Children in the production of Matches and fireworks, May 1999,
ILO - Targeting the Intolerable

A study undertaken in India found very young children under ten years of age working in the match industry. Their main tasks included making boxes, sticking labels, counting matches and dipping sticks into a hot solution of gum and chemicals. Nearly all workers were exposed to airborne concentrations of hazardous substances and very few places had proper ventilation. There was a constant risk of fire and explosions. In fireworks production the main tasks involve dyeing outer papers, stuffing firecrackers with cracker powder, rolling gum and packing the final product. Most factories were found to run on a piece-rate basis, but children earned only 50 per cent of that earned by adults doing the same work.