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Meeting prepares strategy against child labour
Monday, 27 October 1997: A global strategy for combatting, and
ultimately eliminating, child labour dominates the agenda as the
Government of Norway -- together with the
International Labour
Organization (ILO) and UNICEF -- convenes a 40-nation
ministerial conference in Oslo on 27-30 October 1997.
The Conference is the latest in a series held amid mounting concern
for some 250 million children who often work in exploitative and
hazardous conditions and face injury, illness and even death.
Ministers for development cooperation, labour, education, social
welfare and justice, leaders of trade unions and employers'
organizations, non-governmental organizations, United Nations and
other multilateral agencies, and leading experts on child labour will
work together to forge a new, comprehensive plan against child labour,
focusing on development cooperation as the key.
Globally, child labour is most prevalent in the less-developed
regions. In absolute terms, Asia has the largest number of child
workers (approximately 61 per cent of the world total), compared to
Africa (32 per cent) and Latin America (7 per cent).
The Conference opens with a two-day technical session to discuss
ways of preventing and eliminating child labour through practical
actions including legislation, education and social mobilization. For
the first time, particular emphasis will be placed on the role of
development cooperation.
A political session will follow on Wednesday, 29 October 1997 with a
statement by new Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. UNICEF
Executive Director Carol Bellamy and ILO Director-General Michel
Hansenne will deliver key note speeches. Ministers will then consider
an Agenda for Action containing principles and options for the global
elimination of child labour.
"The war against child labour is being won, and it can be won
in all countries in the coming 15 years," says Mr. Hansenne. "How?
By adopting a four-point global campaign that includes mobilizing
political will, backing it with a time-bound action programme that
includes ending all extreme forms of child labour immediately,
adopting a new international Convention against such extreme forms of
child exploitation and translating the power of worldwide concern into
international social and economic policy programmes."
Ms. Bellamy says: "Children have the same full spectrum of
rights as adults -- not only civil and political, but social, cultural
and economic rights. Child labour robs children of these fundamental
rights -- including the right to education. And education is the
single most effective tool we have for eliminating child labour."
"Child labour is a consequence as well as a cause of poverty,"
says Ms. Hilde Frafjord Johnson, Norwegian Minister of International
Development and Human Rights, who will chair the Conference. "I
am therefore very pleased that it has been possible to bring together
so many representatives of the various partners engaged in the problem
of child labour."
A staggering international problem
According to a recent ILO study, some 250
million children aged five to 14 years are working. About half, or 120
million, work full-time, while the remaining struggle to combine work
with schooling or other non-economic activities. Among the findings:
- The figure of 250 million working children is considered to be an
under-estimate. It does not include those who work in regular
non-economic activities, such as providing full-time domestic
service in the homes of their own parents or guardians. The number
of such children is relatively large (about 15-20 per cent of the
total population of the same age group).
- While current data shows that boys outnumber girls who work by
three to two, statistical surveys often under-estimate the number of
girls who work by failing to include unpaid economic activity in and
around the house, including household enterprises.
- In absolute numbers, rural working children outnumber urban
working children, while rural children are twice as likely to work
as those in towns and cities. The vast majority of rural child
workers are engaged in agriculture or similar activities. In
contrast, urban children often work in trade, domestic, service and
manufacturing sectors.
- Many children work long hours for low pay. In some countries, up
to 80 per cent of working children work seven days a week. Most
children working as paid employees earn far less than adults, and
the younger the child the lower the wage. Girls, on average, earn
less than boys even though they tend to work longer hours in the
same jobs. Generally, children are not paid overtime, nor do they
benefit from social security and other similar benefits.
How hazardous is child labour?
Recent studies provide mounting evidence that child labour can be
hazardous:
- In some countries, more than two-thirds of working children face
serious hazards, such as cuts, fractures, loss of body parts,
crushing injuries, burns, skin diseases, sight or hearing loss, and
respiratory illnesses.
- Most injuries and illnesses occur in the rural areas. In global
terms, boys suffer more injuries and illnesses than girls simply
because boys tend to work in more hazardous jobs. However, girls may
sometimes experience relatively higher incidence of injuries and
illness, especially in rural areas.
- Mining and construction are by far the most dangerous sectors for
all children.
Practical action against child labour
The ILO, its
International
Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), UNICEF and
other organizations have launched a global campaign against child
labour, especially its most intolerable forms. Main areas of action
include gathering dependable data, setting national priorities,
enforcing existing law, providing education, promoting integrated
action programmes, and stimulating social mobilization and other
alternatives.
