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22,000 Children Employed in Nepali Capital Transport: Study

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 February 2006, 09:00 CST

22,000 children employed in Nepali capital transport: Study

KATHMANDU, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- As much as 44 percent of the total workforce of the transportation sector, one of the most hazardous sectors for children, consists of children below 14 years of age, a study disclosed here Wednesday.

According to the study on "Child Labor in Transportation Sector in Nepal", prepared in 2005 by the Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Center (CWIN), a non-governmental organization, about 2, 200 children are employed in transportation sector in the Kathmandu Valley.

The total of 5,019 public transports use children as helpers, 28 percent of whom are below 14 years and 27 percent illiterate, the study stated, adding that children working in public vehicles in the Valley work for 12 hours a day on an average. "The sector falls under one of the worst forms of child labor because of poor working conditions, accidents, various forms of exploitation, long working hours and lack of bargaining power of child laborers," research coordinator Govinda Subedi said presenting the study.

While child laborers working for daily wages earn 98 Nepali rupees (1.4 U.S. dollars) per day on an average, those working on a monthly basis earn 930 rupees (13.2 dollars) on an average.

"Though plans and policies have been formulated and budget allocated for children, the results are far from satisfactory," executive director of the CWIN Gauri Pradhan said.

Stating that the government aims to eliminate the child labor by 2009, he said they were working in collaboration towards that end.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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