We must ensure child labour is eliminated
Child labour is a historical problem globally, mainly affecting poor and developing countries.
While the improvement in access to education and the setting of labour laws has led to a decrease in child labour, it remains a widespread challenge in many parts of the world. The main causes of child labour are poverty and lack of education.
The issue was placed in the spotlight at the beginning of the 20th century.
The protection of children was a high priority for the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an agency of the UN. The ILO set a “labour clause” with nine methods and principles for the regulation of labour conditions and the abolition of child labour was one of these principles. The entity remains committed to the elimination of child labour through its participation in the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (Ipec), which was established in 1992.
Despite extensive anti-child labour programmes, child labour continues unabated. According to Unicef ’s child labour global estimates (2020) report, 160m children were engaged in child labour from the beginning of that year. This means one out of 10 children worldwide was in child labour. Nearly half of them were engaged in hazardous work. It is most common in rural areas.
One of the most difficult aspects of these abuses is the fact that child labour takes place mostly in a family setting, where children work on the family farm or the family’s micro-enterprise.
Of equal concern is the school dropout rate associated with child labour.
Unicef estimates show that these children are excluded from schooling despite the fact that they fall under the mandatory schooling age.
Children often struggle to balance the demands of schoolwork and child labour and as a result, opt to drop out of school. This has the potential to limit youth and adult work prospects and creates a vicious cycle of poverty in households.
Political will and resources are needed for the reforms required to eradicate child labour locally and internationally.
These include extending social protection to children and caregivers to shield children from poverty and keep children in school; increased access to good quality education to afford them a chance at a better future; promotion of decent work for youth and adults and extended protection to the informal sector; and strengthening of laws that will protect children from child labour with the necessary labour inspection to enforce those laws.
The upcoming fifth global conference on combating child labour that will be convened in Durban will discuss these issues and the strategies needed to achieve the goal of the elimination of child labour by 2023.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had major effects on economic performance, health and education outcomes. The pandemic could also delay progress towards the elimination of child labour, making this conference critical for the evaluation of progress and for finding solutions.
The elimination of child labour is a task too big for just one party to solve. This will require countries and different stakeholders to work together towards the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.