No record being maintained regarding domestic juvenile servants in ICT

ISLAMABAD – No record is being maintained regarding domestic juvenile servants in the capital, it has been learnt reliably.

According to the officials, neither the Labour Welfare Department of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) nor ICT Police is maintaining the record in this regard so that rights of the children could be protected and they could be prevented against violence. Education of such children without having a record is also not possible, according to officials. There is no data on the number of domestic juvenile servants in ICT indicating also that no measures and steps were being taken by the government to protect the rights of the children.

The Labour Department of the ICT is responsible for elimination of child/bonded labour and implementation of labour laws in the city. However, neither the Labour department nor ICT Police has any system of maintaining data on the subject.

However, according to officials, ICT administration is going to carry out child labour survey with the help of UNICEF soon, after a hiatus of two decades. Last survey was conducted in 1996. 

An Act titled “The ICT Child Protection Act, 2018” was promulgated and is applicable in the ICT. Under the said Act, a body named “National Commission on the Rights of Children” has been constituted to take necessary steps and measures for protection of rights of children. The said Commission is functioning under the Ministry of Human Rights. “ICT Home Based Workers Bill” and “ICT Domestic Workers Bill” are on the cards in order to provide legal cover to the ICT-based domestic workers. But in the absence of a database, no mechanism can work for inspection and rehabilitation of children suffering from denial of their basic rights such as education and freedom from violence. The SHOs of the city have been directed by the concerned to take prompt action upon receipt of any complaint of violence against domestic juvenile servants in accordance with law but there is no mechanism to regularly inspect the premises where domestic juvenile servants live, according to officials.

Article source: https://nation.com.pk/24-May-2021/no-record-being-maintained-regarding-domestic-juvenile-servants-in-ict