Stopping child labour Protecting young workers

1. Stopping child labourProtecting young workers HEALTH IS THE ENTRY POINT

2. 170 million young children (<14) are working when they should be in school 62 million older children (15-17) are also considered child labour because they are doing dangerous work Older children could be in legal youth employment if the work could be made safer and be monitored Did you know that

4. What people tend to forget is: • A child is a child up to age 18, not 14 or 15 as many people assume. International law calls for special protection for persons under 18. • On the job, children have higher rates of injury than adult workers. • A child is not just a small adult. S/He is in a rapid state of physical, mental, social, and intellectual development so they require more water, sleep.

5. Children are at higher risk also because • They have thinner skin, so toxics are more easily absorbed • Breathe faster and more deeply, so they inhale more dust and airborne pathogens • Dehydrate more easily due to their larger skin surface • Absorb and retain heavy metals in the brain more easily • Have less experience and so lack judgment • Lack status so cannot speak out about their rights

6. A new analysis of ILO data shows … • 10-20 children suffer work-related injuries every minute • relative risk of work-related injuries • is about 1.7 times higher among young boys than young girls. • about twice more among children working long hours (>43 hrs/wk) than those working <43 hrs • children working for pay outside their family environment are about twice as likely to suffer work-related injuries than those working with their parents. • Children who have worked only a short time, seem to have more injuries and more severe injuries

7. What is hazardous work? ILO Recommendation 190 says:

8. “work which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse;

9. “work underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces;”

10. “work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools”

11. “work which involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads;

12. “work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their health

13. “work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or during the night or work where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the employer.”

14. To stop child labour & protect youth A mix of several strategies is required: • Background research, statistics • Policy, legislation, national planning • Advocacy and awareness-raising • Building institutional and technical capacity • Providing children with schooling, health care and other services • Socio-economic empowerment of families • Child labour monitoring & reporting

15. What is child labour monitoring? CLM answers the question: • How do you find working children? • What do you do when you find them?

16. CLM is … a system for periodically checking places where child labour may be found and then taking action according to the age and needs of the child. CLM identifieschild labourers and, in the case of working age youth, assesses the risks towhich they are exposed, CLM refers these children to school and, if necessary, other services and, in the case of working age youth, advises on how workplace risks can be reduced or managed CLM documents the action taken and reports it to the labour inspectorate or other proper authority

17. What is the system used for? • Increasing surveillance in the INFORMAL ECONOMY -- workplaces which labour inspectors often can’t adequately cover, e.g.: • Fields, farms, forests • Streets and street-based services • Small workshops and unregistered factories • Homes and home-based workshops

18. CLM is done by trained community monitors backed by an official committee Representatives from departments of: labour social welfare police education Local Action Committee Labour Inspector Monitor Monitor Monitor

19. Side benefits of CLM • Creates a framework in which a variety of partners can work together • Is a way to get workers’ and employers’ organizations involved in a meaningful way • Creates information on child labour that will help government in planning, allocating resources, and reporting to the ILO Committee of Experts • Strengthens the labour inspectorate

20. If PPEs are necessary, it indicates that the work is too dangerous for those under 18 years. Because: They are too big They give a false sense of security They are not “cool” and so not systematically used Special cautions for working children

21. Long hours are probably the main source of danger and injury of working youth. Children require more sleep than adults Children who are tired will not do well in school, thus perpetuating the problem of child labour for another generation. Special cautions for working children…

22. For more information • Safe Work for Youth kit includes materials and factsheets for: • employers, • youth, and • project managers • See “Children in Hazardous Work: what we know, what we need to do” (ILO report 2011)