Photo Kay Kermush
International Day Against Child Labour – June 12, 2016
ILO – International Labour Organization - http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm
INDIA - GIRL CHILD BRICK WORKER - EXTREME POVERT
DEFINING CHILD LABOUR
The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
It refers to work that:
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is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and
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interferes with their schooling by:
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depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
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obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
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requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.
The agriculture sector comprises activities in agriculture, hunting forestry, and fishing.
The industry sector includes mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities (electricity, gas and water).
The services sector consists of wholesale and retail trade; restaurants and hotels; transport, storage, and communications; finance, insurance, real-estate, and business services; and community as well as social personal services.
THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR
While child labour takes many different forms, a priority is to eliminate without delay the worst forms of child labour as defined by Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 182:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
Labour that jeopardises the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, is known as “hazardous work”.
Significant progress has already been achieved in recent decades, as declining numbers of child labour suggest, but the challenge is nevertheless daunting:
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21 million people are victims of forced labour, 5.5 million of whom are children
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the illicit profits generated by forced labour and modern slavery amount to at least US$ 150 billion a year
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and 168 million children are still in child labour, 85 million of them in hazardous work and other worst forms of child labour, while 83 million are simply too young to be working.
The underlying root causes of child labour and forced labour are often related to violations of other fundamental rights. Hundreds of millions of people suffer from discrimination in the world of work, while half of the world’s population lives in countries that have not ratified either of the ILO’s two Conventions protecting freedom of association and collective bargaining .
WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR 2016
"Acting together, it is within our means to make the future of work a future without child labour," says ILO Director-General Guy Ryder on the occasion of World Day against Child Labour.
Statement | 12 June 2016
That child labour has no place in well-functioning and well-regulated markets is evident. But the reality is that today, child labour remains widespread in supply chains.
It is unacceptable that there are still 168 million children in child labour, 85 million of whom are in hazardous work. Child labour is found in agriculture – 99 million – to mining, from manufacturing to tourism, producing goods and services consumed by millions every day.
Child labour occurs predominantly in the rural and informal economies, beyond the reach of labour inspection, the protection of workers’ organizations or the governance benefits of employers’ and producers’ organizations.
It’s not just the lack of institutional protection in the rural and informal economies that increases the risk of child labour in supply chains; in household production and on family farms, children are often highly vulnerable because parents’ incomes are insufficient or because small family enterprises and farms cannot afford to replace child labour by hiring adults and youth. Piece rate production increases the risk with child labour helping parents to make up quotas and to assure family survival when parents are not earning a living wage.
Global supply chains can offer opportunities for inclusive development for supplier firms, workers and host countries, but targeted action is needed to assure just outcomes.
Beyond child labour in high profile, global supply chains, many child labourers are also found in supply chains producing for local and national consumption and they must not be ignored.
There are encouraging signs of a will to act and to prevent child labour, to achieve greater transparency and visibility along supply chains as well as more effective enforcement of relevant laws.
The ILO’s Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) has been ratified by 168 member States and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) by 180 – near universal ratification.
Governments are recognizing that the fight against child labour requires coherent policy packages to back child labour legislation: quality education, social protection and decent jobs for parents.
Companies are increasingly exploring how they might contribute to eliminating child labour by strengthening the capacity of enterprises throughout their supply chains – a complex task requiring partnerships involving governments, industry peers and employers’ and workers’ organizations. Forums such as the ILO’s Child Labour Platform allow enterprises to share good practices and develop new models for collaboration.
Global Framework Agreements between global trade union federations and multinational companies are one expression of global cooperation through social dialogue. At the grassroots of value chains too, rural workers’ and informal workers’ organizations are expanding innovative approaches to strengthen collective representation.
The ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy of 1977 recognizes the role of enterprises in the elimination of child labour. With its focus on development and strengthening of enterprise capacity and social dialogue, this Declaration holds great potential to guide action against child labour.
The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda reaffirms the goal of ending child labour. Acting together, it is within our means to make the future of work a future without child labour.
Извор: WUNRN – 11.06.2016
