Child labor declining in carpet and garment industries: Study

KATHMANDU, Jan 25: A study carried out in the carpet and garment industries shows that child labor is declining. 

The study recently done by Assistant Lecturer of Nepal Commerce Campus and researcher Dilaram Bhandari shows that the use of children below 18 years at carpet industries and garment industries has declined by 6.66 percent and 1.63 percent respectively. 

The study was conducted as part of a program of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security with technical support of the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The use of child labor below 18 years, which was 50 percent in carpet industries in 1993, has dropped to 6.66 percent in 2021, said researcher Bhandari. 

The study was carried out at 290 carpets and 183 garment industries of 20 districts, he shared. Bhandari added that child labor is decreasing every year due to social awareness and education. 

The study was carried out on the issues—gender, age, region, income, education and social security of 8,483 workers working in the production sector of industries, he shared. 

Around 4.75 percent of Indians were found working in these industries while 0.02 percent were from other countries and the remaining were Nepali workers. The study shows that out of Nepali laborers, a majority were from the Tamang, Magar, Gurung and Sherpa communities.  

Saying out of the laborers, the number of laborers from 20-49 years was 80 percent and they worked 52 hours on average in a week, Bhandari mentioned that the working hours are somehow more than the stipulated by the Labor Act of Nepal. 

Nepal’s law has determined an average of 48 hours in a week.  The monthly income of males working in carpet industries is Rs 15,923 per month while it is Rs 17,632 in garment industries, Bhandari shared.