News

Child and forced labour still rife in Pakistan, whilst floods add to labour risks – New Maplecroft report

14/10/2010

According to a new in-depth report from Maplecroft, labour risks in Pakistan have been further exacerbated by the worst floods in the country’s history and the global economic crisis.

Pakistan suffered unprecedented damage to its infrastructure and agricultural sector from the floods, which began in July 2010, and it is unlikely to be able to rebound quickly from damage inflicted. According to the Pakistani government, GDP had been expected to grow by 4.5 per cent in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, but this has been downgraded to around 3.5% due to the floods, which represents a loss of around $2 billion in terms of GDP.

Approximately 23% of this year’s grain harvests were washed away in the floods, as well as 25% of the cotton harvest. The ILO estimated that 5.3 million jobs have been lost or affected by the flooding, the majority in agriculture, which employs 44% of all workers in the economy. This situation has been compounded by the global economic crisis and unions are now calling for an urgent increase in the minimum wage - which was announced earlier this year, but has not been implemented – to cope with rising prices. The economic crisis has also been blamed for an increase in child labour, as many families are forced to take their children out of education to earn money.

Companies investing in Pakistan must be aware that the majority of workers in the country are not formally employed and, as a consequence, are not protected by labour laws. Informal employment has increased in recent years and informal workers account for approximately 73% of the main jobs outside agriculture. Furthermore, because of the lack of government oversight and regulation in the informal sector, child labour is prevalent, especially within brick kilns, carpet manufacturing, workshops, restaurants and farms. Moreover, many children work in hazardous conditions including surgical instruments manufacturing, glass bangles production, tanneries, coal mines, seafood cleaning, gas/petrol stations and domestic work.

Localised labour rights and protection risk profile

The Pakistani government tracks the unemployment rate of children over 10, indicating a socio-cultural acceptance of the issue, which is illustrated by high rates of child labour throughout the country. According to the National Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s 2009 Annual Report, 35-40% of school aged children did not attend school and about 3.5 million were involved in labour.

“Companies must be stringent in their monitoring of suppliers to ensure international standards are met,” said human rights specialist at Maplecroft, Monique Bianchi. “Incidents of child labour, and bonded and forced labour within supply chains can lead to serious reputational damage and impact the bottom line.”

Many children are also found in forced or bonded labour conditions, along with a disproportionate number of women, religious minorities and individuals that are members of the lowest scheduled castes. The National Human Rights Commission estimated that there were 1.7 million bonded labourers within the agricultural sector alone in 2009, whilst numbers were also high within labour-intensive industries such as brick making, mining and quarrying, carpet weaving and domestic work.

The Labour Standards Report on Pakistan is valuable tool developed by Maplecroft to enable companies to identify potential labour risks within their operations, investments and supply chains. It offers in-depth analysis for all major labour issues including: working hours, compensation, health and safety, freedom of association, labour contracts, discrimination, migrant workers, forced labour and child labour. In addition, country scores from Maplecroft's labour rights and protection indices are provided, plus maps, key recent events and stakeholder viewpoints.

For more information or to purchase the report contact Maplecroft on +44 (0)1225 420000 or email info@maplecroft.com.

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