The issue I have chosen to address here is Child Labour. Child labour is not a local or even a national issue - it is a global concern. Child labour currently robs 218 million children of their childhood - 1 in every 7 children. The use of children for labour is intimately linked with poverty and lack of education; thus, the global eradication of child labour will not happen without the global addressing of poverty and the provision of accessible free education to all children.
Through this blog, I hope to give a brief overview of what constitutes child labour, where it happens, how it happens, and the campaigns that are currently in place to eradicate it. As education is the key to making changes happen, I hope that, by putting this information 'out there', I will do my small part in making people aware of child labour so that we can all work together to make it a concern of our past.
WHAT IS CHILD LABOUR?
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labour is defined as: "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. It refers to work that:
* is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and
* interferes with their schooling by:
* depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
* obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
* requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work."
Any work done by a child under 15 years of age which restricts their growth and development physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally, or spiritually is child labour.
Globally there are 218 million child labourers. 1 IN EVERY 7 CHILDREN.
* 126 million of these children work in hazardous jobs. (ILO, 2006)
* 73 million child labourers are younger than 10 years old (IPEC, 2002)
* 22,000 child labourers are killed by their work annually (ILO, 2005)
WHERE DOES IT HAPPEN?
Geographically, child labour is prevalent in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, the Arab States, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Child labour does, however, exist here in Canada and in the U.S.. It is just hidden.
Child labourers toil largely in the informal, poorly or unregulated sectors of work, such as:
Agriculture - almost70% - 132 million girls and boys aged 5-14 years old, are engaged in labour on farms and plantations (e.g., cocoa and chocolate, coffee, tea, sugar, tobacco, cotton) This is one of the most hazardous work sectors. Since children are still developing, exposure to the hazards present in agriculture (e.g., pesticides, dangerous machinery, heavy loads) can cause permanent disability. Agriculture as an industry has historically been exempt from, or less regulated by, health and safety laws that regulate other industries.
Domestic/Services Labour - 22% - For many of the same reasons as agriculture, this is one of the worst forms of child labour. Due to its 'hidden' nature, like agriculture, it is impossible to accrue reliable statistics on how many children globally are engaged in domestic/services labour. More females under the age of 16 are employed in domestic labour than any other form of child labour (ILO)
Sex Trade - This includes prostitution, pornography, sex shows
Armed Conflict - 300,000 children are involved in armed conflict in more than 50 countries worldwide. They are forced into armed combat, used to lay mines and explosives, used as support personnel (as cooks, decoys, couriers, spies), or used for sex. The use of children in armed conflict is not only a violation of human rights, but is a war crime.
Mining and Quarrying - 1 million children work in mines today, and this number is increasing. They labour in gold and copper mines, salt mines, and stone quarries. For obvious reasons, this is one of the most hazardous forms of child labour.
Construction, Trafficking, Manufacturing (sweat shops)
Due to the largely unregulated nature of these work sectors, children are easily exploited and abused.
HOW DOES CHILD LABOUR HAPPEN?
Though many factors combine to allow child labour to exist, the biggest factors are:
1) Poverty - Family poverty means that many children cannot afford to attend school. They must work to support their families. In many situations, children inherit the debts of their parents, or are used as collateral for loans, and end up as bonded labour - essentially the property of the debt collector. Due to the loss of their parents from HIV/Aids, many children end up as orphans and have to work for their own survival.
2) Inadequate Educational Opportunities - Many children have no access to education. Even when a country has free compulsory education, many children cannot avail themselves of it - due to the cost of attending, distances, lack of facilities, family/cultural expectations, etc.
3) Immoral Employers - If there were no immoral employers - from local to multi-national corporations - there would be no child labour. Employers use children because they can pay them less than adults, and can more easily intimidate and control them and force them to work under abysmal conditions.
ENDING CHILD LABOUR
Child labour is a horrific issue that is not going to disappear quickly or without resistance, since it is widespread, its full extent cannot be realized, and it is far too profitable. The key to eliminating it lies in:
Social Awareness and Action to force the provision of
Accessible, Compulsory, Free Education for all children,
The Addressing of Poverty and
Equality for Girls and Women, and
The Real Enforcement of Laws regulating work for children.
It is achievable! Consider this....
The cost of achieving global literacy is estimated to be $5 billion dollars annually -
Current global perfume purchases total $15 billion dollars annually...
(World Watch Institute).
IPEC - International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, an arm of the International Labour Organization, has, since 1992, been battling child labour. Through country-specfic initiatives, by raising awareness, encouraging the adoption of national child labour Conventions (ILO Convention NO. 138 and ILO Convention No. 182), via child labour monitoring, encouraging companies to become socially responsible, inspection at worksites, and education, it is IPEC's goal to eliminate the worst forms of child labour worldwide by 2016.
ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138 "requires the adoption of national policies for the effective abolition of child labour and a specific minimum age for the admission to employment."
ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182 "calls on governments to implement effective time-bound measures to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, undertake action programmes to prevent it, promote and support reintegration of child workers into their communities and families, provide access to free education, identify children at special risk with a view to protecting them and, it gives special attention to the vulnerabilities of the girl-child."
NOTE: Although Canada has ratified ILO Convention 182 - Worst Forms of Child Labour, it REFUSES TO RATIFY ILO Convention 138 - Minimum Age Convention. That allows child labour to continue in our own backyard.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
* Learn about and speak out about and against Child Labour* Don't buy products of Child Labour - look for union-made, or campaign labels on goods (e.g., Rugmark and Fairtrade)
* Observe June 12th - World Day Against Child Labour
* Participate in campaigns (e.g., Sweat-Free Schools)
* Write to companies that use Child Labour demanding that they stop - expose them!
* Lobby to make education a priority
* Lobby to make governments ratify and implement legislation against Child Labour (see link at bottom of page or under 'Campaigns to End Child Labour')
TOGETHER, WE CAN ELIMINATE CHILD LABOUR, AND LET CHILDREN BE CHILDREN.
1 comment:
Terrific and very informative blog Heather. Thanks
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