The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has — in its new report on World Day Against Child Labour — warned that a staggeringly high number of children are still caught in hazardous work – some 115 million of the world’s 215 million child labourers – and called for urgent action to halt the practice. The report, ‘Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do,’ cited studies from both industrialised and developing countries indicating that every minute of every day, a child labourer somewhere in the world suffers a work-related accident, illness or psychological trauma.

The report also stated that although the overall number of children aged five to 17 in hazardous work declined between 2004 and 2008, the number aged 15-17 actually increased by 20 per cent from 52 million to 62 million.

“Despite important progress over the last one decade, the number of children in child labour worldwide – and particularly in hazardous work – remains high,” ILO director-general Juan Somavia, said, adding that governments, employers and workers must act together to give strong leadership in shaping and implementing the policies and action that can end child labour.

The persistence of child labour is a clear indictment of the prevailing model of growth. “Tackling work that jeopardises the safety, health or morals of children must be a common and urgent priority,” he added.

Last year, the ILO’s Global Report on child labour had warned that efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour were slowing down and expressed concern that the global economic crisis could ‘further brake’ progress toward the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.

“One year on, the ILO remains extremely concerned with the impact of the crisis on children,” the report stated, calling for a renewed effort to ensure that all children are in education at least until the minimum age of employment and for countries to establish a hazardous work list as required by ILO child labour Conventions.

It also stated that urgent action is needed to tackle hazardous work by children, who have reached the minimum age but may be at risk in the workplace and calls for training and organising such young workers so that they are aware of risks, rights and responsibilities in the workplace. Exposure to hazards can have a particularly severe impact on children, whose bodies and minds are still developing late into teenage years, according to the report that looked in detail at six economic sectors — crop agriculture, fishing, domestic service, mining and quarrying, and street and service industries.

The study noted that the problem of children in hazardous work is not confined to developing countries. Evidence from the US and Europe also point to a high vulnerability of youth to workplace accidents.

Similarly, children have higher rates of injury and death at work than adults, a substantial number of children experience long working hours that significantly increases the risk of injury, the largest number of children in hazardous work is found in Asia and the Pacific, according to the report.

However, the largest proportion of children in hazardous work relative to the overall number of children in the region is in sub-Saharan Africa. “Most of the decline in the total numbers of children in hazardous work is among girls, over 60 per cent of children in hazardous work are boys, hazardous work is more commonly found in agriculture including fishing, forestry, livestock-herding and aquaculture in addition to subsistence and commercial farming,” the ILO report added. “While there is a need to strengthen workplace safety and health for all workers, specific safeguards for adolescents between the minimum age of employment and the age of 18 are needed.

These measures need to be part of a comprehensive approach in which employer and worker organisations and the labour inspectorate have particularly critical parts to play.

So far 173 of ILO’s 183 me-mber states have committed to tackling hazardous work by children ‘as a matter of urgency’ by ratifying ILO Convention No 182 — on the worst forms of child labour — that refers to hazardous work as work that harms he-alth, safety and morals.

Published on: 13 June 2011 | The Himalayan Times