Recently I visited a packaging factory which was owned by one of my friend’s father. They manufacture corrugated boxes (carton) with labor intensive processes. The formation of corrugated box includes many processes starting from the loading of huge paper reels on the corrugation machine, cutting and creasing, pasting, slotting, printing and ending with the stitching and bundling of the carton.
When I went to the manufacturing area of that company I was not surprised watching old women stitching and bundling the carton whereas small children transporting the corrugated boxes to the ware house and cleaning the waste of manufacturing area. When I asked the reason for hiring old women and such children for these tasks the owner of that company told me that due to the intense competition and increasing oil/gas and electricity prices it’s very difficult to survive so to reduce their manufacturing cost they have to opt for such options.
If we talk regarding what Pakistani government has laid rules for the right of the labor in Pakistan we will come across different labor laws such as article 11 which states that child labor is prohibited and article 37(e) states that women should not be employed for the job which is not in accordance to their sex and age.
When I asked the owner of that company that is he not afraid if government comes to know that he is violating the labor law. He replied while smiling, afraid no way. Such activities are so common in Pakistan no one even give heed about this, everyone is just busy in earning in one way and another. Such statement from the owner tells us that the agencies which are protecting the labor laws in Pakistan are very inefficient and corrupt. If someone is caught, they very easily escape by bribing the officers.
Such exploitation of labor especially little children is not in favor of the country as they are the merely future of that nation. If they will be brought into the labor work from their childhood then who will go to schools and become future doctors, engineers and entrepreneur. Governments need to look after such activities and ensure that the department which has been kept responsible to ensure no such activities occur is working efficiently and effectively. Child labor results in the wastage of natural talent as these children if given opportunity to study can excel in different fields instead of just picking the garbage and doing donkey work.