4.5 million kiln workers and their families are bonded labour at around 18,000 brick kilns across Pakistan. They are paid between Rs. 230-450 per 1,000 bricks regardless of how long and how many members of the family it takes to complete the task, fetching mud, soaking it, shaping bricks, transporting bricks to kiln, baking and grading each brick. In cases of severe weather or illness, workers earn nothing and a credit line from their employers acts as a noose that forces families deeper into debt. This is a form of slave labour. Babar Amanat, Sabir Masih and their families work for 18 hours a day to achieve a target, which they hardly meet. Due to illness of his father, Babar got a loan which he couldn’t payoff and went deeper into debt. The owners demanded his money back or convert to Islam. The kiln workers live in or around the kilns; there are no latrines in brick kilns’ houses. The women workers are often trapped and sexually harassed.

Pray: for NGOs to help the people in trouble, relocating them if necessary reducing such persecution in society.

More: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/april232013/bonded-workers-sm.php