Lautaro Musiani, Ramiro Escobar, Julin Domecq, Matias Ordoez y Nicols Gomez Luboz

Child labour
A project focused on child labour
In Argentina and in India

13

Child labour: a global view

INTRODUCTION
This paper is going to be focused on child labour in our country, Argentina, and in India, an American and an Asian country. Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organisations. In developing countries, with high poverty and poor schooling opportunities, child labour is still prevalent. In 2010, Africa had the highest incidence rates of child labour, with several African nations witnessing over 50 percent of children aged 514 working. Worldwide agriculture is the largest employer of child labour. The vast majority of child labour is found in rural settings and informal urban economy; children are predominantly employed by their parents, rather than factories. Poverty and lack of schools are considered as the primary cause of child labour.

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR

Even though laws and regulations against child labour exist, this form of illegal employment does not cease to exist. Child labour existed hundreds of years ago; its causes have not changed! The fact that poverty and unemployment levels are high means that poor families need their children to work (no matter how low the pay is) in order to cover their basic needs. They basically need more money; therefore their children must to bring money to the household. Many children are not in school when they are supposed to, this could be due to no free education or no schools at all in their living area. As they are attending classes they find a job, they have nothing else to do. Good quality education may not be affordable so the family may wonder whether school is the

best option forward. Another point that should not be overlooked is the fact that they may not see a future in education. Their families and social environment may discourage them from studying. From a cultural point of view, many societies and cultures have beliefs that encourage child labour In many cultures, particular where informal economy and small household businesses thrive, the cultural tradition is that children follow in their parents' footsteps; child labour then is a means to learn and practice that trade from a very early age. Similarly, in many cultures the education of girls is less valued or girls are simply not expected to need formal schooling, and these girls pushed into child labour such as providing domestic services. Furthermore, the regulations such as laws and codes are generally not respected. Big companies outsource their manufacturing process, this makes it difficult to control if there is child labour or not. Moreover, there are few adequate ways of enforcing these laws. And if they are enforced, in many cases corruption comes in to play and the smartness of the exploiters too. These people tend to set their child labour areas far away, where control is almost nonexistent. In countries such as Nepal, Kenya and Bangladesh, were child labour is at an all time high, their laws contain exemptions. Here are two examples: Kenya Prohibits children under 16 from industrial work...but excludes agriculture. Bangladesh Specifies a minimum age for workbut sets no regulations on domestic work or agricultural work.

ORGANISATIONS STRIVING TO FIGHT CHILD LABOUR

International Labour Organization (www.ilo.org)

The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has started with this programme in 1992 (IPEC) with the aim of elimination of child labour worldwide, with the priority of its worst forms (E.G.: Prostitution). Since its beginings it has been doing different works to achieve this: programmes which promote policy refor, building institutional capacity and through awareness and mobilization with the intention of changing social attitudes and promote an effective implementation of ILO child labour Conventions. These work has resulted in thousands of children rescued from work and prevented from entering the workforce. To complement this action there has been indepth statistical and qualitative research, policy and legal analysis, evaluation and monitoring of the programme. All this have permitted the acomulation of knowledge base of good practices, guidelines and training materials.

Save The Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/)

Launch Advocacy Campaigns
To help protect children during this time, and raise community awareness of the dangers, Save the Children in Mozambique has launched an advocacy campaign called "Open Your Eyes" with radio and television programs, interviews, posters and postcards that will reach 250,000 people. The former national football team captain, Tico-Tico, even volunteered his own time to appear in several advertisements to highlight the problem of child trafficking. Save the Children hopes that this advocacy will help protect vulnerable children.

Support Public Policy and Training

One of the reasons that trafficking and exploitation of children flourish is because often there are not strong enough policies against it. Save the Children in El Salvador targeted Mejicanos, one of the most frequent areas for trafficking of children, and supported the municipal council in drafting the first ever ordinance to prevent trafficking and monitor its implementation. Awareness trainings are conducted in schools so children can learn how to keep safe and where to report if they see or know of suspicious activity.

Use Research in Creative Ways to Protect Children

Positive Deviance is an approach to change behaviors of families and communities that is well documented in improving health and nutrition of children. Save the Children used this approach in two child protection programs one to prevent trafficking in girls for commercial sex work in Indonesia, and the other to reintegrate girls who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and girl mothers into their communities in Uganda.

Free a Girl (www.freeagirl.org)

Rescue campaigns
They support a number of rescue organizations who liberate children from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. All the organizations work together with the police and the judiciary, so that offenders can be prosecuted.

Relief for the victims

All the childen who have been traumatized are given the time and attention they need to regain their strength. Some childen stay a few months and then they are able to go bacj with their families while others stay for years. This includes medical and psychilogical assistance, education, etc.

Street children
The children living in poverty run the risk of ending up in the sex industry and being exploited. Children who are living and working on the streets are at extremely high risk. Free a Girl therefore supports them in resuming their education and learning new skills. They also offer a package which includes the support of paretns and families.

Vocational training and microcredit

After being rescued the girls Free a Girl ensures that they can go back to a "normal" existence and they receive training and they are able to start the own business of clothes or hairdessing.

Construction of relief homes

By extending and building relief homes, more and more children can be taken care of in a better way.

THE STATE OF CHILD LABOUR IN ARGENTINA AND INDIA

Child labour in India
Over the last fewyears, there has been an increase in child labour in India but thankfully the government has developed laws that help avoid child labour in India. The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The law also placed rules on whom, when and how long can pre-adults aged 1518 be employed in any factory. The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law. The list was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous employment or in bondage. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009: The law mandates free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years.

Young Indian boy stacking plates

This graph shows the increase on child labour in India in percentage. There is a notable increase between 2005 and 2006. Poverty and lack of security are the main causes of child labour. In 2000 the ILO (International Labour Organization) estimated that 5.5 million of children have been forced to child labour in India. India is world ranked positioned 52nd with a 15.3 % in child labour aged from 7 to 14.

Child labour in Argentina

The laws prohibit Child labour but in the urban areas of Argentina, it is still present. A study of the UCA (Universidad Catolica Argentina) showed that there are 17% of working children and youth aged five to 17 years in the cities of Argentina. Since May 2010 the minimum age to enter into a contract of employment was fixed by law at 16 years (previously 14). According to the economic and social situation (3 of 10 residents live below the poverty line). Working deprives children and adolescents not only of their childhood and youth, but also hinders their personal development and education.

Young boy working, aged below 14 years. Argentina is world ranked positioned 58th with a 12.9 % in child labour aged 7 to 14.

CONCLUSIONS
I had the responsibility to research about child labour in a global basis but especially on its causes. The different types of causes there are amazed me but what shocked me the most was that most of them could be avoided by providing schooling for the children. Education and healthy economic and social development go hand in hand.