&hild /aEor $Ft aimed at NeeSing young street vendors off the streets

The Child Labor Act that was passed last week clearly states that the sale of Spanish Lime by youths is deemed as child labor and that these children are being exposed to many dangerous situations, health risks and mental abuse. The Ministry of Labor pointed out that although this phenomenon must become a thing of the past but that it will not happen overnight. “Shelters must be created via the government’s social programs for the children who are put to work on the streets,” said Labor Minister Soewarto Moestadja. “Children selling Spanish lime on the streets is a dangerous activity because the children walk between the cars, lean on the cars and risk getting hit by cars when they frequently cross the street,” said Minister Moestadja who added that the underage street vendors also inhale more toxic exhaust fumes than other children normally do. There is also the chance that passersby communicate with these children in a manner that is not good for their mental development. The street vendors could be cussed at or be exposed to racist remarks. The children sell Spanish lime regardless of the weather conditions.” There is more than one reason to label this form of hustling as a dangerous and inhumane child labor. The term “child labor” 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. According to the International labor Organization (ILO), child labor is 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. In its most extreme forms, child labor 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.