LAHORE, Pakistan - Mr. Saeed Awan, Director of the Centre for the Improvement of Working Conditions and Environment (CIWCE) in Lahore, Pakistan, will share the US$250,000 prize with four other laureates. The prize is awarded annually by the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.
Mr. Awan carried out a risk assessment of the health and safety conditions of child workers in the carpet industry on behalf of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). The study found that carpet weavers suffer from major health problems due to a loom design that hasn't changed for centuries. He came up with the idea of an ergonomic loom for adult carpet weavers.
"The real winners of the award are the millions of carpet weavers. I hope that this loom will be adopted throughout the country and reduce child labour," said Mr. Awan.
The new looms have been installed by ILO-IPEC in 30 homes and workplaces in three districts in Pakistan, resulting in major health improvements for adult carpet weavers. Their income increased by up to 100 per cent in some cases as adults became healthier and more productive. This also resulted in a reduction in child labour in the sector as the families become less dependent on children's work.
So far ILO-IPEC, with the financial support of carpet manufacturers and the US Department of Labor (USDOL), has rehabilitated around 26,000 Pakistani children working in this sector.