CHILD LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE AND TOURISM
José Gómez Cerda
A report of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), states that child labour at the beginning of this 21st century is described as a «constantly growing and unstable» phenomenon. On the basis of data collected during a recent survey, some 352 million children aged between 5 and 17 are at the moment engaged in one form of economic activity of the other.
Only 106 million of them are engaged in employment acceptable for children having attained the minimum age of admission to employment (normally 15 years), or light work, especially domestic duties or those falling within the scope of their education.
For the remaining 246 million, unfortunately, they are engaged in forms of work that, according to ILO, should be eliminated.
a. 246 million children – in other words, one out of every six, aged between 5 and 17 – fall within the «child labour» category.
b. Across the whole world, one out of every eight children – some 179 millions, aged between 5 and 17 – remain exposed to the worst forms of child labour, thus jeopardising the child’s physical, mental, or moral welfare.
c. About 111 million children aged 15 are engaged in dangerous forms of work and should be «immediately freed from this type of work».
d. 59 million youth aged between 15 and 17 urgently require immediate protection against occupational hazards or be removed from the type of work they are engaged in.
e. Some 8.4 million children are subjected to what is «indisputably» worst forms labour, including slavery, trafficking in human beings, servitude, debt bondage or other forms of forced labour, compulsory recruitment into armed conflicts, prostitution, pornography and other illicit activities.
f. Child labour is still a global phenomenon. According to an ILO report, no country or region is spared. A vast list of critical situations (especially natural disasters, acute economic recessions, the AIDs pandemic, and armed conflicts) is increasingly compelling minors to engage in work that weaken them, including illegal and clandestine forms of child labour, like prostitution, drug trafficking, pornography and other illicit activities.
70 % of child workers are engaged in agriculture, hunting and large-scale commercial fishing or silviculture.
61% of them are in Asia; 32% in Africa; 7% in Latin America, and 5% in the developed countries. If Asia has the largest number of child workers, it is Africa that has the greatest proportion of children at work in relation to the active population of which they constitute about 40%.
The issue of child workers is a challenge for all workers’ movements, particularly for trade unions, because it concerns our children and the future in store for their own children too.
The bad living and working conditions feature prominently among the causes of the exploitation and abuse of minors.
Regarding poverty, it is the cause and effect of child labour.
Surveys conducted in poor countries reveal that the great majority of child workers are engaged in agriculture, fishing, hunting; factories, wholesale or retail trading, or in restaurants and hotels. Community, social, or personnel services including domestic work, tranportation, warehousing and communications follow them. A small percentage of these children are engaged in construction, mines, and the quarries.
The agriculture sector employs the majority of the poor in the world, most of whom are deprived of the right to freedom of association or to organise and to collective bargaining. The works carried out by children vary greatly, from light and short duties after school to long subsistence activities.
In some African countries, almost a third of the agriculture sector manpower is made up of child workers.
In Bangladesh, 82 % of the child workers are employed in agriculture
Three million little Brazilians work in the sugar cane, sisal, coffee and tea plantations.
The risks are higher for children of poor countries working in the rural sector than in farm work in itself. In fact, the harvesting of plants involves coming into contact with pesticides and other chemical products that may affect the skin, eyes, the respiratory and nervous systems.
Tobacco harvesting causes nausea, vomiting and poisoning due to nicotine. The processing of sisal and the handling of the leaves causes skin problems.
The fact of carrying heavy loads in unusual positions may cause permanent injury to the vertebral column and the limbs.
The working environment of children in the agriculture sector is infected with insects, sometimes poisonous, and they often lack the necessary protective equipment.
In Egypt, over one million peasants children are engaged between May and July each year, to combat cotton leaf infections. The work consists of inspecting the plants and checking that their leaves are not contaminated eggs of insects.
In the United States, entire migrant families, especially Mexicans and Central Americans, are involved in the planting and picking of fruits and legumes. Almost 300,000 children work in these commercial agriculture holdings and in dangerous conditions.
A lot of children find themselves compelled to work because of the lack of schools and teachers for that matter in the surroundings they grow up in; or that education is beyond their reach. The privatisation of education further makes access of poor children to private schools, which are very costly everywhere for poor families, even more increasingly difficult.
The pace of population growth, especially in the rural areas, outclasses that of food production or the educational system by far. However one most serious cause is food insecurity: millions of children of working families lack the means of eating to their fill. Nothing therefore motivates them to study and they all have reasons for seeking work, as many girls as boys.
