Pakistan is regularly near the top of the list of countries where child labour is widely prevalent. Drastic steps need to be taken to end the problem. The government of Punjab on July 14, enacted an ordinance banning the employment of children and defined strict regulations for the employment of adolescents aged 15-18. Implementing the Restriction on Employment of Children Ordinance 2016 is a daunting task and so on Friday, the Punjab government has announced plans to offer double allowance for child labourers working in different factories and workshops to get them enrolled in schools. Child labourers will be offered school enrolment or skill development training from Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC), which is already training 69,000 children, from age 14 to 18.

In a bid to eliminate child labour from brick kilns, the provincial government has offered Rs1000 for each child; while for the three identified sectors - auto workshops, fuel pumps, hotels/restaurants -the amount will likely to be doubled. This is a good step to give incentives to parents and employers to send children to school. Employers select young workers because they can be paid less for the same work and can be exploited more easily. Meanwhile, many children are forced into the labour market early because of poverty. The employers and minors both thus find loopholes as the alternative is going to a school that may not have facilities or teachers. For many children, the choice is not been education and work, it is between sitting useless in a substandard school or getting some experience or cash doing work. Additionally, there is a thriving bonded labour and trafficking market in Pakistan and children are more likely than adults to be caught in its net.

Technical education could provide work opportunities but a large portion of the country’s industry, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are under-regulated with regard to working conditions and adherence to labour laws, and the states’ vocational training institutions are often working with outdated machines and knowledge. The laws may not change much, bit at least they are on the side of children. The solution is simple enough, to establish schools that can produce bright students so that the opportunity cost of the time spent in class is small compared to the economic returns post-education. Yet, this is something that does not make for good political mandates, or for shocking headlines in the media. This issue is left in the margins, like the children picking trash in the streets, exposed to malnutrition, abuse and trafficking.