SOUTH ASIA Vulnerability of Children in the Labor Market Child Labor Sherin Khan Senior Specialist on Child Labor ILO DWT for South Asia SOUTH ASIA LABOR CONFERENCE (24 – 26 April 2014, Lahore)
+ 2 We will look at Trends – South Asia Children in Employment Legal Framework – defining Children’s Labor Market Participation ts ment Rights ion Action to End Child Labor ctio lopment tect rote Pro Develo stice Challenges and Learning from South Asia al Justice cent Work my D Economy y Decent cial Soci t rket E rity man Right curit r Mark ce Secu Human Labor Peace 2
+ Regional Trends 40% 52% 34% 60% Number of children in child labour , 6% 5-17 years, by region, 2008-2012 8% ts ment Rights ion ctio lopment tect rote Pro Develo stice al Justice cent Work my D Economy y Decent cial Soci t rket E rity man Right curit r Mark ce Secu Human Labor Peace www.ilo.org/ipec International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour 3
Children’s employment + 4 It is not the entire story on child labor The percentage of 7 to 17 year old children in employment ranges widely across South Asia and direct inter-country comparisons are difficult Children 1,586,288,000 Not all employment below 18 yrs is child labor, and Not all child labor is reported in children’s employment statistics Child labor is often the missing part of the labour market storyboard ts ment Rights ion Of 4 countries with comparable data, the employment ratio (%) is: ctio lopment tect 7-17yrs 7-14 yrs rote Pro Develo Bangladesh 17.5 11.6 stice al Justice cent Work my D Sri Lanka 16.6 10.7 Economy y Decent India 6.7 2.5 cial Soci Bhutan 6.3 4.6 t rket E rity man Right curit Large number of children are reported as neither in education nor in employment r Mark ce Secu Currently, national statistical surveys in South Asia do not capture children’s Human Labor Peace Participation adequately. 5
Current status of Children’s + 5 participation in the labour market Agriculture: relentless in employment of children Absorbs the highest percentage of children in employment in every Children 1,586,288,000 South Asian country for which data is available Rural children continue to be at a greater disadvantage ts ment Rights Are more likely to work, less likely to attend school and more likely to ion be inactive across much of South Asia ctio lopment tect rote Family labor is high on the scale across the region Pro Develo Accounts for a significant percentage of employment; declines as stice al Justice children get older cent Work my D Economy Gender: Girls’ vulnerability is a stubborn reality of great concern y Decent cial Soci The activities of millions of South Asian children, mostly girls, rural residents, and youth are not captured in national statistics and reflected t rket E rity man Right curit as inactive (neither in school nor work) r Mark ce Secu __________________ Human Labor Peace Note: Based on data analysis of South Asian countries except Afghanistan – 2005 to 2008
+ 6 The missing link in a life-cycle approach to employment From child labor to inactive youth to adults with decent work deficits Children 1,586,288,000 The outcome for millions of children who transition to youth from child labor is a world without decent work ts ment Rights ion Child labor reduces chances for education; increases vulnerabilities ctio lopment caused by skills mismatch and under-skilling tect rote Pro Mandated and enforced free and compulsory education has been Develo stice slow in taking root in South Asia – Bangladesh (1990); Sri Lanka (1998); al Justice cent Work my D India (2009). Economy y Decent cial Almost 100 million South Asian youth, over 31 per cent of the total, Soci are unemployed or inactive t rket E rity man Right curit South Asian women alone account for over one quarter of the world’s r Mark ce Secu inactive youth Human Labor Peace 6
Human man Right t Soci cial al Justice stice Pro rote tect ctio ion + Labor r Mark rket E Economy my D Develo lopment ment Rights ts Peace ce Secu curit rity y Decent cent Work Defining Children’s Labour Market Participation Legal Framework 2 7 7
UN/ILO Conventions: Protecting + Children from Child Labour Children be protected from economic UN Convention exploitation and work on the Rights ts ment Rights that threatens their of the Child health ion ctio education and lopment tect development rote Pro ILO Minimum Age Develo stice Convention, No. 138 al Justice cent Work my D ILO Economy Declaration ILO Worst Forms of y Decent cial Effective Child Labour Soci on abolition of child Convention, No. 182 Fundamental t rket E labour is a fundamental rity man Right curit Principles and social pillar r Mark ce Secu Rights at Work Human of the global economy Labor Peace (1998) 8
Convention No. 138 + National policy for the effective abolition of child labour ILO Minim imum Age (Art. 1) Conve venti ntion on No. 138 & Specification of minimum age for Recom ommen endat dation on No.146 146 employment > end of compulsory education (Art. 2) ts ment Rights ion ctio lopment tect rote C. 138 General Age Exceptions for Pro Develo developing/countries stice al Justice cent Work my D Basic Minimum Age 15 years 14 years Economy (Art. 2) y Decent cial Soci Hazardous work 18 years No exception t rket E (16 years conditionally) (Art. 3) rity man Right curit r Mark ce Secu Light work 13-15 years 12-14 years Human (Art. 7) Labor Peace 9
Convention No.182 + Art. 3 a) Children in slavery , or similar ILO Worst Forms practices, e.g. sale and of Child Labour Convention trafficking, debt bondage, No. 182 and its forced or compulsory labor , Recommendation including forced recruitment for No. 190 use in armed conflict ts ment Rights b) Use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution and ion pornography ctio lopment tect Calls for c) Use, procuring or offering of rote Pro immediate Action children in illicit activities Develo stice to eliminate al Justice d) Children in hazardous work or cent Work my D the worst forms of circumstances likely to harm Economy child labour their safety, or morals y Decent cial Soci as a matter of urgency t rket E rity man Right curit r Mark ce Secu Human Labor Peace 10
Human man Right t Soci cial al Justice stice Pro rote tect ctio ion + Labor r Mark rket E Economy my D Develo lopment ment Rights ts Peace ce Secu curit rity y Decent cent Work Action to End Child Labor in South Asia 3 11 11 11 11
+ Progress National Child Labor Policies National Plans of Action, Master Plans, Road Map Legislative measures Amendments; hazardous work lists ts ment Rights Policy measures ion ctio lopment mainstreaming in national education, youth employment, child protection, other tect rote policies, conditional cash transfers, health schemes, others Pro Develo stice Targeted national/sub-national funded projects al Justice cent Work my D (India – NCLP; Bangladesh – Worst Forms; Pakistan – Punjab Province; Sri Lanka – Economy Ministry of Labor’s allocation for capacity development/awareness) y Decent cial Soci Partnerships t rket E rity man Right ILO MOU with SAARC Apex Body on Children (SAIEVAC); 2 SAARC Regional curit r Mark ce Secu Workshops on Child Labor organized by Govt of India; private sector involvement Human Labor Peace NCLP – National Child Labor Project Scheme SAIEVAC – South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children 12
Recommended Strategies for South Asia (1) + Mainstreaming of child labor issue in key policies, programs, budgets of development/human rights frameworks at the planning, monitoring and evaluation stages ts ment Rights ion Support to implementation/ratification of C.182 & C. 138 ctio lopment tect o Upgrading policy, legal framework and enforcement, promoting integrated rote Pro approach to labor inspection. Develo stice o Support to constituents in view of CEACR comments; al Justice cent Work my D o Synergies and interfaces with other relevant UN conventions Economy y Decent cial o Promoting inter-agency collaboration Soci o Institutional capacity development and integration in national training t rket E rity man Right programs , such as staff colleges, SAARC HR Development Centre, teacher curit r Mark ce Secu training institutes, business HRD training, among others Human Labor Peace _________________________ 13 CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
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