Some examples of key areas of action include:
- Legislation is the single most important government
response to child labour. In Pakistan, for example, a team of legal
experts was recruited to help the government implement the
Employment of Children Act and the Bonded Labour System (abolition)
Act. Federal rules were translated into local languages and
dialects, and Vigilance Committees were formed in the provinces to
oversee their implementation. In Southeast Asia, a major programme
on specialized training for labour inspectors in Thailand, Indonesia
and the Philippines resulted in concrete actions. Also, there is
renewed interest in reviewing national legislation and bringing it
in line with international instruments such as the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and ILO Convention No. 138. Globally, as part of
its campaign to eliminate child labour, the ILO is proposing the
adoption of new international legal instruments in the form of a
Convention and Recommendation to combat the worst forms of child
labour -- the persistent exploitation of children in slave-like and
bonded conditions, hazardous and arduous work, prostitution,
pornography and other intolerable situations. In a recent survey of
over 200 governments and employers' and workers' organizations,
overwhelming support emerged for the new Convention and
Recommendation. The new Convention is scheduled for discussion at
the International Labour Conference in 1998 and adoption in 1999.
- Education is a fundamental right for children and now
regarded as one of the key solutions to eliminating child labour.
Yet even though many countries have adopted laws, few include
provisions defining the responsibilities of parents or legal
guardians. While poor or lacking educational opportunities is one
reason why children work, affordable education of good quality,
relevant to the needs of children and their families, is an
attractive alternative even to the poorest families. The attraction
is increased, if the link to improved employment prospects and
higher income can be made. In Bangladesh, the Government, assisted
by UNICEF, is initiating support to 35 local NGOs, active in a range
of alternative programmes for working children, to use their
experiences in an education programme for over 350,000 working
children. In Peru, the Faith and Joy Integral Popular Education
Movement Association (Fe y Alegria) provides education to 56,000
children, emphasising practical life and work skills and
environmental education.
- Dependable data are an important instrument for policy
and programme development and an important tool for advocacy with
regard to the problem of working children. The ILO has carried out
surveys on child labour in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, India,
Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal, Turkey and
Thailand, and some 20 other countries have indicated interest.
- Social Mobilization or developing national policy
frameworks for action is another means for combating child labour.
An important step in this direction was taken with the establishment
in Brazil, for example, of the National Forum for the Prevention and
Eradication of Child Labour. The forum, coordinated by the Ministry
of Labour, consists of 36 institutions, representing the federal
government, employers and workers organizations and NGOs. In the
light of 10 years of research and direct action, there is optimism
that the child labour problem can be solved in the decades to come.
Forging global partnerships against child labour
The ILO and UNICEF have forged new partnerships to combat child
labour. Partners include the following:
- Government: The political will of governments to attend to the
needs and rights of children is decisive for their protection and
the promotion of their welfare. There is growing evidence that this
political will is forthcoming. In addition, child labour is no
longer seen as the sole responsibility of the labour and/or social
welfare ministries. Others, including ministries of education,
youth, family, information, health, and planning are now involved.
- Employers' organizations: Employers have carved out a key role in
the campaign against child labour, emphasizing the social
responsibility of employers. For example, the Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association (BGMEA), the ILO and
UNICEF reached an agreement to withdraw all child workers below the
age of 14 from more than 2,000 garment factories. In Pakistan, the
Sialkot Chamber of Commerce (SCCI), ILO and UNICEF have joined
efforts for the withdrawal of children engaged in the production of
footballs.
- Workers organizations: Workers have become involved in activities
such as awareness raising and promotion of alternative education for
working children. Unions in many countries have initiated pilot
projects in ports, sugar plantations, garment production, farming
and fishing sectors. The
International
Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW), for example,
recently launched a project in India to combat child labour at the
brick kilns. The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers
Federation (ITGLWF) is implementing a project to help child textile
workers in several countries in Asia.
-
Non-governmental organizations: NGOs have played a primary role
in discovering and denouncing child labour abuses, lobbying and
advocating policy reform and proposing or providing direct
services for working children. The ILO and UNICEF are also working
with other groups such as media, universities, parliamentarians,
health care professionals and lawyers.
Governments of the following countries have been invited to the
Conference:
- Africa: Angola, Benin, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique,
Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania.
- Asia/Pacific: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
- Americas: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala,
Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the United States.
- Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, European Union,
Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Reference: Statistics on Working Children and
Hazardous Child Labour in Brief, ILO Bureau of Statistics,
Geneva, October 1997.
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