Young daughter of Mali (excerpt) It is through working that we gain our dignity It nourishes our survival, our future

What will become of us without work? A generation of parasites! Working children, let us take action in our work and generate the hopes of future working children. Working children, let us persevere in the work we do, for the future of our country, our environment, our family and the people we are. Rise up, working children, walk hand in hand and together we will build our future and toil for the development of all our countries.

CHAPTER#1
1.1) INTRODUCTION

'I am a fruit of nature - I must preserve and value it'

(Idrissa Goudiaby of Ziguinchor, Senegal)

Bonded labor has existed for thousands of years. In South Asia it took root in the caste system and continues to flourish in feudal relationships.

Bonded labor or debt bondage is probably the least known form of slavery today, and yet it is the most widely used method of enslaving people. A person becomes a bonded laborer when his or her labor is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan. The person is then tricked or trapped into working for very little or no pay, often for seven days a week. The value of their work is invariably greater than the original sum of money borrowed.

Millions of people are held in bonded labor around the world. Bonded laborers are routinely threatened with and subjected to physical and sexual violence. They are kept under various forms of surveillance, in some cases by armed guards. There are very few cases where chains are actually used (although it does occur) but these constraints on the bonded laborers are every bit as real and as restricting.

In Pakistan, there are 1.8 million workers in brick kiln factories. Most of them work under inhuman conditions and the majority is bonded labor because of the

peshgi system. Under this system, the bosses offer advance money to workers, who cannot leave until they repay the whole amount. Most of the workers are illiterate and they do not know how much money is being repaid. The take advantage of this and impose many so-called fines on workers. It was formally abolished 12 years ago by the Supreme Court, but the employers are trying to implement it again.

Bonded labor disproportionately affects

marginalized groups that are

discriminated against on the basis of poverty, social class and illiteracy. Poverty, discrimination, social exclusion and insufficient implementation of legislation, work place facilities, social exclusion, food insecurity, indecent work, bad

housing and living conditions, no care for occupational health, safety and environment, Lack of standardization, no respect for fundamental rights are the root causes of bonded labor in Pakistan.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in 2000 that Victims of slavery and slavery-like practices frequently belong to minority groups, particular racial groups or categories of people who are especially vulnerable to a wide range of discriminatory acts, including women, children, indigenous people, people of low caste status and migrant workers.

BRICK KILN INDUSTRY REPRESENTATION:

OWNER

BRICK KILN FACTORY

BONDED LABOR

HIGHER PROFITS

CONTRACTOR

Brick kiln industry is one of the most flourishing one in the Pakistan. Its basic aim like any other business is to maximize profit. There may be two cases:

In order to achieve the goal the factory owners pay their labors less money, saving major portion of the revenues for themselves.

In most of the cases, when the owners pay full money, the contractors who are given the job to find and pay the labor, intentionally target the people who are in difficult situation and in need of money, hence trapping them in their well laid net and binding them to the factory. What they do is, they give a very small amount of money to the labors and put most of the money in their pockets saying that the full amount will be given when the loan is paid back or the job is completed. The payment is delayed by the contractors on basis of different excuses and the laborers being illiterate, simple minded and caught in debt are unable to free themselves.

In the end, the company gets the work done by giving minimal wages , doing whatever it takes to maintain their shares in markets, weather their attempts are ethical or not.

ORGANIZATION SELECTED The organization selected for the study is brick kiln factory near Tarnol.

PROBLEM STATEMENT Highlighting the factors promoting bonded labor and their impact on laborers, their family, society and overall economy.

It is 18 years since the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act of 1992 was defined. The law prohibits all forms of advances or Peshgi and forced and bonded labor resulting there under. And whereas it is necessary to provide for abolition of bonded labor system with a view to preventing the economic and physical exploitation of the labor class in the country and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Even though the act banned such brutal acts of slavery and child labor, practically not much has been done to eradicate this modern form of slavery. Bonded labor originated from child labor and slavery long time back. And now the number of child working as bonded labor in brick kiln has reached its peak. Somewhere between two-fifths to two-thirds of all the working children in Pakistan toil in brick kilns. According to UNICEF estimates, it comes to around 250,000 children The rise in employment of children at low wages creates a cycle of poverty in which already inadequate adult wages are further depressed to a point where a single adult salary is not sufficient to sustain a family. Hence child labor leads

adult under-employment and unemployment. As long as children are put to work, poverty will spread and living standards will continue to decline. But these are not just cases of child labor. Entire families work in brick kilns, striving to pay off their debts that are so much beyond their means that they will remain unpaid even after decades of continuous work. Families of many brick kiln workers continue to suffer at the hands of brick kiln owners and their appeals mostly go unheard. In many cases it is entire families which are bonded in Pakistan.

