‘’There is no place for child labour in society. It robs children of their future and keeps families in poverty.’’ Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General
Children are future citizens of the Nation and their adequate development is the utmost priority of the country. Unfortunately, child labour engulfs children across the world. However, despite its menace in various forms, the data shows variation in prevalence of child labour across the globe and the statistical figures about child labour are very alarming. There are an estimated 186 million child labourers worldwide. Many children are “hidden workers” working in homes or in the underground economy. Child labour violates human rights, and is in contravention of the International Labour Organization. About one-third of children of the developing world are failing to complete even 4 years of education.
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-mental development. It refers to 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. The statistical figures about child workers in the world have variation because of the differences in defining categories of age group and engagement of children in the formal and informal sector.
Child labour continues to be a great concern in many parts of the world. In 2008, some 60% of the 215 million boys and girls were estimated to be child labourers worldwide. Major engagement was in the agriculture sector, followed by fisheries, aquaculture, livestock and forestry. In addition to work that interferes with schooling and is harmful to personal development, many of these children work in hazardous occupations or activities that are harmful. Incidentally, 96% of the child workers are in the developing countries of Africa, Asia and South America. With respect to the child workers between the ages of 5 and 14, Asia makes up 61% of child workers in developing countries, while Africa has 32% and Latin America 7%. Further, while Asia has the highest number of child workers, Africa has the highest prevalence of child labour (40%).
COVID-19 AND CHILD LABOUR
The COVID-19 crisis has brought additional poverty to these already vulnerable populations and may reverse years of progress in the fight against child labour. School closures have aggravated the situation and many millions of children are working to contribute to the family income. The pandemic has also made women, men and children more vulnerable to exploitation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably worsened the situation, but joint and decisive action can reverse this trend.
LAW AND CHILD LABOUR
The policy curbing child labour exists but lack of enforcement of labour restrictions perpetuates child labour. This is manifested in variation in minimum age restriction in different types of employment. The International Labour Office reports that children work the longest hours and are the worst paid of all labourers. For this purpose, “child” means a person who has not completed his 14th year of age. The Law prohibits employment of children in certain specified hazardous occupations and processes and regulates the working conditions in others.
FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR
Children are employed in both formal and informal sectors. Among the occupations wherein children are engaged in work are construction work, domestic work and small-scale industries. Incidentally, agriculture is not only the oldest but also the most common child occupation worldwide. Some of the industries that depend on child labour are bangle-making, beedi-making, power looms and manufacturing processes. These industries use toxic metals and substances such as lead, mercury, manganese, chromium, cadmium, benzene, pesticides and asbestos. Child labour is very harmful and wholehearted efforts to eliminate this should be done.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOUR
The negative impact on the physiological and psychological levels of children includes specific concerns of child labour and its consequences on mental health. It is worth noting that one-third of children in the developing world are failing to complete even 4 years of education. The analysis of factors leading to engagement of children in hazardous factors elucidated socioeconomic factors as one of the important determinants. Poverty is considered as one of the contributory factors in child labour.
Mental well being is less frequently researched in child labour. A retrospective cohort study in Morocco randomly examined 200 children working in the handicraft sector and found a high prevalence of respiratory, digestive and skin conditions, as well as mental health presentations such as migraines, insomnia, irritability, enuresis and asthenia.
In a cross-sectional survey, urban Lebanese children aged 10–17, working full-time in small industrial shops, were compared with non-working matched school children. Majority of them had poor physical health, predominantly marked with skin lesions or ear complaints and social care needs. Similarly, authors aimed to find out consequences in children in Lebanon exposed to solvents, and found significantly higher rates of light-headedness, fatigue, impaired memory and depression compared with a non-exposed group. A cross-sectional study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, used diagnostic interviews to assess prevalence of mental disorders in 528 child labourers and street workers, child domestics and private enterprise workers aged between 5 and 15 years. The prevalence of mental disorders was noted to be as high as 20.1% compared with 12.5% in the general population. Further study to establish the association between labour-related variables and mental health problems was carried out among 780 children engaged in labour (aged 9–18 years) in the Gaza Strip. Mental health problems of children in labour were likely to be associated with socioeconomic determinants as well as factors related to their underage employment.
The physical and social consequences are deliberated by researchers; however, the mental health area has not been explored so much.
INTERVENTION AND CHILD LABOUR
Education is a very important part of development.
We know that poverty often pushes children to work, yet when children leave school early to enter the labour force they are more likely to end up in occupations that limit their chances of breaking out of poverty.
Children who are drawn to child labour are basically driven because of economic deprivation, lack of schooling and engagement of family for daily needs. Studies have found low enrolment with increased rates of child employment. Rural working children tend to be among the most disadvantaged.
Boys and girls often do different jobs. Girls are usually overrepresented in non-economic activities such as work in their “own household“. They also often bear the double burden of work outside and inside the house, often with little time left for schooling.
For children who manage to combine work and education, performance at school often suffers.
Schools are the platform for early intervention against child labour, as it restricts their participation in menial jobs. Hurdles in this approach are economic reasons. Unless economic change is brought about, the children will not be able to attend the school.
- Child labour can be controlled by economic development increasing awareness and making education affordable across all levels, and enforcement of anti child labour laws.
- Many organizations are also working on eradicating child labour but no one knows so increasing awareness about those organizations can also help in eradicating child labour.
- Being vigilant and reporting abuse of child labour will also help in child labour eradication.
CONCLUSION
Poverty is one of the important factors for this problem. Hence, enforcement alone cannot help solve it.
The Government has been laying a lot of emphasis on the rehabilitation of these children and on improving the economic conditions of their families.
The child labour can be stopped when knowledge is translated into legislation and action, moving good intention and ideas into protecting the health of the children. The endurance of young children is higher and they cannot protest against discrimination.
Focusing on grassroots strategies to mobilize communities against child labour and reintegration of child workers into their homes and schools has proven crucial to breaking the cycle of child labour.
A multidisciplinary approach involving specialists with medical, psychological and socio-anthropological levels is needed to curb this evil.
