Determinants and Working Conditions of Child Labour: A Case Study of Children Working at Automobiles Workshop at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan

Abstract

This study has tried to inspect the determinants and working conditions of child labour in automobile workshops of Tehkal market, Peshawar (KP). Detailed descriptive analysis and multivariate analysis is undertaken to analyze the data and report findings. The results depicts that child labour in the area is a multifaceted phenomenon. Most of the children leave their schools to learn working skills for future employment security. Majority of the sampled children contribute more than 60 percent to family’s income. Most of the children has father alive and live in rental houses with their parents. More than half of the children report physical health and drug addiction problem of their fathers. The data further divulge that only 1 percent of the children are the sole bread earners of their families. The working condition of the automobile workshops is hazardous with no basic facilities. Nearly 85 percent of the children reported punishment at work place by underpaying their salaries followed by physical abuse. The multivariate analysis illustrates that low household income, literacy level, profession, household size, and paternal physical health are the major factors of child labour. The coefficients of all the variables are significant and having correct theoretical signs predicting that these variables greatly influences the wage per hour of the child.