In-Country Research and Data Collection on Forced Labor and Child Labor in the Production of Goods
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In-country Research and Data Collection on Forced Labor and Child Labor in the Production of Goods Pakistan Submitted to: U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Frances Perkins Building 200 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20210 Submitted by: Macro International Inc. 11785 Beltsville Drive, Suite 300 Calverton, MD 20705 Main Telephone: (301) 572-0200 Facsimile: (301) 572-0999 www.macrointernational.com 1 Funding for this research was provided by the United States Department of Labor under Contract number DOLQ059622436. This research does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. 2 Table of Contents Summary Report on Goods ............................................................................................. 4 Type 1 Interview Note ...................................................................................................... 9 Type 2 Interviews.......................................................................................................... 155 Site Visit –Observation Notes ..................................................................................... 183 Annotated Bibliography: Pakistan.............................................................................. 199 Researcher’s Response to DOL Comments................................................................ 227 3 Summary Report on Goods Pakistan Researcher: Shahid Malik Glass Bangles Manufacturing The researcher conducted primary and secondary research on the Glass Bangle Manufacturing sector of Pakistan between April 14 and 18, 2008. The tools used for the primary research were: 15 interviews with stakeholders including government, employer associations, worker organizations, intellectuals, academia, media, community members, such as, parents, ex-child laborers, and NGOs; 15 interviews of the victims of child labor; and 2 site visits to the work places including large factories, small factories/workshops and houses. Secondary research was based on collection of published documents (not older than January 2002) from different sources. Based on the above primary and secondary research, the researcher has all the reasons to state that enormous child labor exists in the Glass Bangle Manufacturing sector of Pakistan for the following reasons: 1. Most of the child labor involved in the sector is deprived of education. 2. ILO-IPEC Time Bound Project in Hyderabad alone has provided Non-formal Education and Literacy to over 6000 children who were deprived of these facilities. 3. It goes without saying that ILO-IPEC has not been able to address the educational needs of all the children involved in child labor. And that there are a huge number of children who are still completely illiterate. 4. Average time spent by a child labor for doing his/her part of daily labor exceeds eight hours a day. 5. Children are involved in processes, such as Leveling, Joining, Coloring, Coating, Decorating and Baking that require fire and chemicals. These processes have been declared hazardous by the Government of Pakistan. 6. The nature of work is so hazardous that most of the child laborers are suffering from diseases such as, severe backaches and knee joint pain, various lung problems, weak eye sight, extreme depression, hopelessness, shattered confidence, isolation, inferiority complex, and utter sense of deprivation. 7. The entire area where these child laborers toil day and night is full of stench, filth and garbage. 8. The drainage and sanitation system has totally collapsed and the drains are full of stagnant water which includes human and toxic waste. 9. The conditions are totally unhygienic and unhealthy. 10. Finally, I would like to state that even though the majority of child laborers work in their houses, they are coerced by their parents to do this work. 4 Surgical Instruments Manufacturing Sector The researcher conducted research on the Surgical Instruments Manufacturing sector of Pakistan during April 7-12, 2008. The data collection efforts include interviews with stakeholders such as government officials, employer associations, worker organizations, intellectuals, academia, media, community members, such as, parents, ex-child laborers, NGOs, etc; and interviews of the victims of child labor; and site visits to the vendor shops. The research also involved collection of published documents (not older than January 2002) from different sources. Based on the research activities and findings, the researcher has all the reasons to state that enormous child labor exists in the Surgical Instruments Manufacturing sector of Pakistan for the following reasons: 1. Most of the child labor involved in the sector is deprived of education. 2. ILO-IPEC Time Bound Project in Sialkot alone has provided non-formal education and literacy to over 5000 children who were deprived of these facilities. 3. It goes without saying that ILO-IPEC has not been able to address the educational needs of all the children involved in child labor. And that there are a huge number of children who are still completely illiterate. 4. Average time spent by a child labor for doing his/her part of daily labor exceeds 8 hours a day. 5. Children are involved in processes, such as Grinding, Filing, Riveting, Hammering, Fitting and Shining that require electrical equipment, sharp tools and chemicals. These processes have been declared hazardous by the Government of Pakistan. 6. The nature of work is so hazardous that most of the child laborers are suffering from diseases such as, severe backaches and knee joint pain, various lung problems, weak eye sight, depression, low confidence level, isolation, general weakness and sense of deprivation. The following surgical instruments involve child labor: . Scissors: operating scissors; Mayo; Metzenbaum; Joseph; Fine Operating Scissors; Bee bee Wire; Stitch Scissors . Forceps: Halsted-Mosquito; Kelly & Kelly-Raklin; Pean; Kocher; Towel Forceps; Dressing and Tissue forceps . Tuning Forks . Tooth Extracting Forceps . Cotton and Dressing Tweezers . Nail ad Cuticle Scissors/Nippers; Barber Scissors, Thinning Scissors; Tweezers and pushers; manicure and pedicure instruments Sialkot is one of the few districts of Pakistan which have strong industrial and agricultural sectors. With better planning on the part of Government of Pakistan and the 5 Government of Punjab, the state of the people of Sialkot can be improved tremendously in a limited time. The Governments need to bring about changes in its labor laws revenue collection system to allow the labor class and poor to have better share in the profits that the private sector make and the revenue that the governments collect. It is mind boggling to note that a district like this has such a huge poor class and such a large number of child labor. 6 Leather Goods (Tannery Sector) The researcher conducted research on the tannery sector of Pakistan during April 1-6, 2008. The researcher conducted interviews with stakeholders including government officials, employer associations, worker organizations, intellectuals, academia, media, community members, such as, parents, ex-child laborers, NGOs, etc; and interviews of the victims of child labor; and site visits to the work places including medium and small size tanneries. The researcher also collected published documents (not older than January 2002) from different sources. Based on the data collected, the researcher has all the reasons to state that child labor (few hundreds) exists in the tannery sector of Pakistan for the following reasons: 1. Most of the child labor involved in the sector is deprived of education. 2. ILO-IPEC Time Bound Project in Kasur alone has provided non-formal education and literacy to those who were deprived of these facilities. 3. It goes without saying that ILO-IPEC has not been able to address the educational needs of all the children involved in child labor. And that there are an equal number of children who are still completely illiterate. 4. Average time spent by a child labor for doing his/her part of daily labor exceeds 8 hours a day. 5. Children are involved in processes, such as Loading/Unloading, Drumming, Dyeing, Cutting, Liming/De-Liming and Chemical Spray most of which require working with deadly and poisonous chemicals. These processes have been declared hazardous by the Government of Pakistan. 6. The nature of work is so hazardous that most of the child laborers are suffering from diseases such as, serious lung and respiratory diseases, severe chemical burns, extremely poor personal hygiene and health, inferiority complex, general weakness and sense of deprivation. 7. The entire area where these tanneries are situated is extremely unhygienic and unhealthy. 8. There is intolerable stench in the entire area. The streets are full of mud that contains toxic waste and filth. In tanneries raw hides are processed and converted into finished hide. These finished hides are sold to other businessmen who make various goods from them. Many tannery owners also make finished goods from the finished hides but, that work is not done at the tanneries. In Pakistan, most finished leather goods are made in Sialkot, however, finished goods are also made in other cities of Pakistan including Kasur. 7 Rag Picking Sector The researcher conducted research on the Rag Picking sector of Pakistan