by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Today (June 12), the world observes World Day Against Child Labour, a global human rights issue that impacts adversely on human dignity and integral human development.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church states: “Child labour, in its intolerable forms, constitutes a kind of violence that is less obvious than others but it is not for this reason any less terrible. This is a violence that, beyond all political, economic and legal implications, remains essentially a moral problem. Pope Leo XIII issued the warning: ‘in regard to children, great care should be taken not to place them in workshops and factories until their bodies and minds are sufficiently developed. For, just as very rough weather destroys the buds of spring, so does too early an experience of life’s hard toil blight the young promise of a child’s faculties, and render any true education impossible.’…the blight of child labour has not yet been overcome…the Church’s social doctrine condemns the increase in ‘the exploitation of children in the workplace in conditions of veritable slavery’. This exploitation represents a serious violation of human dignity, with which every person, ‘no matter how small or how seemingly unimportant in utilitarian terms’, is endowed.” (296)
Millions of children worldwide work in hazardous and degrading conditions. Pope Francis speaks out against this evil, which is linked to slavery and human trafficking.
As Eva Kurilova reported in 2014, “(Pope) Francis pointed out that things would have to change on national and global levels…as it is high levels of poverty which drive families to sell their children into slavery. Sudden health issues or loss of income are two of the main driving factors behind child labour. Human traffickers will often take a child with the promise of sending money back to the family, but in reality no money is ever sent and the child will likely not return.”
The ILO defines child labour as work that deprives children of their childhood, potential, dignity and education, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
“It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to children. Such labour may deprive them of the opportunity to attend school, oblige them to leave school prematurely, or require them to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses, and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often a very early age.” (www.ilo.org)
The focus of the 2016 World Day Against Child Labour is on child labour and supply chains. The ILO states: “Supply chains are the sequence of activities/processes involved in the production and distribution of a product. With globalisation, supply chains have become increasingly complex, involving workers, small producers, and enterprises around the world. While most child labour occurs in production for domestic markets, children can also be found working in the production of goods and services for export.
“With 168 million children still in child labour, all supply chains, from agriculture to manufacturing, services to construction, run the risk that child labour may be present. Enterprises need to be vigilant to ensure that their supply chains are free from child labour or risk having their reputations ruined and their business seriously damaged.”
The ILO also states that “whilst child labour takes many different forms, a priority is to eliminate without delay the worst forms of child labour as defined by Article 3 of ILO Convention No 182:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.”
Even though it has been declared illegal in T&T, child labour persists. The CIA world Factbook states that about 1,200 children between the ages of 5-14 are involved in child labour in T&T.
Let’s combat poverty and social exclusion, gender and ethnic bias and play our part not only in ridding our country of this social ill, but in rehabilitating and counselling those who are rescued, creating conditions that will enable them to realise their potential.
