A rapid assessment of bonded labour in hazardous industries in Pakistan: glass bangle-making, tanneries and construction

This paper examines labour arrangements and bonded labour in three hazardous industrial sectors in Pakistan: construction, glass bangle-making and tanneries. The research and analysis was undertaken by a team of researchers from the Collective for Social Science Research in Karachi. The same team also investigated domestic work and begging, the results of which are reported in another Working Paper.

This Working Paper is one of a series of Rapid Assessments of bonded labour in Pakistan, each of which examines a different economic sector. The aim of these studies is to inform the implementation of the Government of Pakistan’s National Policy and Plan of Action for the Abolition of Bonded Labour, adopted in 2001. The research was conducted under the guidance of the Bonded Labour Research Forum (BLRF), a distinguished group of Pakistani research and development specialists, convened by the Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis with the support of the ILO. The Rapid Assessments were undertaken by independent Pakistani researchers, who were selected by the BLRF for their competence and experience in the different sectors.

The research programme was overseen by Caroline O’Reilly of the Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL) of the Declaration Programme in Geneva. Ali Khan worked as Research Coordinator for the duration of the research process, based at the ILO in Islamabad.