Combating Child Labour

127 Pages·2003·0.73 MB·English

by  OECD

«
Combating Child Labour
A REVIEW OF POLICIES
Combating
Public opinion has expressed considerable concern about the persistence of child
labour. Despite the increasing ratification of international conventions on this issue,
23% of the world’s children aged 10-14 are at work. But why do children still have
Child Labour
to work? Under what conditions do children work? What are the implications of
child labour for the future development of the countries concerned? What are the
most effective policies to combat child labour, and how can they improve
economic development? A REVIEW OF POLICIES
This book seeks to answer these questions. After highlighting the reality of the
many child labourers in the world, it reviews the economic causes of the
phenomenon and the effectiveness of the various policies which have been
implemented to reduce child labour.
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Combating Child Labour
A Review of Policies
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960,
and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed:
– to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a
rising standard of living in member countries, while maintaining financial
stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy;
– to contribute to sound economic expansion in member as well as non-member
countries in the process of economic development; and
– to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory
basis in accordance with international obligations.
The original member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United
Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became members
subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan
(28thApril1964), Finland (28thJanuary 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand
(29thMay1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21stDecember1995),
Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22ndNovember1996), Korea (12th December 1996)
and the Slovak Republic (14th December2000). The Commission of the European
Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention).
Publié en français sous le titre :
Combattre le travail des enfants
Un bilan des politiques
© OECD 2003
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FOREWORD
In 2000, the OECD published a study entitled International Trade and
Core Labour Standards in response to a request from OECD Ministers to
analyse the complex interplay between trade, employment and core labour
standards. Further work was mandated on one key core standard, namely child
labour, and its links to economic development. The present study is the result of
this follow-up work. This work has been supported by France, Sweden,
Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The effective abolition of child labour is one of the four fundamental
principles included in the ILO’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work. Moreover, since 1999 with the adoption and rapid
ratification by many countries of the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of
Child Labour, a new impetus has been given to addressing the issue. Public
opinion has also become increasingly sensitive to the issue, as demonstrated by
the proliferation of public and private initiatives which comprise provisions
against child labour.
Nevertheless, non-compliance with the relevant international conventions
remains a serious problem. Indeed, as shown in this study, the causes of child
labour are complex and multi-dimensional. The study therefore examines the
extent to which existing policies and programmes to eliminate child labour are
tackling effectively the core root of the problem. This allows a rich examination
of the dynamics between child labour and economic development.
This report has benefited from discussions in the OECD's Employment,
Labour and Social Affairs Committee as well as comments and advice received
from the International Programme for the Eradication of Child Labour (IPEC),
from the International Labour Office and two advisory committees to the
OECD, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) and the Trade
Union Advisory Committee (TUAC).
The report was drafted by a team from the Secretariat composed by Elena
Arnal, Steven Tobin and Raymond Torres, with the assistance of Heloise
Wickramanayake. It is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-
General of the OECD.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
OVERVIEW........................................................................................................9
Chapter 1 THE REALITY OF CHILD LABOUR IN THE WORLD.............13
A. Defining and measuring child labour..................................................14
B. Economic activity of children in SIMPOC countries: incidence
and nature............................................................................................20
Chapter 2 ECONOMIC CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR...............................25
A. Determinants of the demand of child labour.......................................25
B. The role of poverty, lack of education opportunities and other
supply-side factors..............................................................................29
C. The worst forms of child labour: some explanations..........................34
D. Determinants of child labour in selected case studies:
main findings......................................................................................35
E. Labour force participation of children: some simple correlations......42
Chapter 3 ACTIONS AND PROGRAMMES TO COMBAT
CHILD LABOUR...............................................................................51
A. The role of international organisations...............................................51
B. Action and programmes at the national level......................................57
C. Private initiatives and corporate social responsibility.........................74
D. Fighting the worst forms of child labour............................................83
E. Concluding remarks............................................................................86
GLOSSARY OF TERMS.................................................................................89
Annex A: Data Sources......................................................................................91
Annex B: Child Labour's Legislative Framework...........................................113
Annex C: A Review of the Observations of the Committee of Experts
on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
Concerning ILO Convention 138....................................................118
BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................123

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List of Boxes
Box 1.1. Child labour and its “worst forms”.....................................................15
Box 2.1. Child labour and globalisation: a review of selected studies..............28
Box 3.1. The International Programme on the Elimination of Child
Labour (IPEC)...........................................................................................52
Box 3.2. The role of labour inspectors in combating child labour in Turkey.........61
Box 3.3. Family subsidies linked to schooling attendance in Mexico:
from Progresa to Oportunidades..............................................................72
Box 3.4. Promoting corporate social responsibility against child labour..........75
Box 3.5. The Rugmark experiment...................................................................82

