The story of Iqbal

Iqbal was only four when he was sold into slavery. He was a child of bondage, sold by his family to pay for a debt. Though very small and very weak, he was forced to work at a carpet factory for 12 hours a day. He was constantly beaten, verbally abused and chained to his loom for six years. Severe malnutrition and years of cramped immobility in front of a loom stunted his growth.

"Iqbal was just one of over 250 million child labourers worldwide, but his story has inspired many to act for change."

All this changed in 1992, when Iqbal and some of his friends from the carpet factory stole away to attend a freedom day celebration organized by a group working to help end bonded labour. With their help, Iqbal, too, became free and soon became a well known critic of child labour. His campaign scared many, especially those who used children as bonded labour. In December 1994, Iqbal visited the United States to receive a human rights award. Soon after his return, Iqbal was killed by a gunman hired by factory owners.

Iqbal was just one of over 250 million child labourers worldwide, but his story has inspired many to act for change.

What is Child Labour?

Among adults the term 'child labour' conjures up a particular image: children chained to looms in dark mills and sweatshops, as if in a long nightmarish line running from Lancashire in the 1830s right through to the South Asia of today.

In reality, children do a variety of work in widely divergent conditions. This work takes place along a continuum, from work that is beneficial, promoting or enhancing a child's development without interfering with schooling, recreation and rest to work that is simply destructive or exploitative. There are vast areas of activity between these two poles.

It is at the most destructive end, where children are used as prostitutes or virtual slaves to repay debts incurred by their parents or grandparents or as workers in particularly hazardous conditions, that efforts are focused to stop such abuse.

Who is a child labourer?

The term "child labour" generally refers to any economic activity performed by a person under the age of 15, defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) of the United Nations. On the beneficial side of the continuum, there is "light work" after school or legitimate apprenticeship opportunities, such as helping out in the family business or on the family farm. At the destructive end is employment that is:

· preventing effective school attendance; and

· hazardous to the physical and mental health of the child.

 

Are age limits for work the same in all countries?

Almost everywhere, age limits formally regulate children's activities -- when they can leave school; marry; vote; be treated as adults by the criminal-justice system; join the armed forces; -- and when they can work.
"Many countries make a distinction between light and hazardous work, with the minimum age for the former generally being 12, for the latter usually varying between 16 and 18."

 

But age limits differ from activity to activity and from country to country. The legal minimum age for all work in Egypt, for example, is 12; in the Philippines 14, in Hong Kong, 15. Peru adopts a variety of standards: the minimum age is 14 in agriculture; 15 in industry; 16 in deep-sea fishing; and 18 for work in ports and seafaring.

Many countries make a distinction between light and hazardous work, with the minimum age for the former generally being 12, for the latter usually varying between 16 and 18. ILO conventions adopt this approach, allowing light work at age 12 or 13, but hazardous work not before 18. The ILO establishes a general minimum age of 15 years, provided 15 is not less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling. This is the most widely used yardstick when establishing how many children are currently working around the world.

What is hazardous work?

Most child labour, 71 per cent, is found in agriculture and fishing. The main tasks in agriculture include working with machinery, agrochemicals, picking and loading crops. Hazards may include unsafe machinery, hazardous substances (insecticides, herbicides), heavy lifting and extreme temperatures. In deep sea fishing, children might be diving to depths of up to 60 metres to attach nets to coral reefs, risking exposure to high atmospheric pressure and attacks by carnivorous and poisonous fish.
"Hazards occur in the form of noxious fumes and radiant heat from the molten glass; stepping on or handling hot broken glass; exposure to hazardous chemical mixtures...."

 

In manufacturing where 8.3 per cent of child labour is found, items such as glass bangles, matches, fireworks or bricks might be made. Hazards occur in the form of noxious fumes and radiant heat from the molten glass; stepping on or handling hot broken glass; exposure to hazardous chemical mixtures; stuffing cracker powder into fireworks, risking fire and explosion; exposure to silicate, lead and carbon monoxide, carrying excessive weights; and burns from ovens through the processing of clay in the making of bricks.

A legal framework against child labour

Two UN agencies have directed their attention to the prevention of child labour worldwide: the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). They have helped define the problems and develop international legal frameworks to correct them. As a result of their work, we now have several international treaties (or Conventions), banning child labour and identifying concrete measures for Governments to take. Once a country ratifies a convention, UN bodies monitor compliance and hold countries accountable for violations.

1919: The first ILO child labour convention, the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention No. 5, adopted within months of the creation of the International Labour Organisation, prohibited the work of children under the age of 14 in industrial establishments.

1930: The ILO Forced Labour Convention No. 29 protected children from forced or compulsory labour, such as victims of trafficking, children in bondage, like Iqbal, and those exploited by prostitution and pornography.

