, beating, and find resort in mimicking perpetrators through abuse of other children and using harmful addictive drugs.. The children of the coal mines are denied any right to express their view point or take part in any decision making process having implications directly on their lives.
1.2. Problem statement
In order to bring uniformity and pivot the study around a central theme a hypothesis was developed and based upon which objectives of the study were marked out around which the process revolved.
The child labour in the mines and quarries of Baluchistan are exposed to the worst form of child labour .
1.3. Research questions.
What are the main causes of child labour in mines?
What are the living and working conditions of the working children in mines of Baluchistan?
What are the solutions to the problem of child labour in mines?
What consequences does child labour have for the working children?
What type of strategies have been used by government and NGOs in eliminating
child labour in Baluchistan.
1.4. Objective of the study.
One of the central objectives of this research is to map the working and living conditions of children who are working in mines and quarries of Baluchistan and what the consequences of this work are for their physical and emotional well-being. To identify several activities that falls within the group “hazardous forms of child labour”.
The second focus of the research is to investigate the reasons why children are working in these particular worst forms sectors. The research is expected to give relevant insights into the currently polarised debate between those who state child labour is above all related to cultural considerations and those who state that economical reasons are fundamental to the phenomena of child labour.
The third objective, to accommodate policy making in the field of the worst forms, is to map the different policy initiatives for child labourers in the worst forms and to identify the best practices.
1.5. Scopes and limitations of the study.
1.6. Significance of the study.
2. Literature review.
“Child Protection Assessment Among Afghan Refugee and Host Communities in Quetta” by SEHER .This study highlights the serious issues that affect the Afghan refugees children as well host communities in Quetta. The main objective of this assessment is to have an idea of the gravity of the protection issues that confront the children in not only the war torn communities but also among communities who are devoid of basic amenities of life and are thus forced to live a life more exposed to dangers and thus more vulnerable.
The sampling and the tools of data collection have been dealt with in detail. There were more than seventeen hundred respondents from 880 households in 19 different clusters in the urban and periurban areas of Quetta, where the data was collected, covering the Majority Afghan communities, Mixed Majority Afghans, Mixed Majority Pakistanis and the Control group (Pakistanis). The questionnaire had two parts the adult module – to be interviewed with a parent – and a child module to be filled in by a child in a household. In filling the The research had a detailed quantitative questionnaire. The qualitative data was collected through the focused group discussions, the detailed accounts of the enumerators, interviews of individuals, case studies. Poverty is the main cause of lack of protection of children and a cross cutting theme of the whole assessment. The displaced communities are more at risk of being involved in crimes of various degrees compared to the host community, as the legal status could play a vital role when it comes to dealing with the authorities.Cultural dimension is very ruthlessly misused in order to protect the interests of the dominant forces. A large number of children do not get enrolled in a school, madrassah or a workplace. There is no space for a child to share his / her feelings. This gap of communication serves the interest of the perpetrators.Beating is an imitative act and has penetrated in the culture of the people. Child beating emerged as the most common form of child abuse. Social construction of the society is such that girls are considered as symbols of family honor, therefore, they are given ‘protection’ which sometimes results in the violation of the basic child rights. Girls are forced to live a hard life within the four walls of the homes, Male children are more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation than the females.
The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America:Identification and Policy Options
Main findings from Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru by IREWOC Foundation May 2008.
