Over 2M Pinoy kids have hazardous jobs

Over 2 million Filipino children are working under hazardous conditions nationwide, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In the final results of the latest Survey on Children (SOC), the PSA reported that Filipinos aged 5 to 17 who are in dangerous occupations in the country reached 2.05 million, accounting for 61.9 percent of the total number of working children.

SOC data showed that there were 3.3 million working children nationwide. They accounted for 12.4 percent of the estimated
26.6 million children 5 to 17 years old in the country.

“Hazardous work is an employment or work where a child is exposed to any risk, which constitutes an
imminent danger or likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of young persons,” the
PSA said.

“Work performed in an unhealthy and unsafe environment exposes the child to hazardous working condition such as extreme temperatures, hazardous elements, substances or to biological agents, such as bacteria, fungi and other parasites,” it added.

Data showed that 66.7 percent of children working in hazardous conditions nationwide are males, while the remaining 33.3 percent are females.

Around 59.7 percent of the total number of children in dangerous occupations is between the ages 15 and 17. Around 33.8 percent are aged 10 to 14, and 6.6 percent are 5 to 9 years old. Data also showed that Central Luzon and Bicol accounted for the largest number of children engaged in hazardous employment at 10.6 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively.

The PSA said Cordillera and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao both accounted for a 2 percent share of these young workers, the lowest nationwide.

The data was obtained from the 2011 SOC, a nationwide survey designed to collect data on the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of working children 5 to 17 years old.

The survey is a rider to the October 2011 Labor Force Survey. It covered about 50,000 sample households using the PSA 2003 Master Sample Design, with the 17 administrative regions ast domains.

The survey involves the collection of data through personal interviews with the household as the reporting unit. This means statistics obtained from the survey refer to the characteristics of the population residing in private households. –Cai Ordinario, Businessmirror