Child Labor

Definition of Child Labor International Labour Organization(ILO) Con

ventions138(1973) and 182(1999) Worst forms of child labor:

enslaved, forcibly recruited, prostituted, trafficked, forced into illegal activities, exposed to hazards

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Definition of Child LaborAge Hour of

economic workHour of

domestic work

5-11 1 28

12-14 14 28

15-17 43 43

Agriculture 150 million (69%) Pesticide exposure Injuries and Disabilities Water and Sanitation Ill-treatment and Sexual Harassment Impact on Education Wages

Bonded Child Labor Family received advance payment to hand

a boy or girl over to an employer Debt unable to be paid

India’s silk industry

My sister is ten years old. Every morning at seven she goes to the bonded labor man, and every night at nine she comes home. He treats her badly; he hits her if he thinks she is working slowly or if she talks to the other children, he yells at her, he comes looking for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this is very difficult for her.

I don't care about school or playing. I don't care about any of that. All I want is to bring my sister home from the bonded labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home-that is our only chance to get her back.

We don't have 600 rupees . . . we will never have 600 rupees.

-Lakshmi, nine year-old beedi (cigarette) roller, Tamil Nadu. Six hundred rupees is the equivalent of approximately $17.2

Domestic Work Mostly female Physical, psychological, sexual abuse Non-payment of wages Long working hours, no rest days El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, Indonesia,

Malaysia, Morocco, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Togo, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States

UNICEF in Action India Morocco Senegal

Poverty and debt reduction Education

Discussion Questions: Under what circumstances and conditions should children wo

rk? What is the nature of work conducted by children in different

parts of the world? How do we draw the boundaries between what we do and do

not allow children to do? What role should the nations of the world play in controlling c

hild labor? What alternatives to work do children have and how are thes

e alternatives decided from nation to nation?