Child workers suffer in transport sector - News

CHILD WORKERS SUFFER IN TRANSPORT SECTOR

A recently conducted survey has revealed that around 23 percent of the total laborers working in transport sector of the region are child workers.

According to a report prepared by Central Committee of Nepal Transport Workers Association (NTWA), of the total 155,000 laborers working in transport sector in the region, more than 35,000 are children between nine to fifteen years of age.

The report also states that despite working for more than 12 hours a day, these children do not even earn an average daily wage of Rs. 50. The report further discloses that more than 25,000 of these child workers are facing accommodation and fooding problems.

“Most of these children spend their night in the vehicles and more than 80 percent of them do not have access to basic health services,” the report states.

The report states that all of the children working in the sector are unskilled and are not compensated if they fall into accidents. “More than 200 child workers who had met with accidents last year were not provided treatment facilities,” the report says.

The report also states that the number of child worker in the past five years had increased by 60 percent and the number is on the rise. And following the increment in number of light vehicles such as microbuses, the number of child workers is also increasing. And the only reason in the surge, as stated in the report is insurgency.

According to President of NTWA, Ajay Kumar Rai, the state of children working in transport sector is worst than those children who have accepted employment in industrial sector.

Rai also informed that most of the employers preferred child workers as they are inexpensive and are not aware of their rights. Moreover, the report also states that Article 93 of Vehicles and Transport Management Act does not speak of anything against such recruiting.

“However, we have been creating pressure on the government and other non-government organizations to address the woes of the children,” Rai said. “Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) has started providing informal education to child workers and will work towards restoring their basic rights and their rights to equal pay and benefits,” he added.

He also said that NTUC has been providing informal education to more than 1,000 child workers throughout the country and has coordinated with Ministry of Education to provide formal education to child workers.