خبر ها - افغانستان

A survey conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) between August to October 2011 shows that Afghan children including boy and girls are involved in the brick industry including.

Fifty six per cent of brick makers in the Afghan kilns are children under the age of 18 (58 per cent boys and 42 per cent girls), and 47 per cent are 14 or younger (33 per cent boys and 14 per cent girls), the survey shows.

Most Afghan children were employed in the brick industry between seven and eight years old, and almost 80 per cent of children by the age of nine.

Only 15 per cent of the Afghan children attended school, and those who did not do so said the reason was to support their families economically.

Of the adult workers, the survey shows that 98 per cent of the labourers are men unlikely the brick industries in other countries.

Only young girls can work alongside their brothers or father and when they reach puberty, they are kept at home.

Both adult and child labourers work more than 70 hours a week in very poor working conditions. The average daily wages are between 297 to 407 Afghanis ($6 - 8.5) for a adult and 170 to 278 ($3.5 to 5.82) for child labourers, according to the survey.

The report warns that as the construction sector faces down fall, the possibilities of closure of these brick ovens in the country or a decrease in daily wages and will make life worse for those involved in the brick industry.

The report shows that working at a brick oven is the most hazardous type of labouring in the country for the people, particularly for children.