HEALTH ISSUES AND WELLBEING

WORKING CHILDREN IN CARPET INDUSTRY IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Children are perceived as the future of any country. With this in mind, child labor
does nothing but destroy the future of the children. Carpet weaving is destructivefor children
because children often sit in odd positions for extensive hours, inhaling dust and working in
inadequate lighting situations, all these aspects are hazardous to the wellbeing of children.
Child carpet weavers have to face occupational damages and diseases. Objective: To identify
the factors contributing to child labor and effects of work-related health issues on the wellbeing
of carpet weavers. Study Design: Cross sectional survey. Setting: Punjab province. Meterial &
Method: A sample of 320 carpet child workers of age group 8-17 years was interviewed. A wellstructured
questionnaire was constructed to collect the data. The SPSS/PC + 20.0 Statistical
Package for Social Sciences were used for analyzing the data. Results: The study found that
majority of the respondents was facing the problem of body aches, backbone problem, eye
strain and general exhaustion and cuts and wounds. The significant relationship was observed
between work-related illness (type of illness) and the personal wellbeing of carpet working
children. It was strongly suggested that comprehensive strategy consisting of macro as well as
micro policies is to be commenced to control, reduce and eradicate. The ill effects related to
carpet weaving. The participation of children in carpet weaving industry should be stopped or
at least immunizad present. Conclusion: The carpet workers immediately need concentrated
efforts not only to solve their work-related issues, but also to make them productive adult in their
own wellbeing as well as in the welfares of society.