Punjab claims 70,000 children removed from forced labour

LAHORE  –  The Punjab government has identified and removed more than 70,000 children from forced labour and enrolled 3,644 of them in schools as part of measures to curb child labour, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif told International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director General Gilbert F. Houngbo on Thursday. Leading an ILO delegation, Mr Houngbo called on the chief minister and discussed workers’ welfare, labour laws, minimum wages, ration cards, labour colonies and measures to improve working conditions in the province.

The chief minister said rehabilitation centres and dedicated helplines were also being established to support efforts to eliminate child labour. She said the Punjab Labour Code 2026 had been enforced after approval by the provincial cabinet, while the government was ensuring increases in minimum wages, registration of workers and strict implementation of labour laws. The chief minister told DG ILO that minimum wages had been ensured for 4.9 million workers during the past three years, while 752 FIRs had been registered over violations. As many as 42,858 inspections and 22,547 advisories had also been issued to ensure compliance with occupational safety and health laws.

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The chief minister said 1.2 million industrial workers in Punjab had so far received Rs3.7 billion under the Maryam Nawaz Ration Card programme. She said the Labour Information Management System (LIMS) was being used to monitor implementation of minimum wages, prevent child labour and improve occupational safety and health standards. The system had also been linked with Rescue 1122 to ensure prompt coordination in the event of industrial accidents.  Maryam Nawaz said new occupational safety and health centres were being established in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Rahim Yar Khan. She said Pakistan’s first Occupational Safety and Health Laboratory would be established in Lahore this year, while an OSH laboratory in Faisalabad would be completed by the end of the year. The chief minister said 577 daycare centres were being established under the Directorate General of Labour Welfare to encourage greater participation of women in private factories and offices.

She said labour market research cells and employment facilitation centres would be established in Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan and Rawalpindi over the next two years.

The chief minister said the Punjab government wanted the ILO’s support in incorporating international labour standards into economic growth and supply chains.

Mr Houngbo appreciated the provincial government’s measures for workers’ welfare, including the allocation of apartments and provision of ration cards, and welcomed the increase in grants for workers’ welfare.

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He also congratulated the chief minister on receiving the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour award.

The two sides also discussed labour colonies and measures to further improve working conditions for industrial workers in Punjab.

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