Gov’t steps up drive vs child labor

By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star), with Rainier Allan Ronda, Jan. 14, 2017

To boost the fight against child labor, the multi-agency National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) launched yesterday three major initiatives to keep children out of the workplace. File photo
MANILA, Philippines – To boost the fight against child labor, the multi-agency National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) launched yesterday three major initiatives to keep children out of the workplace.

The programs launched include CARING-Gold Project of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and BanToxics, which calls for the reduction of child labor in gold mining; Strategic Help Desks for Information, Education, Livelihood and other Developmental Interventions or SHIELD, and the Module on Child Labor for the Family Development Sessions in line with the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The convergence program dubbed “Makiisa para sa #1MBatangMalaya: We are one with the children in ending child labor” aims to achieve a child labor-free Philippines by 2025.

The NCLC is composed of the Departments of Labor and Employment, Social Welfare and Development, Education, Environment and Natural Resources, International Labor Organization (ILO) and non-government organizations.

According to Khalid Hassan, director of the ILO country office for the Philippines, child labor is “complex and deeply rooted in poverty.”

“Children suffer and risk their health or even their lives to work for their family’s survival. Ending child labor requires strong commitment and collective effort,” Hassan said.

Based on the 2011 Survey on Children, there are 2.1 million Filipino children in the informal labor force.

Data of the US Department of Labor in 2015 showed that the Philippines made significant advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. But despite progress, enforcement of child labor laws remains a challenge.

Labor Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod said comprehensive actions must be done to help the parents of child laborers.

Maglunsod noted that child laborers are compelled to help augment their families’ meager incomes by engaging in hazardous work.

“Eliminating child labor is a challenge that requires collective action and close cooperation of different actors – government agencies, civil society organizations, local government units, media, parents and the children themselves,” he said.

As the chair agency of the NCLC, DOLE has committed to intensify the campaign against child labor.

The worst forms of child labor in the Philippines include work exposure to physical and psychological abuse, forced domestic work and commercial sexual exploitation as well as the procurement or offering of a child for illicit activities, particularly in drug trade and production. –