The costs and curse of child labour

The brutal killing of a 12-year old Shazia in Lahore, believed to be murdered by her employers has once again highlighted the growing menace of bonded child labour in Pakistan. This hostile incident is a new addition to the pool of hundreds of frightful stories, shamefully, in the presence of both bonded and child labour protection act.
Many rationalize the continuation of child labour, which is estimated to be more than 15 million at home, according to HRCP, on grounds of poverty. However, this shortsighted approach has caused them to ignore the long-term negative consequences of this curse on society.
People in favour of child employment justify that it reduces production cost of many export commodities and make them competitive in international markets. But in reality these businesses exploit children by paying them very low wages and in turn earn exorbitant profits without adequate investment in human capital.
Although, millions of children work to help their families in ways that are neither harmful nor exploitative, millions others are treated more like slaves - bonded child labour was estimated to be near 7.5 million in 1993, according to the International Labour Organisation.
In many cases, an offspring is pledged or bonded in return for loans to his/her guardian, while some time the entire family is bonded and employed in places like coal mines, brick kilns, carpet making industries and in agriculture, where they are often beaten and tortured by their employers.
An alarming increase in the number of street children, child beggars, child porters, rag-pickers and domestic workers is the most appalling outcome of child labour. Moreover, there are risks that these children will get involved in crimes if left unguided.
Likewise, growing terrorism in the country is also driven by employing them as foot soldiers, since it is easier to lure children than adults. As a consequence, this young population, which is considered to be the pillar of the future, becomes a burden for society.
Unfortunately, as long as these children work, there is no proper mechanism to protect them from abuse. Therefore, the only solution is to ban such employment or make it expensive and difficult for employers at the least.
To address their plight, the government needs to conduct regular surveys and identify major areas where children are employed by enhancing the monitoring capabilities of regulatory agencies.
Plus, improvements in education system and compulsory attendance can considerably reduce underage employment, since most parents are reluctant to send their children to schools for economic reasons. Government organizations, together with NGOs should increase the number of relief centres for such children.
One way to discourage child labour is the imposition of high penalty on those employers who hire children in their factories. In this regard, international community can play a crucial role, by banning import of products made in these industries. For instance, Fifa is playing an active role to discourage child labour in sport goods industries.
In contrast to corporate sector, it is relatively difficult to reduce child employment in domestic sector. But if the government documents this sector and makes it compulsory for employers to register domestic servants before hiring them, under-age employment can be reduced considerably.