Precarious Employment and Bonded Labor: Assessment from Agriculture Sector of Punjab (Pakistan)

Abstract

Despite strict constitutional provisions and laws existing against bonded labor, the situation is still plagued by this contemporary form of slavery in Pakistan—the trends of bonded labor historically associated with numerous sectors where laborers have to bear precarious employment circumstances. The International Labor Organization estimates that more than 9.5 individuals are forced to engage in bonded labor due to debt bondage, meager employment opportunities, and the absence of adequate implementation of policies in the South Asian region. The prevalence of bounded labor is the product of unawareness, poverty, unavailability of basic human needs, social exclusion, and, above all, the failure of governments to eliminate the practices. This primary study covers three administrative divisions of Punjab, and data was collected through multistage simple random sampling techniques. The interview schedule was used as a tool of data collection and study findings revealed that a considerable proportion of agriculture laborers worked in bounded circumstances. In contrast, the government's writ regarding implementing bounded labor laws is very poor. Due to this unattended situation, agricultural laborers have to face a large number of issues that become significant reasons for morbidity and mortality every year, especially among women and children belonging to these bounded laborers.