One of the central objectives of this IREWOC research was to map the working and living conditions of children who are working in specific economic sectors and what the consequences of this work are for their physical and emotional well-being. The second focus of the study was to investigate the reasons why children are working in these particular worst forms sectors. The research results were expected to give relevant insights into the currently polarized debate between those who state child labour is above all related to cultural considerations and those who state that economical reasons are fundamental to the phenomena of child labour. The third objective, to accommodate policy making in the field of the worst forms, was to map the different policy initiatives for child labourers in the worst forms and to identify the best practices
Research phases and methodology
Three countries where selected: Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru. These specific countries were chosen based on a combination of factors, of which the most important was the estimated incidence of child labour, as the numbers of working children in the selected countries appear to be on the rise. A specific background mapping period was conducted in each research country. A total of 62 key-resource persons working for child-centered NGOs, UN organizations, research institutes and various ministries were interviewed. In addition, three fieldwork trips were carried out to mining and quarrying areas in different regions in the three countries. following sectors were selected for this study: coffee plantations and stone quarries in Guatemala; tin/silver mines and sugar cane plantations in Bolivia; gold mines, waste disposal/recycling and fruit/vegetable markets in Peru. For research project, we collected insights directly from the source, by doing detailed anthropological fieldwork in the communities and “on the work floor”, and by documenting the views and opinions of the children, their caretakers, as well as development workers. The study also involved more formal methods, such as structured interviews, and alternative methods, such as taking photographs with the children and filling in questionnaires. The research revealed that these alternative methods in particular can lead to interesting additional information on how children perceive their living and working conditions. In all economic sectors in the research countries several interventions by government and nongovernmental organisations aim to improve the situation of working children. Based on our analysis of these initiatives we offer the following conclusions and recommendations: Improving school attendance, improving access, offering good quality education and monitoring the attendance of the working children and their results, helps to reduce the time children are working. It is important to state that the focus should not only be on primary education. As more adolescents are working in the worst forms, it is essential also to focus on improving quality and access to secondary and tertiary education. Informal (child right) education for children and parents also helps since, in some cases, parents do not send their children to work anymore. Additionally, educating parents and children on the dangers of child labour motivated This was the case in the mines, where, because of an increase in the mineral prices, many adolescents left their work in rural villages, to come and make more money in the mines. children and adolescents to stop working. However, it was also discovered that offering better
access to and improving the quality of education as a strategy alone is often not enough to get children out of the worst forms. Many children in the worst forms combine their dangerous working activities with schooling. This means that strategies directed to education should be combined with other strategies that solve other structural reasons why children keep working in the worst forms. Many young children become involved in the worst forms because their parents have no place to leave them and therefore are forced to take the children with them to the work site. In these cases offering free day-care can help to reduce the amount of children becoming involved in the worst forms. Mechanising the sectors in which children are working has been successful in some cases. Mechanisation replaces manual labour and results in an increase of production and therefore of income, reducing the need for child labour. There are certain conditions which have to be taken into account before mechanisation of a sector can be successful: the communities have to be relatively small and well organised if they are going to successfully share responsibilities for the maintenance of the machines and income. As many children are involved in the worst forms because of a lack of safe, well-paid and stable jobs for parents, generating alternative employment deserves recommendation. The productive
projects implemented with this objective have seen successes28, however only when the alternative jobs created took the local demands into account, when these were at least as
lucrative as the dominant sector and when the people received continuing guidance and assistance in the process. As several worst forms sectors concern migrant labour, income generating jobs should primarily be created in the areas of origin. A relatively successful strategy to end the worst forms of child labour has been to separate the working and living areas29. In this way children are moved away from the often dangerous and
. SEHER initiated a comprehensive research study “Assessment of Child Protection Issues at Coal mines of Baluchistan through participatory approach in Collaboration with Save the Children Sweden” to assess the quantum and magnitude of the child right abuse and to identify protection issues. Problem statement The children working in the coal mines Baluchistan are exposed to exploitation and abuses ranging from sexual abuse, to hazardous working environment, mental torture to physical beating.child right violation in coal mines posing threats to the survival, protection, development and participation of coal mine children. The children working at the coal mines have to face or wait for any fatal injury every day due to the ways of mining being hazardous and dangerous. The information collection varies from children to other stakeholders. As with children the information collection process included the active participation of children in activities that lead to uncovering realities and facts.
Data collection and methodology
The research was orientated towards qualitative information gathering regarding the most sensitive issue of child protection. There are numerable mining fields in Baluchistan out of which seven were sampled out for the research namely Mach, Sorange, Degari, Marwarh, Duki, Harnai,Shahrig. The primary informants i.e. the children were involved in activities on group level that proved to be interesting means of obtaining the required information. The strategy employed for the information collection from the rest of stakeholders was thorough FGDs. Detailed FGDs/dialogues were carried out with adults, mine owners, contractors/managers, contractors, members of CSOs, truck drivers and concerned government officials. This facilitated the research process at two levels one in the collection of information and second in the creating awareness among through initiating dialogues . Reflective sessions In order to obtain maximum and authentic in formation, the research team followed a strategy of having reflective and planning session at the end of each day’s activity. Detailed FGDs/dialogues were carried out with adults, mine owners, contractors/managers, contractors, members of CSOs, truck drivers and concerned government officials.
conclusion
There is no opportunity for the children to recreation for the positive development of the personalities and building their self confidence, self esteem and courage to ward off exploitation. There is completely no concept of children in the decision making processes or voicing their in matters affecting their lives. They belong to the rigid tribal cultural where the adults are the only decision makers and children are not allowed to interfere. There is no space for a child to share its feelings. Children are completely neglected by adults and neglect is a serious emotional abuse. This gap of communication serves the interests of the perpetrator. There exists a lack of primary care givers with the children at the mines that render them at the mercy the perpetrators. In many instances a kin usually himself is the perpetrator. Child beating emerged as the most common form of child abuse. This is because child beating has social acceptance among the labor communities. A general feeling about child beating is being a part of their proper development.
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