Elimination of Child Labour in the Soccer Ball Industry in Sialkot
| Time-frame |
Donor(s) |
Phase I
Duration: 2 years
Starting date: October 1997
Ending date: September 1999
Phase II
Duration: 4 years
Starting date: September 1999
Ending date: June 2004
|
US Department of Labour (USDOL)
FIFA
Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI)
US Department of Labour (USDOL)
FIFA
Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) |
Phase I
The first phase of the programme to prevent and eliminate child labour in the soccer ball industry was
implemented from August 1997 to October 1999, after the signing of the
Atlanta Agreement ( 5 ) on 14
February 1997 by the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), UNICEF and the ILO.
This IPEC project had two main components: a workplace monitoring system, and a social protection component, which provided educational opportunities to children who were withdrawn from the soccer ball industry. During the project, 10,572 children in this sector were provided non-formal education, among which 5,838 were mainstreamed into formal schools. IPEC set up an external monitoring system to ensure the elimination of child labour in the stitching centres of participating manufacturers. The goal was achieved successfully primarily because of the active participation and contribution of the SCCI members.
The soccer ball project has been one of the most innovative programmes of IPEC in many ways.
First, it brought together a number of actors, including local manufacturers and the SCCI, NGOs,
and international organizations. All these organizations worked together to fulfil a common objective — the
prevention and elimination of child labour in the soccer ball industry in particular, and in Sialkot in general.
The programme received wide publicity and created awareness on how to address the child labour problem within
Pakistan and abroad. Other manufacturers such as the Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association (PCMEA)
and the Surgical Instruments Manufacturers' Association of Pakistan (SIMAP) have adopted similar approaches to
addressing the child labour problem in their respective sectors.
Phase II
The second phase of the project, aimed to consolidate the achievements and addressed the gaps in programme implementation during the first phase. A key outcome of this phase was the creation of an Independent Monitoring Association in 2003 to sustain these interventions in the soccer ball industry.
Note 5 - In mid-1996, both the surgical instruments and soccer ball industries in Sialkot district in Punjab province were affected by the US government's withdrawal of GSP (General System of Preferences) for Pakistan. The government and the private sector had come under intense international pressure to take steps for the elimination of child labour, particularly in the country's export industries. This has led to the signing in 1997 of the Atlanta Agreement, under which the first major programme on child labour in Pakistan was initiated by addressing the child labour problem in the soccer ball industry. |