In addition to the pattern of abductions and of abuse of bonded laborers by landlords or their agents, efforts to secure releases are greatly hampered by a lack of cooperation by District Commissioners and other government officials. Senior police officers regularly refuse to register complaints when laborers report offences varying from debt bondage to physical assault and abduction. For most practical purposes the rule of law is not available to bonded laborers. Having admitted to the existence of bonded labor at the beginning of this decade, the Government systematically nowadays belittles the problem. When the issue is discussed, it is attributed to poverty and the remedy, it is suggested, is the injection of more international aid. This is nonsense.

FOCAL POINT:

The focal point of our research is to see the factors that are playing vital role in increasing the rate of bonded labor and its impact on society. The social structure underpinning the debt bondage system and the unwillingness of rich landowners to share their land or resources with others, or even to pay their workers a wage

which enables them to survive, are the main obstacles to change. Property rights in effect take precedence over human rights.

PERSUASIVE ARGUMENTS:
Bonded labor in few years has escalated to new heights, thus forcing us to address the severity of issue. Our public and government are not that much concerned about this issue and how it is eating our economy like mites. It is a dominant feature of the brick kiln industry of the country. Apparently an outcome of poverty, it is closely linked to the socio-cultural fabric of society. The vicious cycle of bondage subjugates the families physically and economically so that they are unable to break out of the trap despite putting in hard labor. The issue has a number of socioeconomic implications and its solution lies in a multi pronged strategy; economic uplift, social involvement and educational breakthrough of the bonded families

The violations of human rights are serious abuses which occur in Pakistan today. There was a family that had been camping outside the National Press Club for two months. The eight-member unit said a brick kiln owner had confined one of their women and a child for defaulting on a loan. Mandi Bahauddin DPO Daher Ali Khattak in his report to the Supreme Court said both family members were living with the brick kiln owner of their own free will. The head of the family contested this assertion. I have sold my wifes kidney. I have sold my kidney. I am still in debt. I have no more kidneys to sell, he said, I want justice.

The children of the working community have no choice but to work alongside their families. Poverty, in general, and non availability of schooling facilities at or near the brick kilns, in particular, is the major reason for low literacy rate amongst the children of brick kiln workers.

Large family size is an important factor contributing to loans and sustaining child labor in the brick kiln sector. Child rearing and child caring are missing due to poverty. The parents generally believe (Mitah et. al., 1989) that the children of the poor grow up by themselves. The indebtedness occurring through the Peshgi system locks the working families into a dependency relationship and children being the most vulnerable always suffer more. In the virtual imprisonment of the owner as well as of their parents the children have to work in very harsh weather, for insignificant economic gains and for extremely long working hours. Women make a significant contribution through family kiln labor across Pakistan. They are usually found in the brick fields involved in the making of mud bricks. As advances are binding on the entire family, women being the most vulnerable are the worst affected. They have to work even during pregnancy. Alongside putting in this hard labor they have to do family chores, like preparing food for all the family, collect wood for the fire, bringing water, washing clothes and arranging fodder for the buffaloes or cows, goats etc. They also have to take care of the sick and elderly of the family1. Women are even exposed to sexual harassment if their male head of family runs away from the brick kiln.

Ishtiaq Ahmad, a social activist who works for EAST, another NGO, said that women and children are at an elevated risk of suffering at the hands of the brick kiln owners. Women are prepared to work at very low wages in rural areas, he said, The environment is very bad for these women, especially their children.

Farzana Bari (Labor union worker) said that kiln workers and laborers struggle would continue against inhuman treatment of kiln workers allegedly by kiln owners until court implement its order of abolishing BLA. Bari said due to nonimplementation of the law, thousands of laborers along with their families and children living in conditions of slavery. Brick-kiln industry is notorious for the system of bonded labor, where laborers are not only economically exploited but their rights to mobility, education, expression and physical integrity are frequently being violated, Bari said. She demanded immediate implementation of BLA (abolition) Act 1992, release bonded laborers and their families from clutches of brick-kiln owners and abolishment of Jamadari system.

Unless the international community is willing to insist on change, it seems certain that the interests of landowners and other employers of bonded labor will prevail over those of landless victims of bondage, and this form of slavery will continue to flourish in the 21st century.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

The study aims to highlight the ethical sensitivity of the issue in the eyes of government and society, who are taking no action to eliminate bonded labor despite being aware of the issue. The wages of the working class are questionable and so are the working hours. They are made to work like donkeys. There is no defined time limit. In comparison the wages are very low. In addition to that, the working conditions are horrible. The machinery is either very old or not in good working condition. Often the workplaces are dangerous. The equipments are above the reach of children who are then hurt while using them. The women and children are subjected to psychological, verbal, physical and sexual abuse. . The research project explores the nature and extent of bonded labor in the brick kiln sector and analyzes its repercussions on children and women of the bonded families. It also examines the available legal infrastructure tackling bonded labor. Finally it proposes a comprehensive scheme to ameliorate the concerns of bonded families and ways to eradicate the menace from the industry. In short we aim:

To find out the reasons lying behind working as a bonded labor To bring into notice why it is not being eliminated from society To study the effects of bonded labor on our society and its various segments.

