KARACHI, Oct 29: Sindh labour department sharing various estimates with participants in a workshop on Tuesday suggested that more than 53,000 children were working in hazardous conditions in Sukkur district.

The workshop organised by the National Rural Support Progamme (NRSP) was held in a local hotel on Tuesday to share the findings and achievements of a four-year child labour project — Elimination of abusive child labour in district Sukkur through education, vocational training and social and economic empowerment — funded by the European Commission with the technical assistance of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Giving a background of the Sukkur project, Mr Arafat Majeed and Ms Ayesha (both representing the NRSP) told the audience in their separate presentations that government had ratified ILO conventions 138 and 182 that called for elimination of all forms of child labour by the year 2016. In order to honour its commitment, the government had requested the ILO for technical and financial assistance to implement model projects on child labour elimination that could be scaled up countrywide.

In this connection, they said, the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and European Commission launched a project in Sukkur and Sahiwal districts, which focused on eliminating abusive child labour in hazardous sectors.

“The Sukkur project initiated in December 2009 will end next month. The NRSP is a major programme partner with the Sukkur district government,” said Mr Majeed.

According to the data collected by NRSP prior to the project, child labour in Sukkur district exits invariably in almost every economic activity, that is, both land-based and off-farm livelihood sources.

Labour department Sukkur estimates suggest that almost 77 per cent children work in activities related to natural resource management; of which 53 per cent children are seasonally engaged in crop production, and 24 per cent work in cattle rearing.

The remaining 23 per cent are engaged in off-farm activities mainly motor-workshops, tea stalls, building construction, furniture factories and confectionaries or working as domestic labourers (mostly girls).

The speakers pointed out that though reliable figures were not available, official data on child labour showed that Sukkur had 53,630 children working in harsh conditions and were exposed to a number of hazards, for instance, dangerous chemicals, long working hours in extreme weather conditions, handling unsafe material without safety gears as well as abusive behaviour.

The NRSP project, they said, was developed to help improve the situation. Under the project, more than 1,400 children were supported to stop working in hazardous conditions and got registered in schools while 3,198 got literate and were linked with vocational skills.

Under the project, 2,600 children were trained in their chosen trades and provided with starter kits once they completed their training. Loans and sewing machines were also provided to women, who received training in livestock and business management.

The speakers urged the government of Sindh to realise the importance of child labour issue and adopt the project as was done by the government of Punjab where it was launched in four districts with government funding.

Special education secretary Lubna Salahuddin and ILO representative Sujeewa Fonseka also spoke.