Sparc carried a focus group discussion with 30 stakeholders from Labour Department, Labour Union, Social Security Department, Education & Health Department, civil society organisations, journalists, religious and political leaders in Hyderabad.
Participants were keenly concerned over prevalence of child labour in Hyderabad, which includes children working in glass bangle industry, in textile mills, hotels and mechanic workshops, carpet weaving in Tharparker, in agriculture, and domestic labour. Strong concerns remained over gaps and flaws in Employment of Children's Act (1991) which regulates rather than banning child labour.
Conviction and prosecutions under ECA remained too low to bring significant attitudinal change in whole society. Lack of coverage through Bait-ul-Mal literacy programmes for Hyderabad was shared and as four centres are insufficient they should be spread especially in the industrial areas. Participants agreed that brining change required not only quality education for all but also banning child labour. Sparc raised agenda that complete banning child labour would not only support implementation of Article 25-A of the constitution but was also important in national realisation that child labour was violation of child rights and was a crime.
Amendment of ECA should include informal sector as agriculture and domestic child labour. Bringing free, quality and uniformity in education is an important alternative to child labour. Their curriculum should include formal and technical education rather than promoting extremism, participants added.
There are also procedural and practical issues in tackling child labour. There are various problems for labour inspectors. He has to take permission from police station and then final approval from judicial magistrate for that particular area required for inspection and prosecution. It was suggested that in one district such powers should be only with one magistrate to facilitate inspections and prosecutions.
The ILO representative from government side shared that child labour has been eliminated from all the hazardous occupations in factories of Hyderabad. Upon this a political activist strongly disagreed. All the participants highlighted the need of comprehensive survey to tackle child labour and holistic legislation and implementation to tackle child labour. Tackling child labour should be part of the manifestos of the political parties. Kashif Bajeer, Gul Naz, Shafique Kandhro, Zahid Thebo, Sarwar Utitro, Sharjeel Soomro, Azam Jhangri, Zahida Taj mehbob Abro and others participated in discussion.
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