1966: The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, reemphasizing issues of slavery and forced or compulsory labour, was adopted by the General Assembly, along with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights calling for the protection of young people from economic exploitation and work hazardous to their development.

1973: The key instrument of the ILO was adopted: Convention No. 138 on the minimum age for admission to employment (15 or the age reached on completion of compulsory schooling)

1989: UN adopted Convention on the Rights of the Child specifying the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and hazardous work, and the refraining of states from recruiting any person under 15 into the armed forces.

1999: ILO unanimously adopts the Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182. It calls for states to prevent the most damaging child exploitation practices or the worst forms that currently exist.

Are making laws enough to prevent child labour?

Obviously not. Though the United Nations has already created a large number of international conventions, setting legal standards to prohibit the exploitation of child labour, the problem remains widespread. After all, laws mean very little if they are not enforced. Besides, specific measures attacking child labour must be taken at the national level.

According to the ILO, national strategies to address child labour issues should, at minimum, encompass the following five elements:
  1. National plan of action: Single action or isolated measures against child labour will not have a lasting impact. Actions must be part of an overall national plan.
  2. Research: To develop effective national (and international) policies and programmemes, extensive research must be undertaken to determine the state of child labour.
  3. Awareness: Child labour is often viewed as an unavoidable consequence of poverty. Without greater awareness about the extent and exploitative nature of child labour, the conditions for change will not occur.
  4. Broad social alliance: Government action against child labour often ends with making laws. Initiatives against child labour traditionally come from non-Governmental organisations that have limited resources. Both need to work together. Other segments of civil society – the media, educators, artists and parliamentarians – should also be enlisted in the fight.
  5. Institutional capacity: To formulate and execute a national policy, an institutional mechanism (such as a ministry or a department) within the Government must be created to monitor enforcement.

Signs of progress
  • Legal framework: With over 20 international treaties against child labour in place, the world now has a legal framework. What is needed is its implementation at the national level.

  • International action: ILO created the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1992. It works toward eliminating child labour by helping developing countries strengthen their capacity to deal with the problem and create their own national action plans.

So far it has helped implement more than 1,100 programmes in some 20 countries
  • Joining hands: The United Nations wants to bring the Governments, factory owners and international donors together to work against child labour. Such initiatives as one between ILO, UNICEF and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association were undertaken to remove underage workers from 2,000 garment factories, place them in school and provide family income supplements. UNICEF also pioneered a policy of not buying any products made by child labour in their operations. Some Governments have followed this example.

  • International solidarity: Children, youth, concerned citizens and Government leaders in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America in 1998 took part in a march against child labour. This march travelled through 56 countries, gathered supporters and raised greater awareness, putting new pressure on Governments to ratify conventions on child rights. (See http://www.globalmarch.org)
  • Student advocacy: More and more students are getting involved, raising funds to build schools and treatment centers for child workers. For example, Free the Children, a Canadian based student organisation advocating the elimination of child labour, formed by then 13-year old activist, Craig Kielberger, has raised funds to build schools in South Asia (http://www.freethechildren.org). The Kids Campaign to Build A School for Iqbal, a Massachusetts based grass roots student campaign initiated by a school in the United States, has drawn worldwide support to build a school for Pakistani children of bonded labour in honour of Iqbal Masih (www.digitalrag.com/iqbal/index.html.

  • Corporate responsibility: Growing concern has been shown by corporations to address this issue and develop corporate codes of conduct to reduce their numbers of underage employees and/or provide work to other members of the family or schooling to supplement work. For example, all major soccer ball manufacturers have developed a voluntary programme to eliminate use of children under 14 in factories in Sialkot, Pakistan, where 75 per cent of the world’s hand-stitched soccer balls are produced. Supported by ILO, UNICEF and Pakistani manufacturers, a programme was launched to provide schooling for these child workers and instead give their jobs to other family members. In addition, many clothing manufacturers now hire outside companies to inspect working conditions in their factories. While some companies fund their investigators directly, others have agreed to independent monitors from human rights offices not employed by the corporations.

  • Advocacy by trade unions: In Brazil, trade unions in cooperation with IPEC have managed to secure child labour clauses in contracts with employers in over 88 municipalities in over 8 federal states. In addition, employers have signed pledges to eliminate child labour from production chains of the charcoal, citrus and footwear sectors. Trade unions help by monitoring working conditions, denouncing abuses and reaching large numbers of adult members through education programmes, collective bargaining and campaigning for policy change at all levels.
  • Anti-sweatshop movement: Campaign by labour rights groups has helped improve working conditions in "sweat shops". In several instances, multinational companies now put pressure on their contractors to ban or reduce child labour.