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Child Labor in Pakistan

Child labor is a big problem in most third world countries, but possibly the most known among the United States is Pakistan. The reason is Nike. Nike has been accused repeatedly of using exploitative child labor in the production of its soccer balls. Before we get into that, we'll examine the tradition of child labor in Pakistan.

The per-capita income of Pakistan is approximately $1900. (The average, middle class person in Pakistan makes about $5 a day.) The average working person has to feed nine or ten people with their $5. On top of that, there is the high inflation rate to deal with. It becomes so hard to survive that many families resort to giving their children up to child labor in order to get more income. Child labor is scattered all over Pakistan, but it has the greatest impact on a north-western province called Sialkot. Sialkot is an important center for the production of goods for export, especially sporting goods. In 1994, it brought about $385 million into the Pakistan economy. Child labor exists in both the export and domestic sectors of the economy in Sialkot. This has been well documented internationally, and it is documented that child labor is against Pakistan's law, but neither the government nor anyone else chooses to do anything about it.

The Nike Scenario: If you have bought a soccer ball recently, there is a good chance that a child helped produce it. Over half the world's soccer balls are produced in Pakistan, and all of those pass through a production line. This production line is not only comprised of adults, but children as well. This problem is not specific only to Pakistan. Children worldwide work on production lines.

Nike is the main culprit of the soccer ball case, but technically they are not the ones hiring the child laborers. Like a good chess player, Nike always thinks a few moves ahead. They don’t just jump right in and hire children, but instead subcontracts them through a local firm. In this case, the local firm is SAGA Sports. The local firm is supposed to abide by Nike's international rules and regulations, and in turn, it is the duty of the business hiring the firm to check the local firm's actions. This is not what happens. Nike doesn't check its local firms, and the local firms are not abiding by Nike's rules.