12to12 to End Child Labour - The Community Portal

Did you know that  around the world, agriculture is the sector where by far the largest share of child labourers is found – nearly 60 percent?

In fact, more than 129 million girls and boys aged 5 to 17 years old work in the agriculture sector, which includes crop and livestock production as well as foresty and fishing activities. Agriculture is one of the three most dangerous sectors in terms of work-related fatalities, non-fatal accidents and occupational diseases, and approximately 59 percent (or 70 million) of all children in hazardous work aged 5–17 are in agriculture.

It is important to note that not all activities that children participate in within this sector are considered as "child labour." Some participation in family farm activities can teach children valuable life skills, build pride and self-esteem, and contribute to family income and livlihoods. Children, should not, however, participate in hazardous activities that may harm their safety, health, morals or developmental well-being. 

To tackle the pressing issue of child labour in agriculture and support decent work initiatives for youth in this sector, the ILO developed a global, inter-agency advocacy team of labour and agriculture stakeholders. Since 2007, the International partnership for cooperation on child labour in agriculture (IPCCLA) has brought together the ILO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), (formerly) the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), and the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF). 

IPCCLA supports collaboration between labour and agriculture stakeholders to better address child labour in agriculture. Knowledge exchange and policy collaboration between labour and agriculture organization are key to ground policy and legislation on child labour to the rural economy. Collaborating with ministries of labour, ministries of agriculture, departments of fisheries and forestry, agricultural extension services, farmers' organizations and cooperatives, agricultural producer organizations and agricultural research bodies, agricultural workers unions, bring together very different areas of technical expertise and understanding of child labour issues. A multidisciplinary perspective provides innovative solutions to promote child labour elimination and decent work for adults as part of sustainable agriculture.

Specifically, the IPCCLA aims to:

• promote cooperation and programme and policy coherence on child labour among the Partners, especially at national level
• mainstream child labour into existing activities of agricultural organizations and help raising awareness on how child labour elimination contributes to achieving organizational mandates of agricultural organizations;
• promote action and cooperation to improve rural livelihoods and alternative income-generating activities, and to ensure that children do not carry out hazardous work in agriculture;
• promote opportunities for decent youth employment in agriculture and in rural areas.

Are you interested in learning more about child labour, youth employment and decent work in various agriculture sub-sectors? If so, visit the FAO-ILO Working Together webpage - "Food, Agriculture and Decent Work" - which is continually updated with new information and IPCCLA activities:  http://www.fao-ilo.org/fao-ilo-child

A Pictorial report on the art murals mini-programme implemented by Child – TO – Child Programme of kyambogo university

Are you a small business or micro-enterprise owner? Are you interested in the health and well-being of your workers, especially young workers? Whether you are in fact a small business owner, part of an employer's organization, or are just interested in occupational safety and health promotion for young people in the workplace, a new, innovative handbook has just been published and is accessible online, free of charge. It is entitled "Growing Up Protected: A Handbook for the Protection of Adolescent Workers."

This handbook is the result of technical cooperation between International Labour Organization's (ILO) Bureau for Employer's Activities (ACT-EMP) and its International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and the Children Safety Association (ACHS). It was created for micro-enterprises and small businesses and seeks to raise awareness about occupational safety and health for young workers while promoting compliance with applicable labour laws.

Adolescent workers (aged 15 to 17) deserve specific attention as they often "slip through the cracks" in regards to occupational safety and health regulation and enforcement. In fact, while hazardous work of children has decreased overall, hazardous work is actually increasing among adolescent workers. Within four years (2004-2008), the number of adolescent workers aged 15 to 17 increased by 20 percent - jumping from 52 million to 62 million worldwide (ILO, 2010). 

This shocking trend demands effective and targeted solutions in order to protect the health, safety and morals of our future generation. One such solution can be found in awareness raising and capacity development initiatives, such as the development of this type of handbook. 

We invite you to use this handbook and to distribute it widely throughout your professional networks, particularly to micro-enterprises, small business owners, employers and producers organizations, and to anyone that may interact with adolescent workers. 

For more information about this new publication, and to download your own copy or specific chapters, please visit: http://ww3.achs.cl/segurito/GACREPORTE/manual/en/index.php/context

Source:

ILO (2010). Global child labour developments: Measuring trends from 2004 to 2008 (Geneva, ILO). 

Did you know that hazardous work is one of the worst forms of child labour? Sadly, more than half (53%, or 115 million) of the 215 million child labourers worldwide are caught in hazardous work. This is work that is detrimental to the health, safety and morals of developing children (ILO, 2011). 

The World Day Against Child Labour 2011 brought much needed attention to this urgent issue for good reason. Hazardous work is actually increasing for children between 15 and 17 years old. Within four years, this figure increased by 20% - jumping from 52 million to 62 million (ILO, 2010). Research from industrialized countries has shown that children have higher rates of injury and death at work than adults, thus emphasizing the particular vulnerabilities that children face when exposed to occupational hazards (ILO, 2011)..  

To complement the awareness raising activities of The World Day 2011, the ILO published a special report entitled: "Children in hazardous work: What we know, what we need to do." 

This report reviews the current knowledge base on the hazardous work of children and presents the case for a new focus on the issue as part of the wider global effort to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. The report highlights recent global trends while summarizing the scientific evidence related to the health of working children and adolescents. The report further identifies key challenges not only in understanding the effects of hazardous work on childhood development, but also in preventing hazardous occupational exposures for children. The report features good practice approaches of various stakeholder groups that have demonstrated the potential to be scaled up and discusses the importance of an integrated policy response to the issue. For this reason, this report is valuable for all individuals interested in protecting the developmental well-being of children: from workers and employers organizations, to community activists, NGOs, national governments, human rights groups, students, and countless others. 

To access this publication in English, Spanish and French, please visit: http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/viewProduct.do?productId=17035

Source:

ILO (2010). Global child labour developments: Measuring trends from 2004 to 2008 (Geneva, ILO). 

ILO (2011). Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do (Geneva, ILO). 

Fishing is one of the most hazardous occupational sectors, particularly for developing children and adolescents. Worldwide, it is estimated that 132 million girls and boys work in the agriculture sector, which includes children working in fisheries and aquaculture. 

This sector contains various hazardous activities. Activities can range from dock work, hauling and carrying heavy nets, maintaining vessels, cleaning and processing fish, line fishing, diving, selling fish, as well as many others. These tasks may involve long hours, extreme environmental exposures, hauling heavy loads, use of sharp tools, night work and psychosocial stressors. In addition, many children who work aboard large fishing vessels spent long periods of time away from their families and from school. Girls tend to be more often involved in post-harvest work, while boys mostly undertake work related to catching fish. Therefore, hazards may be quite different for girls and boys in this sector due to the gender division of labour. 

Most experts agree that child labour in fishing is a significant problem. However, information gaps exist in terms of the best practices in addressing this pressing issue. 

For this reason, the ILO and FAO have developed a draft document specifically aimed at addressing child labour in this sector, entitled: "FAO-ILO Good Practice Guide for Addressing Child Labour and Fisheries and Aquaculture: Policy and Practice." This document aims to help policy makers and government authorities tackle this growing danger for vulnerable children worldwide. The two organizations are currently seeking feedback on this document as a final version is scheduled to be published later this year. 

This document is currently available for public comment until April 30 2012. All feedback can be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More information can be found at the FAO media center: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/117475/icode/