2. 2
What is Child Labour?
• It is workthat children should not be doing because they are too young to work, or– if they are old enough to work– because it is dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for them
• Not all workdone by children should be classified as child labourto be eliminated. Some types of work, e.g. earning pocket money during school holidays, can be beneficial to a child’s development
• Whether or not particularforms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of workperformed and the conditions under which it is performed, as set out in the ILO Conventions
3. 3
Causes of Child Labour
• Poverty
• Culture and tradition
• Barriers to education
• Market demand
• The effects of income shocks on households
• Lackof legislation and/or poor enforcement of existing legislation
4. 4
Consequences of Child Labour
• Deprives themof schooling orrequires themto assume the multiple burdenof schooling and work
• Jeopardises theirhealth and safety – high riskof illness and injury…even death
• Affects theirphysical development (malnutrition, long working hours inbad conditions)
• Exposes themto physical and psychological abuse and violence whichall have long termconsequences
• Deprives themof their childhoodand of theirfuture
5. 5
Magnitude of the problemMagnitude of the problem
Child labourin the world
215,000,000
Child labourers,
5-17 years old
115,000,000
Engaged in hazardous
work, 5-17 years old
6. 6
6
Global trends in child labour (age group 5-17, million)
245.5
222.3
215.3
210
215
220
225
230
235
240
245
250
2000 2004 2008
Year
Million
7. 7
7
Global trends in child labour (age group 5-17, percentage)
16.0
13.6
14.2
13.0
13.5
14.0
14.5
15.0
15.5
16.0
16.5
2000 2004 2008
Year
%
8. 8
8
Global trends in hazardous work (age group 5-17, million)
170.5
128.4
115.3
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
2000 2004 2008
Year
Million
9. 9
9
Global trends in hazardous work (age group 5-17, percentage)
11.1
8.2
7.3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2000 2004 2008
Year
%
10. 10
10
Global trends in child labour, by sex (age group 5-17, million)
132.2
119.6
127.8
113.3
102.7
87.5
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
2000 2004 2008
Year
Million
Boys Girls
11. 11
11
Global trends in child labour by sex (age group 5-17, percentage)
16.8%
14.9%
15.6%
15.2%
13.5%
11.4%
10.0%
11.0%
12.0%
13.0%
14.0%
15.0%
16.0%
17.0%
18.0%
2000 2004 2008
Year
%
Boys Girls
12. 12
12
Children in employment (aged group 5-14, million)
127
17
48
122
11
49
96
10
58
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Asia and the Pacific Latin America and the
Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
Region
Million
2000 2004 2008
13. 13
13
Children in employment (aged group 5-14, percentage)
19.1 18.8
14.8; Asia and the
Pacific,
10.0
16.1
9.0; Latin America
and the Caribbean
26.4
28.8 28.4; Sub-Saharan
Africa
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2000 2004 2008
Year
%
14. 14
Magnitude of the problemMagnitude of the problem
Sectoral distribution of
working children, 2008
60.0%
25.5%
7.0%
7.5%
Agriculture
Services
Industry
Not Defined
15. 15
Practical ActionPractical Action
ILOConventions and Declaration:
ILOMinimumAge
Convention No. 138,
1973
→ requires a national
policy for the elimination
of child labour
→ requires a
specification of a
minimum age
Ratified by: 156 of the
183 ILO member States
ILO Worst Forms of Child
LabourConvention No.
182, 1999
→ requires governments to
take immediate and
effective measures to
prohibit and eliminate the
worst forms of child labour
as a priority (art. 1)
Ratified by: 173 of the ILO
member States
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work
19. 19
Practical ActionPractical Action
Projects supporting direct interventions for
at-riskchildren, child labourers, theirfamilies
and communities, including:
• Community mobilisation and awareness
raising
• Withdrawal and rehabilitation services
• Provision of education (formal and non-
formal) and vocational training
• Economic empowerment of targeted
families
• Local child labour monitoring, involving the
local community in identifying child labourers
and linking them to appropriate services
20. 20
Practical ActionPractical Action
Achieving the elimination of the worst forms
of child labourby 2016 – the ILO’s three
pronged strategy
• Supporting national responses to child labour, in
particular, through effective mainstreaming of child
labour concerns in national development and policy
framework
• Deepening and strengthening the worldwide
movement; and
• Promoting further integration of child labour
concerns within overall ILO policies
21. 21
Practical ActionPractical Action
The 2010 ILO Global Report: Accelerating
action against child labour
• Child labour continues to decline, but progress is
too slow and too uneven
• Significant acceleration and upscaling of action is
needed to achieve the 2016 goal
• Critical policy areas: education, social protection,
decent work for adults
The Hague 2010 Global Child LabourConference –
Roadmap adopted setting out priority actions for
ways to accelerate action and to increase
collaboration to achieve the 2016 goal