Eliminating child labour

Speaking at a workshop held in Lahore recently as a follow-up to ILO's Global Report on Child Labour, the Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, said that it was not possible for poor countries to tackle the child labour problems on their own due to resource constraints.
It was important, he averred, that the developed nations and the ILO should help the problem-ridden countries in their struggle against the menace. He did not spell out what kind of help these countries needed. Apparently, it is relaxation of restrictions that the developed countries apply to imports involving child labour.
Only recently, a major sporting goods company, Nike Inc announced the cancellation of its production orders to a Pakistani supplier of hand-stitched soccer balls, citing labour concerns. A company spokesman explained that the decision followed the supplier's failure to correct significant compliance violations which included making the soccer balls inside private homes, a practice, he said, that allowed room for using under-aged workers besides hiding the failure to ensure safe working conditions in home-based settings. Consequently, a number of people have been deprived of their source of income, and the country has lost an important buyer as well as credibility in the international market.
It is commonly argued in this country that since child labour is a product of poverty, it is unkind to keep children from work and helping supplement their family incomes. Those who refer to poverty as a justification for allowing families to send minors to work instead of school tend to ignore another important aspect of the issue. Which is that it creates a self-perpetuating situation. As long as the conditions remain the same, people will continue to act in the same manner. Things will change only when the concerned people feel compelled to change their ways and also find it beneficial to their long-term interest.
In most cases the children work as unpaid apprentices for a number of years. Since the parents cannot pay for school expenses they try to equip the children with some sort of skill, not necessarily to supplement family incomes. The real challenge for government therefor is to find a way of surmounting the problem by offering sound alternatives rather than helping perpetuate wrong practices.
Indeed, difficulties are there, but what can bring about betterment is a resolve to address them. In fact, a while ago the government did undertake a good initiative but it is yet to be implemented fully. As the minister explained, back in 2000 the Labour Ministry launched a National Plan of Action aimed at immediate eradication of worst forms of child labour and its progressive elimination from all sectors of employment.
A regular system of monitoring and inspection was also evolved for the prevention of under-age children's entry into the labour market. Equally importantly, it was decided to offer at least primary level educational opportunities and vocational training to working class children along with a rehabilitation plan through non-formal education, vocational training, and skill development. If only this initiative could make progress, much of the problems involving child labour would not be there. The Nike episode having come as a rude shock, the labour ministry must act urgently and efficiently to take the necessary damage control measures and also to implement its own action plan.