HYDERABAD, March 23 The Society for Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC), an NGO, has launched a five-day campaign on Monday to create awareness about the plight and problems of bonded labourers.

This was announced by National Manger, Bonded Labour Programme, SPARC, Kashif Bajeer, at a news conference at the press club here on Monday.

He said that the campaign was being simultaneously launched in different cities of Sindh and would end with a march in Hyderabad on March 27. He said that liberated bonded labourers and activists of civil society organisations would participate in the campaign.

He demanded that liberated bonded labourers and skilled workers be provided land to enable them to earn livelihood.

He demanded that existing laws on bonded labour and other labour laws be implemented in letter and spirit and a parliamentary committee be constituted to review the existing laws.

He said that in the light of Supreme Court directives of October 20, 2006 to the provincial chief secretaries as a short term measure, the standing operating procedure be adopted by the provincial governments for introducing a mechanism through the labour department for registration of brick kilns.

He said that access to bonded labour funds should be simplified and the institution of district vigilance committees should be activated by linking it to provincial legal aid cells.

He said that the recovery of the family of Mannu Bheel should be given priority by the government and superior judiciary.

He called upon the government to implement international conventions and minimum wages in different sectors of economy, including informal sector.

He said that tens of thousands of labourers in the country, particularly in southern Sindh and Punjab, lived in miserable conditions at agriculture farms and brick kilns. He added that so far 5,000 bonded labourers had been liberated through courts.

He appealed to the print and electronic media to espouse the cause of bonded labour.

He said that the SPARC was successfully running bonded labour projects in Mithi, Umerkot, Sanghar and Hyderabad district of Sindh and also in Muzaffargarh in collaboration with an international organisation.

He said that the NGO had been instrumental in providing NICs to 6,000 bonded labourers and the registration of their votes and birth of their children. The NGO had established a legal cell to provide free legal aid to the families of bonded labourers, Mr Bajeer said.