ILO intends to eliminate child labor menace

A very ambitious goal will be raised at the International Conference on Child Labor which opens today and runs until Wednesday in Oslo, Norway -- eliminating child labor. The following stories discuss this goal, and a profile of child workers on page 9, relates experiences and hopes of children behind the factory walls.

OSLO: A global strategy for combating and ultimately eliminating child labor will dominate the agenda, when the Government of Norway -- in collaboration with the International Labor Office (ILO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) -- convenes a 40-nation ministerial conference here today to Oct. 30.

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.

Globally, child labor is most prevalent in the less-developed regions.

In absolute terms, Asia has the largest number of child workers -- approximately 61 percent of the world total -- as compared with Africa (32 percent) and Latin America (7 percent).

The Conference opens with sessions to discuss ways of preventing and eliminating child labor through practical actions including legislation, education and social mobilization. For the first time, particular emphasis will be placed on the role of development cooperation.

"The war against the child labor is being won, and it can be won in all countries in the coming 15 years," says Director- General of the ILO Michel Hansenne.

"How? By adopting a four-point global campaign that includes mobilizing political will, backing it with a time-bound action program that includes ending all extreme forms of child labor immediately, adopting a new international Convention against such extreme forms of child exploitation and translating the power of worldwide concern and international social and economic policy programs."

Executive Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy says: "Children have the same full spectrum of rights as adults -- not only civil and political, but social, cultural and economic rights. Child labor robs children of these fundamental rights -- including the right to education. And education is the single most effective tool we have for eliminating child labor."

Study

A recent ILO study revealed some 250 million children aged 5 to 14 are working. About half, or 120 million, work full-time, while the remaining children struggle to combine work with schooling or other non-economic activities. Among the findings:

Among findings are that 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.

These would reach about 15 to 20 percent 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 underestimate 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.

Many children work long hours for low pay. In some countries, up to 80 percent 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 neither paid overtime nor do they benefit from social security and other similar benefits.

Recent studies provide mounting evidence that child labor 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 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.

The ILO, its International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), UNICEF and other organizations have launched a global campaign against child labor, especially its most intolerable forms.

Regarding legislation, in Pakistan, for example, a team of legal experts was recruited to help the government implement the Employment of Children Act and the Bonded Labor System (abolition) Act.

Federal rules were translated into local languages and dialects, and Vigilance committees were formed in the provinces to oversee their implementation.

Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, a major program on specialized training for labor inspectors in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines resulted in concrete actions.

ILO is proposing the adoption of new international legal instruments to combat the worst forms of child labor -- the persistent exploitation of children in slave-like and bonded conditions, hazardous and arduous work, prostitution, pornography and other intolerable situations.

Education is a fundamental right for children and now regarded as one of the key solutions to eliminating child labor.

Yet while some countries have adopted laws, few include provisions defining the responsibilities of parents or legal guardians.

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, to use their experiences in an education program for over 350,000 working children.

In the light of 10 years of research and direct action there is optimism that the child labor problem can be solved in the decades to come.

-- ILO/UNICEF News