Lawmakers grill Ghani over child labour in Sindh

Labour minister says his dept registered 33 cases against those involved in employing children

KARACHI:

Lawmakers from different political parties grilled Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani in the provincial assembly over the employment of children under the age of 14 in hazardous jobs in violation of different laws against child labour.

During the question and answer session in the assembly, the minister admitted the practice of child labour in the province and said that his ministry has registered 33 cases against those who violated the law by employing minors at their facilities.

“In coming days, we are going to launch a campaign discouraging the practice and educating the masses about the laws against child labour,” he said while responding to questions of the opposition members.

Article 11(3) of the Constitution states that no child below the age of 14 shall be engaged in any factory or mine or any other employment. Article 25 (A), in the meantime, gives the right of free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 5 to 16. But the situation seems otherwise in Sindh where children are compelled to work under different categories.

The labour minister said his department provides stipends to the children enrolled in the government’s schools.

“Around 150 children enrolled at our schools have gotten A-1 grade in matric exams,” he said, adding that the Labour Department was considering enhancing the number of schools and colleges for children living in labour colonies.

Responding to a question about the grant and aid being given to poor workers, the minister said that the Workers Welfare Board has been working on it and helps those who apply for financial assistance.

Earlier when the session started with Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari in the chair, Mohammad Hussain of the MQM raised the issue of taxes, especially the one collected through electricity bills.

“There is resentment among traders with regard to the new tax. We are part of the federal government and want to reduce taxes in order to provide incentives to the business community, especially small, medium enterprises,” he said, adding that a delegation of traders visited his party headquarters in Bahadurabad where MQM’s senior leadership rang up the federal finance minister in order to convey the business community’s message to him.

“The federal finance minister has assured that the issue will be resolved soon,” Hussain said, adding that the tax burden would definitely not be shifted to consumers who already suffer from record inflation.

Speaking on the issue, the labour minister said that the government has double standards approach, one for Karachi and other for Lahore.

“We demand that such taxes must be collected after proper consultation with traders. There will be issues if the government forcibly imposes its decisions on Karachi’s traders,” he lamented.

During the session, Rabistan Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) moved a privilege motion against the police personnel of Gulshan-e-Maymar area who entered into his house and arrested his brother and cousin on May 24.