Increased number of child labour in Pakistan: inflation, unemployment identified as main factors

High rate of population growth, inflation, unemployment, uneven distribution of wealth and resources along with the increasing poverty are among the main factors contributing to the gradually increasing number of child labour in Pakistan that has become a social evil in under-developed countries.
This was the crux of a workshop held here on Monday, which was organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on its project titled 'Combating Abusive Child Labour'. The ILO Country Director for Pakistan, Margaret Read-Rounds, Sujeewa Fonseka, Chief Technical Advisor ILO-IPEC, Dr Susan Gunn, Specialist on Hazardous Child Labour from ILO Geneva, Haji Muhammad Javed, President Employers' Federation, were among the participants.
It was revealed that hazardous child labour was on the rise in most parts of the world among older children age 15-17. The ILO is drawing attention to this urgent issue by commissioning new studies in Pakistan to examine occupational risks to children working in ten sectors. Preliminary results show that one of the highest rates of injury is in stone crushing where children's lungs are damaged by silica dust and they suffer bone injuries. Amputations have been documented of children in small workshops and repair shops. The studies are breaking new ground in documenting psycho-social damage, eg in the brick kilns.
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour, which is still common in some parts of the world, it can be factory work, mining, prostitution, quarrying, agriculture, helping parents' business, having one's own small business (for example selling food), or doing odd jobs.
According to ILO, if all children get proper education then world income would increase by 22 percent over 20 years. Elimination of childhood labour will help boost the economy of a country, otherwise poverty will spread and standards of living will continue to decline.
According to the only Child Labour Survey conducted in 1996 by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, 3.3 million children (age 5 - 14) are economically active, which is 8.3 percent of the total population. These figures do not include domestic child labourers. About 46 percent of the children do labour work for more than normal 35 hours per week, children make up about 7 percent of the total work force in the country, whereas 70 percent of the working children work as unpaid family helpers. Margaret Read-Rounds, said, "We are convinced that hazardous work of children in specified sectors can be eradicated, given a concerted effort by the government, employers, workers and civil society."
ILO estimates that 215 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 currently working under conditions that are considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative. Sujeewa Fonseka said Pakistan would be gaining a new understanding of the extent and nature of hazardous child labour as it is planning to conduct a major new statistical survey in 2012. Dr Susan Gunn said that by educating employers and workers about occupational risks, it is possible to protect young workers and ensure that they are not violating child labour laws, a concern of many international markets.