To find out how is it making our economy to suffer To advance our vision about this dilemma.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

To identify the factors contributing to bonded labor To study impact of bonded labor on society, overall economy and family values

To test the difference in perspective of the brick kiln owner the working labor on the issue of bonded labor

To test the negative consequences of bonded labor

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

The incidence of bonded labor in brick kilns has been highlighted by many writers. Thomas (1995) while identifying urban and rural labor market segmentation has pointed out bonded labor as a main characteristic of rural labor markets. He termed it as an extreme form of labor exploitation in South Asia. Ercelawn (2004), Hussain (1990), Hamid (1993), Mitha et. al. (1989), ILO (2001), Bales (1998), Kemal (1994); all pointed out the existence of advances, peshgi, indebtedness and bondage in the brick kiln sector of Pakistan. The ILO

(1998), through a survey confirms that 93% of the brick kiln workers received advances before they started working. The studies conclude that large family size is an important factor contributing to loans. The debt usually piled up and could not be paid by the indebted families, thus carried over to generations as eternal debt2. There is also no dispute regarding the involvement and exploitation of women and children at the workplace. Sexual abuse, torture and beating at the brick kilns have also been reported3. To the ILO (1998), large family size, mounting financial constraints and lack of educational facilities at or near the brick kilns induce the parents to use children as help during brick making. Too much work by the children at the brick kilns poses a great threat to their physical, mental, intellectual, moral and psychological growth. To Bale, if the conditions of work are not bad enough, the system of working in the brick kilns presents other dangers and hardships. Virtually all of the families making bricks are working against a debt owed to the owner of the kiln. These debts pose a special danger to the children. Sometimes, when a kiln owner suspects that a family will try to run away and not pay off their debt, a child might be taken hostage to force the family to stay and work (Bales, 1998). Mitha et. al. (1989) pointed out that women work even during pregnancy, and they work till they actually go into labor.

Poverty is emphasized as being the root cause for accepting advances by the families of brick kiln workers and trapping themselves into bondage. It is also contended that contracts of bondage are accepted due to uncertainty, lack of stability in employment and absence of any social safety nets in Pakistan. To Bales slavery is hidden behind contracts; and slavery flourishes in communities under stress. It does not thrive in western countries where people have a reasonable standard of living and financial security. Slavery grows best in extreme poverty (Bales, 1998). He further stresses that if there were security of employment in Pakistan, or some provision for a living wage, no family would have chosen to work in the peshgi system. Another important aspect about the advances is that they are not only taken at the start but continue in a systemized manner, since laborers need it due to emergencies, illness, marriages etc4; as owners prefer to term subsequent friendly loans (Ercelawn, 2004). False accounting and high interest on the loans aggravate the situation and the families find it difficult to pay off the debt even after putting in hard labor. As far as the origin of the bonded labor system is concerned, some analysts associate bonded labor with traditional patterns of land-ownership, including the caste-based or personally bonded labor which is secured by debt, and which can frequently extend across generations. Others argue that bonded labor has also been a feature of recent trends in commercial agriculture, of both small and large scale, involving the debt-based attachment of casual and migrant workers. The

brick-making labor comprises few castes such as, Masalies5, Odd 6, Christian and Afghani; they are all poor and have low status in society. The bonded labor system can also be linked to socio-cultural division of labor (professions) prevalent in the Sub-Continent for centuries. Migratory in nature, the labor retain unique features. Ercelawn (2004) referred to it as footloose labor7. The institution of jamadar, as contended by Hamid (1993), Mitha et. al. (1989), ILO (2001), Bales (1998), Kemal (1994), and Ercelawn (2004), plays a pivotal role in the peshgi system. Jamadars do not only provide a link between labor and the brick kiln owners, as explained by Mitha et. al., but are also the main source of bonded labor by acting as guarantor zamin for the bonded laborer. As far as the tackling of the issue of bonded labor is concerned, affordable credit, according to many, would weaken the linkage between debt and labor. Such a strategy may be useful in agriculture, fisheries, carpet weaving or bangle making where the worker can start an independent business. According to Ercelawn and Mitha mere enforcement of existing labor laws particularly the Minimum Wage Ordinance, Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act and Factories Act, will have mitigating effects. They, however, stress the need for organizing bonded labor and recommend an active role of the NGOs in the efforts for abolition and rehabilitation of bonded labor. The Brick Kiln Owners Association, on the other hand, is

seriously thinking about the introduction of molding machines to replace brick making workers8.