The official figure of bonded labourers in Pakistan, which is between 5,000 to 7,000, seems completely unrealistic as the independent estimates might be far more higher than the government figures. The most recent survey of bonded labourers, carried out by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) for the International Labour Organisation (ILO), revealed that up to 6.8 million persons were living in bond share croppers in the Sindh alone. The majority of these is "untouchable" Hindus.
The same study reveals that in the 4,000 brick kilns in Pakistan, up to 700,000 persons are in debt bondage, over half of them women and children. These figures did not include workers in carpet weaving factories, where it is known that there is a high incidence of bonded child labour.
According to a report, titled " The State of Pakistan's children," bonded child labourers are largely to be found in agricultural production, in domestic service and in a bewildering array of industries. These include: beedi rolling; brick-making; carpet weaving; cottonseed production; fishing; the polishing of synthetic gems; making matches and fireworks; silk reeling, twisting and weaving; begging; working in rice mills; leather tanning; flower growing; silver work; manufacturing brassware, bangles, footwear, glass; brick-chipping and working in stone quarries.
Successive governments in India, Nepal and Pakistan have consistently denied the existence of bonded child labour.
In Nepal, a much less populous country than India, there are said to be at least 33,000 bonded child labourers - mostly working in agriculture and domestic service.
While it is widely accepted that debt bondage exists in India, Nepal and Pakistan and there is considerable controversy regarding the number of people actually held in bondage. It should be noted here that most official statistics cover male bonded labourers only.
However, it is commonly found - for example in agriculture, brick kilns and quarries - that other family members are also working to pay off loans from landlords and employers, but are not included in the statistics.
Comments
Comments are closed.