Child labour goes unchecked

Rawalpindi: There are large numbers of young labourers who are currently working in the city without having any kind of knowledge about the laws that never allow them to serve in any workplace.

“My father has been working as a car mechanic for last thirty years in Chah Sultan. I started work in the workshop at the age of nine on the insistence of my father. After three years now I am able to do a lot of work earning some money for my family members,” said Kashif Ali, a young labourer who works at an auto workshop.

The financial constraints force many families to send their children to workplaces where they are usually paid less wages due to their inexperience and tender age. Kashif, a young vendor, who sells dry fruit outside the park in the Commercial Market, said he is a breadwinner for his family and despite his wish to study in school he has no choice except to work in this tender age. He said at first he used to sell dry fruit in Swat but later he came to Rawalpindi with his cousin to work in a new city, adding “There is no concept like child labour in their community where everyone works to earn livelihood.