At the moment, there is great demand for under-age workforce, children prepared to work. In fact, liberalism and its process of globalisation prefer cheap labour, with no long-term responsibilities, no registration with the social security systems. Children, boys and girls provide these advantages.
In many poor countries, war, drought, deforestation, natural disasters and famine affect a great number of families, who as a result find themselves vulnerable. They therefore consider their children working as a solution.
The issue of child labour is intimately linked to poverty, the present international trade policies and practices, the spread of organised crime, armed conflicts, negligence on the part of governments, disintegration of families and other factors.
THE PRINCIPLES
Trade unionism under normal circumstances discourages the fact of children being compelled to work, instead of studying, educating themselves at home or engaging in recreational activities, activities of their own age. Nonetheless, the prior responsibility is that of fighting for parents to gain sure and stable employment enabling them to adequately support and cater for their families, in such a way that children need not work in order to survive and assist their family.
There is no universal solution. In each country, region and continent, there are peculiar situations with respect to child labour.
There are two facets to the situation of child workers.
a) Children of rich, industrialised countries, the First world, where parents enjoy stable salaries, social security protection, free education (or at the cheapest cost) for their children, and social benefits.
b) Children of the poor countries of the Third world, where parents are unemployed and can thus not provide their children with the necessary protection; these children, boys and girls, therefore have to seek whatever jobs in order to survive.
By and large, the children who work do so because of the economic poverty of their of their family. As a result, for the millions of families threatened risks of survival, every member of the family must contribute,
For the rich countries it is easy to decree the prohibition of child labour, without taking account of the millions of poor families, for whom the practice is a necessity. POVERTY IS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF CHILD LABOUR.
Moreover for the trade unions, WORK IS ALWAYS DIGNIFYING, for it is the fruit of human effort. Trade unionists should always protect work, even to the detriment of capital. The challenge for trade unions is that of the living and working conditions in which millions of child workers find themselves across the world.
Economic and social policies need to tackle the problem and its causes.
Several international conventions deal with child labour, among which are:
1919: ILO First International Convention on Child Labour
1930: ILO Convention Nº 29 on Forced Labour
1973: ILO Convention Nº 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
1989: ILO Convention on the Rights of the Child.
1999: ILO Convention Nº 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
2001: ILO Convention Nº 184 Safety and Security in Agriculture.
International Conventions on the rights of the child:
1. THE CHILD SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIFE: adequate nutrition, development and survival.
2. THE CHILD SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO HEALTH: medical and prevention services.
3. THE CHILD SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM: no child shall be subjected to torture, capital punishment, life imprisonment or arbitrary detention.
4. THE CHILD SHALL ENJOY PROTECTION FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION.
5. NO CHILD SHALL PARTICIPATE IN ARMED CONFLICTS.
6. THE CHILD SHALL ENJOY PROTECTION FROM ALL FORMS OF NEGLECT AND CRUELTY.
7. THE CHILD SHALL BE ENTITLED FROM HIS BIRTH TO A NAME AND A NATIONALITY.
8. THE CHILD SHALL BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE EDUCATION.
9. THE CHILD SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND OPINION.
10. THE DISABLED CHILD SHALL ENJOY SPECIAL PROTECTION, special treatment, education and care shall be provided for their social integration.
11. THE CHILD SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE RECREATION: recreational activities and take part in cultural activities.
12. ALL CHILDREN SHALL ENJOY THE SAME RIGHTS.
In the hotel business, restaurants and tourism sectors, children carry out various duties: bellboys, chamber maids, pantry work, beach cleaning, hawking, caddies on golf courses, etc. 10% to 15% of the entire labour force of this sector around the world is under 18 years.
The problem of child prostitution has been extensively discussed and has had a sounding echo on public opinion. The phenomenon exists in both the industrialised and developing countries. This form of violence has a specific field of action referred to as «sexual tourism», which consists of advertising the availability of children through vacation tourism promotions in the western countries. Campaigns waged by union organisations and international NGOs have prompted the amendment of the laws of several countries, in order to allow for the prosecution of citizens who commit sexual abuses against children in other countries.
The UNO defines the three forms of sexual exploitation as follows:
1) Child prostitution is the use, procuring or offering of a child for sexual activities in exchange for remuneration or any form of reward.
2) The trafficking or sale of children for sexual purposes, within the same country or among several countries: the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of 1956 defines child servitude as the transportation and sale of a child from one place to the other, in exchange for remuneration or any other form of reward.
