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National action plan on child labour on 29th

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Labour and Manpower has developed a national plan of action on child labour which will be presented at a national consultation meeting on February 29.

Sources at the labour ministry said on Tuesday that Secretary Labour Yousaf Kamal will present the plan of action on child labour. Minister for Labour and Environment Omar Asghar Khan will preside over the meeting.

The plan will take into account a wider view on the issue of child labour and lay the basis for action to deal with this problem effectively, the sources said.

On January 24, the Secretary labour Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Yousaf Kamal had announced at a consultation at ILO, Islamabad office that the national plan of action on child labour will be finalised within next 30 days. And the ministry has accomplished the task in the stipulated time.

The preparation of action plan was a national effort and citizen were invited to send their suggestions to ministry of labour. The plan includes suggestions from citizens, NGOs, journalists, employers organisations, and chambers of commerce.

Pakistan has taken strides in combating child labour in soccer ball industry of Sialkot and its efforts were praised by US President Bill Clinton at ILO international labour assembly held in Geneva June last.

The government signed an agreement with the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1994 and in six years time, a change in the social scene is visible.

According to a survey conducted by Federal Bureau of Statistics with the cooperation of International Labour Organisations (ILO) in 1996, about 3.3 million children between 5-14 years are working in different sectors. Out of 3.3 million, 2.4 or 73 percent are boys and the remaining 27 percent are girls.

About 71 percent of the employed children work in elementary or unskilled occupations in the field of agriculture, sales and services, manufacturing and transport sector and 19 percent are involved in craft and other related activities. APP