LABOUR-NEPAL: Awareness Wins Reprieve for Child Workers

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Suman Pradhan

KATHMANDU, May 5 1998 (IPS) - Tucked away in the foothills of the mighty Dhaulagiri Himalayan range is the small town of Baglung with big ambitions of hitting the headlines as Nepal’s first “child labour free” district.

Situated northwest of Kathmandu, the capital, the district straddles a major trading route to more remote areas along the border with Tibet. In 1994, a new highway was built to connect Baglung with the popular tourist town of Pokhara.

The winding road opened up the area for the first time to small enterprises that have mushroomed and profited on the district’s vast pool of cheap labour, including that of children. The numerous construction sites and eating places on both sides of the highway are leading employers of children.

But now, all that could change. The Baglung district council, an elected body, has been persuaded by Nepali child rights activists to purge the district of child labour.

All working children will be taken out of the workplace and put into the classroom within two years, the district council has decided – an initiative that has won the approval of the Kathmandu-office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

“The programme is unique in that it is the first time in Nepal that a district is working to eliminate commercial exploitation of children,” says Yadav Amatya, country programme director for ILO. “This programme will prepare children for entry into formal schools, train them in vocational skills as well as sensitise their parents, employers and local authorities on the issue of child labour.”

Nepal, like many developing countries, has the unfortunate reputation of forcing children to work. Persistent poverty, illiteracy and rigid barriers to social and economic mobility have played a major role in swelling child labour ranks.

A study done by the well-known Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN), an independent group, in 1993, estimated the number of working children between 10 and 14 years was 531,835. “Most … were employed in the carpet and garment factories, tea plantations, and as daily labourers at construction sites,” the study said.

Demanding a child labour free work environment in the profitable carpet industry, European buyers stopped buying hand- made Tibetan carpets made in Nepal in the mid-1990s. The loss of foreign exchange, have forced business and government to be more serious about reform.

Carpet manufactures have had to phase out child labour if they want the coveted ‘Rugmark’ label for ‘child labour free’ products, issued by the Rugmark Foundation for exports to Europe.

Also factory owners say they have reduced working hours for 14 to 16 year old carpet weavers to six hours. The remaining three hours of work are spent at schools run by the management who provide free schooling.

The anti-child labour campaign has also targetted children working in the lush green tea plantations of Mechi, bordering the famous tea estates of Darjeeling in India. The number of children working in the tea plantations have reduced drastically, activists say.

Kavita Sherchan, a Nepali journalist who has reported widely on labour issues, vouches for the reduction. “Children used to form a large group of workers at the plantations, doing such work as plucking tea leaves, sorting, and digging. But now, due to awareness programmes, their number have dwindled down to just a few,” she observed.

The signs of improvement are encouraging, but the overall picture continues to be bleak for child workers who are an integral part of the urban and rural landscape.

“We have noted an encouraging trend towards declining child labour, especially in carpet, garment and tea industries,” confirms Amatya of the ILO.

“But we have to understand that there is no one-shot remedy to the ill because all these problems are rooted in the social fabric of Nepal. Parents are resorting to desperate measures just to feed the family. It will take a long time and more concerted measures over the years for the eradication of child labour,” he warned.

The ILO says the clampdown on child labour inside carpet factories has spawned a new practice. While most have phased out child labour, some manufacturers are contracting the weaving and washing to poor families. “This means, children, instead of going to school, are weaving and washing carpets at home rather than in factories,” says Amatya.

Echoeing his views, CWIN president Gauri Pradhan says that though “there is more awareness about child labour today than a few years ago with the introduction of new legislation and programmes … child labour is still a daunting challenge for Nepal.”

But programmes like the Baglung initiative are evidence of determination to tackle the issue. In two years when Baglung declares itself a “child labour free” district, it could encourage others to follow suit, activists say hopefully.

An optimistic Amatya avers, “This (Baglung) is certainly a good beginning. We hope it can be replicated in other districts as well.”