3) Child pornography: «any representations, by whatever means, of a child under 18 years indulging in explicit sexual activities, real or simulated, or any representation of the sexual organs of a child for mainly sexual purposes».
In June 1999, the International Labour Conference adopted the Convention on the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour and immediate action to secure its elimination. The Conference acknowledged that child labour was due in a large extent to poverty and that the long-term solution depended on sustainable economic growth, allowing for social progress, and especially poverty reduction and education for all. According to Article 1 of the said Convention, « Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency»
Among these worst forms, Article 3 of the Convention states: «the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances»
An annual publication of the United Nations Fund for population activities – a report entitled “The State of the World Population” – states that each year, two million young girls aged 15 to 20 years enter the commercial sex market, and especially in the tourism sector.
The exploitation of under aged youth is on the increase and globalising. The practice is linked to sexual tourism and is being promoted by the development of the new technological networks on the communications super highway.
The market of sexual exploitation of children is also focusing on the younger girls, for some clients believe having avoided AIDS by having sexual relations with the under aged.
Western countries such as Sweden, United Kingdom, Australia or France have decided to prosecute their citizens who indulge in sexual tourism or own establishments offering or promoting this type of activity.
Sexual exploitation of boys and girls in the tourism sector is also as a result of negligent policies and avarices of the privileged local classes. Poverty and its concomitant fight for survival is also the basis upon which this new form of servitude is developing. In addition to this are the economic pressures exerted on developing countries by the foreign investors of the tourism sector and the attraction for consumer goods encouraged by the industrialised countries.
It is over ten years now since the International Labour Organisation established a department responsible for issues related to Child Labour, within the framework of a programme called, The International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).
This programme aims at contributing to the gradual elimination of child labour through the building of the capacities of countries to enable them confront this problem and by establishing a movement to combat it across the whole world.
The priority target groups among the working children are: children in servitude, children working in dangerous conditions or sectors and particularly venerable children, especially children under 12 years and young girls.
IPEC bases all its action on political will and commitment of government to combat the exploitation of child labour in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organisations and the entire civil society – NGO’s, Universities, the Media etc.. For this action to yield sustainable results, empowerment of countries are given priority from the very beginning. Partner organisations receive an assistance to formulate and apply measures aimed at preventing child labour, freeing children from dangerous work by offering them replacement solutions and improving their working conditions while hoping for this form of exploitation be totally eliminated. The strategy is multi sector-based and comprises the following stages.
a. Mobilising partners of all walks of life who admit to the existence of the problem and are determined to combat it;
b. Analysing the situation in the countries considered, in order determining the existing Child labour problems
c. Assistance for the drawing up and implementation of a national policy for combating child labour.
d. Strengthening existing organisations and establishing institutional mechanisms.
e. Sensitisation at the national level, in communities, and at the work place
f. Action aimed at promoting the drawing up and application of protector laws
g. Direct interventions assistance undertaken for demonstration purposes among children capable of being attracted to work.
h. Reproduction, on the largest scale of success projects, within the framework of the Partnership programmes.
i. Inclusion of child labour issues in the socio-economic policies and programmes as well as in budgets.
PROPOSALS:
Real proposals on the part of workers movement should be made with respect to the problem of child labour.
1. - FULL EDUCATION
Rural communities should be provided with good conditions and services of education such as: schools, well-trained teachers, free educational materials and breakfast for pupils.
The rural education system should enjoy specific incentives, which encourages children of poor families to attend school.
2. – AWARENESS RISING
It is important to institute a constructive dialogue as well as an extensive collaboration between governments and union representatives, for purposes of drawing up a sensitisation programme on child labour.
3. - THE WORST FORM OF CHILD LABOUR
4. – TRADE UNION POLICY
Research work, as well as surveys, analysis and evaluations on the ground, concerning the reality of child workers need to be conducted. This assignment will serve as a basis for the formulation of a specific trade union policy on the issue.
5. – SOCIAL MOBILISATION
There is the need to endeavour to integrate mechanisms for mobilising the various social stakeholders, such trade unions, NGO’s, the Media, the Civil Society and other organisation. In order to gather and share information and obtain commitments of change of attitude and behaviour towards the problem of child labour
Persons desirous of knowing more about the history of child labour should read chapter II of the book (only in Spanish) «CHRONOLOGIA DEL SINDICALISMO INTERNACIONAL », at the following address:
Or by clicking on ACMOTI reception page: http://www.acmoti.org
Look for: LIBRO, “CHRONOLOGIA DEL SINDICALISMO INTERNACIONAL (1801-2001)”
José Gómez Cerda