Explained: What is Child Labour, the practice which snatches away innocent childhood of children?

New Delhi: Child Labour has been practiced since the age-old times in the world. It is a practice that takes away the innocence and childhood from the children, putting their present and future at risk. According to the International Labor Organisation (ILO), all work done by children or laborious work involving children can be classified as child labour.

However, the children who have passed the minimum age of admission to employment and whose work does not cause harm to their physical and mental well-being or interfere with their education should not be classified as child labour. Rather, it can be considered something positive which includes activities like assisting in the family business, earning pocket money after school hours or during summer break, and thus leading to skill enhancement and gaining experience.

What is the definition of child labour?

According to ILO, child labour is considered as “the work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or interferes with their schooling—depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely, or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.”

Every child has the right to live a free and safe childhood.
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We’re doubling down on efforts to end #childlabour. Explore ways to get involved: https://t.co/MnEMCpufWH #EndChildLabour2021 pic.twitter.com/uIxV8YL95V

— ILO EAST AFRICA (@ILO_EASTAFRICA) June 9, 2021

However, we cannot consider all the work done by children as child labour. This limit varies from country to country. It includes the laws against child labour, the hours of work performed, the minimum age of admission to employment, the condition of working, and others.

What are the worst forms of child labour?

Article 3 of the International Labor Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 182 defines the worst forms of child labour as, “all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, debt bondage; compulsory or forced labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children in armed conflict; prostitution or pornography; and the use, procuring, or offering of a child for illicit activities like drug trafficking.”

Is it prevalent in a particular sector?

Child Labour is not restricted to any particular industry. Moreover, it can be witnessed in quite a several sectors namely agriculture, that is, farming, fishing, forestry, and livestock; the use of children in armed conflicts by armed forces and groups; commercial sexual exploitation; domestic work; mining, and quarrying, and others.

Region-specific data

Asia: Several factors lead to child labour and exploitation namely poverty, social norms, migrations, and the absence/ lack of decent jobs for adults. As per the UNICEF study, the inequalities based on gender, socioeconomic status, caste, race, and ethnicity create vulnerabilities and expose children to practices such as child labour.

Africa: ILO estimated that more than 72 million children in the sub-African region account for approximately one in every five children affected by child labour. According to UNICEF, some factors like the rising population, extreme poverty, recurring political and social crisis, and inadequate social protection measures have resulted in additional 17 million children in child labour in the sub-African region over the last four years.

Middle-East: “Child Labor in the Arab Region: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis” – a report established by the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Arab Council for Childhood Development (ACCD) gives a detailed analysis of the trend of child labour in the Arab region. The study notified that child labour has become the predominant mechanism for families to cope with conflicts, mass displacement, and extreme poverty.

Covid-19’s influence 

The UNICEF and ILO reported that globally the number of children involved in child labour has increased to 160 million, with a significant increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years.

During the pandemic, thousands of children dropped out of school with increased food insecurity, loss of their primary caregivers, and an unprecedented economic crisis that forced the children to get involved in work for their survival or to support their families.

Further, UNICEF promotes “multisectoral approach” to eliminate child labour. This includes programmes like education, social protection, and child rights protection. It focuses on promoting responsible business practices for children and calls for prioritizing action against all the worst forms of child labour and monitoring the situation.