Some 152 million children are not in school today because
they are forced to work. Children as young as five years old are part of the
global workforce. In factories and in fields, Agriculture, mining, fishing,
seafood processing, manufacturing, hospitality, domestic work and street
vending are a few of the many sectors where child labor is rampant ,children
work up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week. Often faced with hazardous work
conditions, they are enslaved or subjected to human trafficking. Each child in
this position loses his or her childhood; they also lose the chance for
education and better job opportunities in the future.
The rising number of emergencies and crises around the world
are further jeopardising the efforts towards ending child labour and ensuring
education for all. Disasters and protracted conflicts in countries such as
Syria, Iraq, Yemen, etc. are pushing thousands of children into the risk of
being trafficked, enmeshed into slavery-like work conditions and forced out of
school. It is estimated that each year almost 70 million children are affected
by natural disasters and more than 30 million children are presently displaced
by war. Many of the 152 million children engaged in child labour live in
conflict and disaster affected areas, making it difficult for them to access
education. Of the millions out-of-school children around the
globe, 35% live in countries affected by armed conflicts.
New estimates show that women and girls are disproportionately
affected by modern slavery but Women and girls represent 99 per cent of the
victims of forced labour in the commercial sex industry and 84 per cent of
forced marriages. The research reveals that among the 40 million victims
of modern slavery, about 25 million were in forced labour, and 15 million were
in forced marriage.
Child labour remains concentrated primarily in agriculture
(70.9 per cent). Almost one in five child labourers work in the services sector
(17.1 per cent) while 11.9 per cent of child labourers work in industry. These
horrifying statistics demonstrate the scale of the problem but what they don’t
highlight is the scale of the effort being made to stop the extreme
exploitation of children.
Given this impact that conflicts and disasters are having on
children, this year’s theme of #WorldDayAgainsChildLabour observation is – “Children
shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams” is timely. It is even more
important now for the international development community to make urgent
efforts to realize the Sustainable Development Goals that encompass
socio-political-economic and environmental advances that have a direct or an
indirect impact on children.
Child labour is a global problem that requires a global
solution. In India, Africa and Latin America, local authorities,
teachers, employers, parents and children in child labour free zones work
together to get children out of work and into school. They are all convinced
that no child should be working: every child should be in school. These child
labour free zones are successful and are continuing to spread to other areas
and countries.
Although most countries have laws against child labor, and
it is banned by officially recognized conventions (agreements) between nations
and the United Nations and the International Labor Organization (ILO), child
labor exists globally. Child labor is most common in workplaces and sectors
where there are no unions and where other worker rights violations, such as pay
inequity, discrimination, and lack of health and safety measures, is
widespread.
It’s an unpalatable truth but for all our technological
advances, for all our rights enshrined by international law, the majority world
remains crushed underfoot by the wheels of global capital. This exploitation is
racialised as it is gendered. Children in Asia make our clothes; Black and
Brown women working in fields, factories and private homes endure untold
violence and abuse; Indigenous people are evicted from their ancestral land by
big business backed by governments, or killed and harassed for their
resistance; and economic migrants from the ‘wrong countries’ are trafficked and
criminalised, forced to choose between insurmountable poverty at home, or a
life of debt bondage, wage theft and other forms of exploitation and discrimination
abroad.
No step has yet been taken to regulate informal child
labour. If the informal sector remains outside the ambit of the child labour
regulatory framework, engagement of children in hazardous work can never be
controlled. It’s heartbreaking to think that in this age of technology and
communications, where we know everything that’s happening in the farthest
corner of the world, child labor is still allowed to exist.
Causes
& Consequences
Poverty is often cited as the main cause of child labour. It
is widely believed that families will not be able to cope if their children do
not work. In practice, however, the poverty argument does not hold water.
Precisely the opposite is true: child labour maintains poverty.
Experience shows that deeprooted social norms, the
violation of workers’ rights, discrimination against certain groups, and a
poorly-functioning education system are the main reasons why children
aren’t attending school.
Because children are easy to exploit and are cheap
labourers, they are hired in preference to adults. Child labour thus leads to
lower wages and higher unemployment among adults. Children who work and do not
go to school will end up in low paid jobs later, and so will their children –
and so the vicious cycle of poverty is perpetuated.
Child labour exists
because:
·
People accept it and invent excuses for it;
·
Children’s rights are not respected;
·
Governments do not provide compulsory, free and
accessible education;
·
International agreements and conventions are not
observed;
·
The education system excludes poor and
vulnerable children;
·
Consumers worldwide demand cheap products;
·
Employers can benefit from cheap labour.
·
There is no decent work for adults.
·
We have not done enough to stop it.
In recent decades some extreme forms of violence against
children, including sexual exploitation and trafficking, female genital
mutilation (FGM), the worst forms of child labour and the impact of armed
conflict, have provoked international outcry and achieved a consensus of
condemnation, although no rapid remedy. But in addition to these extreme forms
of violence, many children are routinely exposed to physical, sexual and
psychological violence in their homes and schools, in care and justice systems,
in places of work and in their communities. All of this has devastating
consequences for their health and well-being now and in the future.
Furthermore, Low income, poverty, and poor educational
institutions are the driving forces behind the prevalence of child labor
worldwide.Child labor exists because education systems and labor markets do not
function properly, because poor households cannot insure themselves against
income fluctuations, and because perverse incentives exist that create a demand
for child labor. Thus, many families, especially those in developing
countries, need extra income or can’t afford to send their children to school,
so they send them to work. Historical growth rates suggest that reducing child
labor through improvements in living standards alone will take time.
The success of SDG Target 8.7 on ending child labour,
trafficking and slavery will need concerted efforts towards realising SDG 4 on
education. This will also imply that global alliances such as the Alliance 8.7
on ending child labour under the SDG framework include issues of education in
their strategy and plan of action.
If a more rapid reduction in the general incidence of child
labor is a policy goal, improving educational systems and providing financial
incentives to poor families to send children to school may be more useful
solutions to the child labor problem than punitive measures designed to prevent
children from earning income.
On #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour observed today, we all
need to raise awareness about this global issue. In an ideal world, our
children, our future generation, should be given the opportunity to have a
childhood and develop their abilities in a positive environment. Not
working in factories or in the fields, without pay, in less than human
conditions. Furthermore, it is necessary that the world’s leaders make a
commitment to eliminate all forms of child labour, particularly the worst of
them. Together we can stop child labour by no longer accepting it, not in
mines, not on fields, not in factories, not in domestic settings and not in the
products we buy. #StandAgainstChildLabour #SpeakOut #ZeroExploitation
#WorldDayAgainstChildLabour #ChildrenOurGenerations
No comments:
Post a Comment