SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2323centers and 146 larger centers for female stitchers. The ILO currently monitors over1,200 stitching centers. Saga Sports, which also manufactures soccer balls, has builtmodern community-based facilities in 10 villages with a high percentage of familystitching operations. The facilities contain work space for stitchers as well as diningareas, child care centers, recreation areas, and medical clinics. Each facility also hasits own water system, waste disposal system, generator for electricity, and transportationsystem. Meals, child care, medical services, and use of the facilities are providedgratis to workers and their families; use of non-production areas is allowedto all community members. These centers reportedly have created approximately6,000 jobs, 400 to 500 of which are held by women. During the year, Saga Sportsbecame the first industry in Sialkot to permit freedom of association. By year’s end,over 6,000 children have been removed from employment in the soccer ball industry.Under a memorandum of understanding with the Government, the InternationalProgram for the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO/IPEC) program in Pakistan is involvedwith other child labor projects. Projects in Sialkot include one in the surgicalinstruments industry and one in the non-formal (non-exporting) sectors. The ILOworks with the Government, employers, workers, and NGO’s to pursue the Government’spolicy and plan of action for child labor. The Government established 30 rehabilitationcenters (50 are planned) for former child laborers through the PakistanBait-ul-Mal, the Government’s social welfare fund. Each center educates 120 children.The ILO created a similar program in conjunction with the European Union,specifically targeting child bonded laborers. In 1998 the ILO and the Swiss Agencyfor Development and Cooperation (SDC) launched a large project to combat childlabor and child abuse in the NWFP. This program, which targets children in theautomobile repair sector, aims to provide children with vocational training and informaleducation. In May the Government, in conjunction with the ILO, issued anational policy and action plan to combat child labor. Its three principal goals are:To immediately eradicate the worst forms of child labor, to progressively eliminateall remaining forms of child labor, and to ensure at least a primary education andvocational training for the targeted children. According to the plan, funding will beprovided by the federal and provincial governments and ‘‘international donors;’’ however,no funds were allocated to implement this plan by year’s end.In response to international criticism, the Government has begun to push provincialauthorities to enforce child labor laws. However, enforcement of these laws remainsa problem. There are few child labor inspectors in most districts, and the inspectorsoften have little training and insufficient resources. They reportedly alsoare subject to corruption. By law inspectors also may not inspect facilities that employless than 10 persons; most child labor occurs in facilities smaller than this.Hundreds of convictions are obtained each year for violations of child labor laws,but low fines levied by the courts—ranging from an average of $7 (PRs 364) in theNWFP to an average of $140 (PRs 7,280) in Baluchistan—are not a significant deterrent.The 1991 Employment of Children Act allows for fines of up to $350 (PRs18,200). Penalties often are not imposed on those found to be violating child laborlaws.The Child Care Foundation of Pakistan, a national NGO, was established in 1996with support from the Ministry of Commerce. Other NGO’s, such as the PakistanBait-ul-Mal, conduct programs to end child labor. Bait-ul-Mal, with funding fromthe Government and international organizations, operates 33 education centers forchildren known collectively as the National Center for the Rehabilitation of ChildLabor. Parents of working children are offered compensation of $6 per month (PRs300), plus a small daily stipend of about $0.10 (PRs 5) in exchange for sending theirchildren to school. Children in the centers receive free schooling, uniforms, books,and meals. However, many children apparently do not remain there for more than1 year; the schools often are in areas far from their clients, and some children reportedlyare sent to the schools in order to qualify for the stipend. The Bunyad LiteracyCommunity Council also runs schools focusing on children who work in thesoccer ball and carpet industries; its programs aim to transition children out ofworking and into mainstream schooling. Other local NGO’s, such as the Society forthe Protection of the Rights of the Child, are working to eliminate child labor.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.—Federal statutes applicable throughout thecountry govern labor regulations. The minimum wage for unskilled workers is $35(Prs 1,976) per month, with only slightly higher minimum rates for skilled workers.It applies only to industrial and commercial establishments employing 50 or moreworkers and not to agricultural or other workers in the informal sectors. The minimumwage usually is inadequate to provide a decent standard of living for a workerand family, since families tend to be large, including members of the extended family.VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00167 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1