Combating Child Labour in the Carpet Industry
| Time-frame |
Donor(s) |
Phase I
Duration: 3 years
Starting date: 1999
Ending date: 2002
Phase II
Duration: 5 years
Starting date: September 2002
Ending date: March 2007
Phase III
Duration: 4 years
Starting date: April 1, 2007
Ending date: April 1, 2011
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US Department of Labour (USDOL)
Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (PCMEA)
USDOL and PCMEA
USDOL and PCMEA |
Phase I
The project, Combating Child Labour in the Carpet Industry in Pakistan was developed within the framework of an agreement signed between PCMEA (Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association) and the ILO in 1998. The agreement outlined the PCMEA-ILO partnership to eliminate child labour in the carpet industry in Pakistan. The project which started in 1999, aimed to provide non-formal education, mainstreaming, and pre-vocational education to about 23,000 carpet weaving children and access to micro-credit to 10,000 poorest carpet weaving households. The first phase of the project was successfully implemented in three districts in Punjab: Gujranwala, Sheikhupura and Hafizabad. The striking feature of the project was the active participation and contribution of funds by an employers' association, the PCMEA. A comprehensive baseline survey and an occupational health and safety survey was carried out that identified 107,065 child carpet weavers below 14.
Phase II
The project's Phase-II was based on a two-pronged approach of expansion of action
and promoting sustainability of intervention to remove child labour from the carpet
industry. In the second phase, the project was expanded to three other districts
Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad and Multan. The key objectives of this phase included:
- establishing a child labour monitoring system;;
- providing non-formal education and pre-vocational training to rescued child labourers;
- building the capacity of stakeholders to implement and sustain action against child labour in the carpet industry; and
- ensuring empowerment of the families of former child weavers through micro-credit assistance.
Phase II of the project was successful in withdrawing 15,248 children and preventing 3,626 children from entering the carpet weaving sector. It is worth noting that 81 per cent of these children were girls. These children were enrolled in the 400 non-formal education centres set up in target localities. Additionally, 13.5 million US dollars were disbursed through loans to 2,579 mothers of children in carpet weaving and was used to establish alternate income generation activities. The child labour monitoring system was a significant achievement as labour inspection does not extend to rural areas where most of the child labour in the carpet sector takes place. A prototype ergonomic loom to improve the productivity of adult labour was designed and displayed at 30 model worksites. Awareness raising material, consisting of three training videos, three booklets, and around 24,000 posters focusing on occupational safety and health measures in carpet weaving, were produced and distributed.
Phase III
This phase of the project will cover 6 districts in Punjab, 2 districts in Sindh and the N.W.F.P. It is expected to impact the lives of 50,000 children, 60 per cent of whom are carpet weavers. The main objectives are:
- formalizing and re-organizing the carpet weaving industry in rural areas so that carpet weaving shifts from homes to sheds/factories or workshops. This will enable the programme to implement a strict monitoring system to ensure that shed/factory owners are not employing children below the age of 14 years;
- encouraging the widespread adoption and use of the ergonomic loom especially in workplaces in rural areas. The ergonomic loom results in less wastage and minimizes the range of health ailments normally associated with the traditional loom;
- promoting skilled adult labour in the carpet industry. Availability of a skilled and trained adult labour force will make wages more competitive in the industry and encourage adults to enter into carpet weaving; and
- starting a certification system for carpets produced in factories . The certification will be a stamp of good work practices and will endorse factories for setting minimum employable age standards as well as adopting internationally recognized occupational health and safety measures in the workplace for adults.
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