Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labour

Delegates at the Inter-sectoral workshop on Eliminating the
Worst Forms of Child Labour 

“If a 14 year old boy came up to an employer asking for a job because he has not eaten in over a week, is there an ethical dilemma to employ that child”?

This question was asked this week at the ASEAN Inter-Sectoral Workshop on Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labour (EWFCL).  Asia Pacific countries contribute over 78 million boys and girls who are forced into work due to a combination of social, cultural and economic factors that deprive them of a childhood, dignity and education. While this figure has fallen from 114 million since 2000, the worst forms of Child Labour persist because these children are hidden in informal sectors as unpaid family workers in the agriculture sector,  as domestic workers in service industries or as street children.

As a member of a social organization representing the Street Children of Indonesa, this is an important issue, as street children are particularly vulnerable to being caught up in exploitative and physically hazardous work that deprives them of a life without choice and opportunity. This issue effects millions of children across Indonesia, not just those working in the streets of Jakarta.  

The ethical dilemma above, of a child needing work to survive  or to support their family, illustrates that the worst forms of child labour cannot be solved by a single narrow approach. The first step is identifying that the problem exists. The 9 ASEAN countries at the workshop understand that you cannot solve this problem until you have documented and researched the number of children working in forced labour.  

You also cannot eliminate child labour by focusing on economic growth alone. The solution lies in a holistic multi-pronged response from government, employers and workers.

You cannot only legislate minimum age requirements for work unless you also target the attitudes of businesses so that Corporate Social Responsibility in regards to child labour is mainstreamed from the top all the way down the  supply chain.

You cannot ensure the legal compliance of formal and informal businesses across remote and hard to reach provinces unless you also change the attitudes of parents and communities who send their children to work at the expense of receiving an education.

You cannot only legislate for compulsory primary and secondary education without legislating against the social and environmental deprivations that prevent children from attending school.

Street Children are forced to work or beg on the streets not just because they cannot access affordable education, but also because they are deprived of basic social protections such as clean water, nutrition and a hygienic living environment. The social contract that a government must provide these minimum conditions does not yet exist in Indonesa. Social protections including health waivers, Rice for the Poor, Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers, scholarships and the elimination of informal school fees are promising policy initiatives that can improve access to education. Unless these deprivations are addressed, students will continue to drop out of school, especially once they have completed their Primary education.

The Inter-Sectoral Workshop demonstrated that there are solutions to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. It requires a sharpened focus on this issue by national governments and continued pressure from society to lobby, campaign and advocate for change so that the ethical dilemma above no longer exists.

For more information about EWFCL go to the International Labour Organisation website.