Effective implementation of laws and public awareness is the only way to discourage the menace of child labour. In addition the government should provide alternative opportunities of livelihood to the poor households who send their children for petty jobs in entirely unhealthy environment so they could save them from this menace.
These were the unanimous views of speakers at a one-day workshop on "activating media in combating worst forms of child labour in Pakistan", on Wednesday. The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the capacity building of media persons.
In Pakistan, latest data on child labour has not been compiled, and the seriousness of the government to combat child labour is evident from the fact that no survey on child labour has been carried out for the last 10 years.
The last survey in 1996 figured out 3.3 million child labourers in Pakistan, out of which 2.4 million (73 percent) were boys and 0.9 million (27 percent) were girls.
Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Minister Ghulam Sarwar said: "The government is working under the ILO Convention 182 and 136 that Pakistan has ratified in 2001 and 2006 on minimum age of the workers in order to combat child labour."
He said that child labour has emerged as a serious social and economic issue, which is badly affecting the future of the children involved in it. But at the same time, it is projecting a bad image of Pakistan globally. He said the government is making all out efforts for effectively combating this social menace by taking along all the stakeholders.
He said that media is an effective tool for highlighting and combating the child labour. In collaboration with the ILO and other agencies, the government is taking various initiatives to create public awareness about child labour, he said.
ILO National Project Manager Saba Mohsin Raza said the menace is haunting the country with its full potential. She said the Federal Bureau of Statistics collected data in 1996. The survey showed there were 3.3 million child labourers in Pakistan. But in 2007, it is feared that the number has inflated alarmingly.
ILO Director Donglin Li said the ILO and government's partnership is helping in eradicating the child labour. He said that initiatives, including rehabilitation centers, special schools, and institutes for technical education for child victims have been established in the country in collaboration with the government.