Kids in dangerous jobs

More than 215 million children worldwide are working, and over half of them are involved in hazardous jobs, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a new report.

In the Philippines, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said separately, around three million children were engaged in hazardous work in 2011, representing more than half of the total 5.49 million working children aged 5 to 17 in the country.

The ILO’s World Report on Child Labor released Monday said that between 2000 and 2008, the number of child laborers around the globe actually fell by around 30 million.

While this is seen as an improvement, various economic and social factors continue to promote child labor worldwide, the ILO report said.

The study said that there is substantial evidence that poverty and economic shocks play key roles in driving children to work.

“It is abundantly clear from this evidence that continued progress against child labor will require national policies that help to make households less vulnerable to the effects of poverty and economic shocks,” the ILO said.

“Establishing national social protection floors as a fundamental element of national social security systems is particularly important in this context,” it added.

In the Philippines, the NSO earlier reported that children engaged in hazardous work comprise about 10 percent of the more than 29 million children in the country in 2011 aged 5 to 17.

Because of this, groups advocating for children’s rights in the Philippines have come together through a nationwide campaign called “Bata Muna,” which is aimed at advancing children’s issues in the heart of electoral discussions in the 2013 national elections.

According to the groups, aspiring leaders must bare their plans to help the country achieve its commitment to reduce the number of children engaged in the worst form of child labor by at least 75 percent in 2015.

“Hazardous work harms children’s health, safety or morals such as the case of children working in mines and deep sea fishing. They may be directly exposed to hazards such as sharp tools or poisonous chemicals,” Anna Lindenfors, country director of Save the Children in the Philippines, said.

“While other hazards for child laborers may be less apparent such as the risk of abuse or problems resulting from long hours of work — still these put children in vulnerable situations,” Lindenfors added.

A survey conducted by a children’s group in Caloocan City called Children Youth Organization also showed that 50 percent of children in their community who are engaged in collecting paper and plastic scraps in the streets to earn money belong to big families and have four to six siblings.

More than half of them are aware that child labor is prohibited under Philippine law, yet 72 percent of them still choose to work to augment the earnings of their family.

These children also complain of getting tired, getting bruises, and being ashamed and are envious of other children who don’t work as they do.

Advocates are hoping that the next set of leaders will help keep children out of hazardous jobs, by providing more decent and productive employment for their parents.

“The next leaders of this country must recognize and address the root causes of child labor. We cannot effectively address the problem of child labor unless decent work is made available to parents and caretakers,” said Magnolia Jacinto, acting regional coordinator of Asia Against Child Trafficking.

“If the employment opportunities are addressed, children will no longer be forced to work and will remain in school,” Jacinto added. –ANGELA CELIS, Malaya