Identification and
Prioritisation of Hazardous Works, Work Processes and Workplaces involving
Child Labour
Study supported by MOLTM/CLEP and Submitted to Ministry of Labour and Transport
Management, Singhdurbar,
Introduction
The roots of the problem of child
labour in
Awareness concerning the gravity of
child labour problem has been a relatively positive development in
The study is a part of the firm commitment of the Government of Nepal and implementation of the National Master Plan on Child Labour, which aims at eliminating worst forms of child labour by 2009.
The principal objectives of the study are to obtain first hand
information on most
prevalent forms of hazardous occupations in Nepal; identify hazardous working
conditions, work processes, equipments and specific jobs along with nature,
type (physical, psychological, moral) and extent of hazards associated along;
recommend standards with regards to the minimum age for admission to the identified
occupations and jobs as well as working conditions along with safety aids and
equipments required for performing the jobs.
Methodology
The study
methodology included four methodological steps: literature review and secondary
data collection; identification of industrial sectors prone to engaging child
labour; primary data collection; data analysis and recommendation. Previous
studies and information collected by NGOs and INGOs in
The study was
conducted in five areas: Biratnagar,
It was obvious
that the children working in different industries would have different health effects
due to occupational hazards. In order to see the difference in health effects
between the child workers and school going children, secondary data on school
health examinations of 200 students was collected from the Department of
Community Medicine,
Results
The qualitative assessment of hazardous work and processes in the identified sectors unveiled a number of hazardous processes, the inherent hazard factors and associated potential risks in these processes. The important hazard factors revealed are airborne contaminants specifically dust, fume and smoke, noise, chemicals specifically mineral oils, acids and alkalis, workload, multiple work processes (load), and work organization. The potential risks uncovered are biological infections, respiratory problems, psycho-social stress, physical injuries and musculoskeletal disorder.
The analysis of socio-economic condition of the child engaged in labour in these different sectors indicated poverty as major reason for getting engaged in work. Family disturbance, natural disaster etc are found to be very weak causes of child labour. As high as ninety percent of child labours are found to be able to read and write, with more than half having attended primary school. More than two third of child labours come from a family with size between four to eight members. Besides, the study found that the most of the respondent have both father and mother and they have the consignment to work.
The quantitative analyses showed the following findings:
· The conditions of personal hygiene were significantly different between various occupational sectors. Sectors like beverage manufacturing, domestic services, vehicle repairs, hotel and restaurants have significantly better personal hygiene compared to other sectors.
· Dust, noise, long working hours, multiple work loads and frequent moving around as potential work environmental hazard factors in industrial sectors studied.
·
The study indicated suicidal
feeling, sleeping disturbance, constant headache, wish to change present job,
nervousness, irritation and anger as prominent psychological risks.
·
The analysis showed ear, eye,
skin, anaemia and musculoskeletal problems to be prominent health effects in
child workers involved in majority of identified sectors and processes.
·
Though there were very few child workers
engaged in the brick kiln and embroidery sector, majority of them was suffering
from multiple health problems.
· The odds ratios for various health related variables like presence of BCG scar, pallor (anaemia), dermatitis, ear problems, upper respiratory tract infection, and musculoskeletal disorders, were 16.59, 7.67, 5.67, 1.64, 3.29, and 3.23 respectively for the child workers compared to the school children, which were statistically significant.
Conclusion
During the course of the study, it is visibly recognised that child labour in regard to their nature of work are engaged in diverse activities and sectors. This diversity in the nature of work and sector in which child labour are engaged, in one hand made the study difficult and resource consuming and at the same time made it much more challenging. Therefore, to come to the overall objectives, the approach of the study has been to assess three important occupational risks namely psycho-social risks, work environmental risks and health risks. The study has also given due consideration to the four fundamental rights of children: protection, survival, development and participation, and it has been a sincere attempt to incorporate these aspects in the study right from development of study questionnaire to recommendations.
The qualitative assessment and quantitative analysis have indicated general hygiene, airborne contaminants, noise, chemical, workload, multiple work process, and work organization to be the most important hazard factors prevalent in the workplaces engaging child labour.
The study has found Stone Crushing, Overland Transportation, Scavenging and Rag Picking, Domestic Work, Portering, Hotel and Restaurant, Agriculture, Construction, Wood Working, and Vehicle Repair and Servicing as the ten most hazardous sectors where child labour are involved.
The study has also shown that Hammering, Multiple Work Load including work as Helper, Transport of Heavy Loads, Handling Waste Products, Prolonged sitting on Floor, Metal Work including Welding and Cutting, and Physically Demanding Work are the seven most hazardous processes involving child labour. It also indicated that these are the works requiring least skill.