List of Tables

Table 1.1. Child labour according to international conventions........................17
Table 1.2. Economically active children by region and gender, 2000a.............18
Table 1.3. Child labour by age group and gender, 2000a..................................19
Table 1.4. Unconditional worst forms of child labour by region, 2000............20
Table 3.1. Progress in ratifications of ILO and UN conventions on child
labour ...................................................................................................54
Table 3.2. Ratification of ILO Conventions C29, C138 and C182
(as of June 2003).......................................................................................55
Table 3.3. Minimum age for admission to employment and compulsory
education in selected non-OECD countries...............................................58
Table 3.4. Minimum age for admission to employment and compulsory
education in OECD countries....................................................................59
Table 3.5. School net enrolment in selected non-OECD countries, 1998..............64
Table 3.6. Public education expenditures in selected non-OECD countries,
1998 ...................................................................................................64
Table 3.7. Education initiatives to increase school attendance of working
children ...................................................................................................67
Table 3.8. Industry codes of conduct and agreements concerning child
labour ...................................................................................................78
Table A1. SIMPOC country profiles, 1999.......................................................94
Table A2. Questions used to measure economic activity..................................95
Table A3. Economically active children in SIMPOC countries by age and
gender, 1999..............................................................................................97
Table A4. Economically active children in SIMPOC countries by region,
gender and age, 1999.................................................................................99
Table A5. Economically active children in SIMPOC countries by main
industry and gender, 1999.......................................................................101
Table A6. Economically active children in SIMPOC countries engaged in
unpaid activities by gender and age, 1999...............................................103
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Table A7. Main reasons for children in SIMPOC countries to engage in
economic activity, 1999..........................................................................104
Table A8. Economically active children in SIMPOC countries by hours
worked per day, 1999..............................................................................105
Table A9. Incidence of workplace injuries for children 5-17 in SIMPOC
countries, 1999........................................................................................106
Table A10. Children attending school in SIMPOC countries by gender
and age, 1999...........................................................................................107
Table A11. Activities of children 5-17 in SIMPOC countries by type,
gender and region, 1999..........................................................................109
Table A12. Children 5-17 in SIMPOC countries engaged in domestic chores,
1999.........................................................................................................111

List of Charts
Chart 2.1. Labour force participation of children and trade openness, 1999.....44
Chart 2.2. Labour force participation of children and the quality of education,
1998 ...................................................................................................45
Chart 2.3. Labour force participation of children and GDP per capita, 2000....46
Chart 2.4. Labour force participation of children and income poverty, 2000...48
Chart 2.5. Labour force participation of children and human poverty index,
2000 ...................................................................................................49
Chart 2.6. Labour force participation of children and human development,
2000 ...................................................................................................50
Chart C1. Index of non-compliance with ILO Convention 138, 1992-2002...121

7
OVERVIEW
Public opinion has expressed considerable concern about the persistence of
child labour. The fact is that, despite the increasing ratification of international
conventions on the elimination of child labour and regular awareness
campaigns, many children continue to work: according to ILO estimates, more
than 12% of the world’s children aged 5-9 are at work. The figure rises to 23%
in the case of children aged 10-14. Among those who work, about 179 million
children are subject to the “worst forms” of employment, such as hazardous
work, trafficking, forced and bonded labour, prostitution and other activities
carried out under exploitative conditions.
Still, in thinking about how best to eliminate child labour, it is important to
address the root of the problem – indeed, as this report shows, some of the
proposed solutions may be counter-productive. The purpose of this report is,
therefore, to examine the factors behind child labour and, on this basis, review
promotion mechanisms and policies to combat it.
Child labour may threaten economic development
Child labour may threaten the health of the children concerned and reduce
human capital development – negatively affecting future economic growth. To
start with, children subject to long working hours cannot attend school and
therefore have limited opportunities to develop their human capital. At the
aggregate level, this is likely to translate into weaker productivity growth which
is the basis for improved living standards. Second, certain forms of child labour
(under hazardous conditions) may affect the health conditions and longevity of
children, thereby also affecting human capital. The incidence of injuries among
child labourers is as high as 17% in countries for which data are available.
Finally, and more importantly, the “worst forms” of work have devastating
effects on the health and psychological development of the children involved in
such practices.
However, not all forms of labour are necessarily detrimental to the health
and human capital development of children. This is particularly the case of light
work, short working hours or seasonal work carried out under non-exploitative
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conditions, to the extent that these practices are consistent with school
attendance. Such forms of work may be important sources of income and labour
for poor families, while at the same time leaving some room for human capital
development.
Development-related factors, in turn, explain some forms of child labour
The causes of child labour are complex and multi-faceted. A combination
of supply and demand factors operate. In many cases, children work with their
parents as part of a family enterprise or farm. This is why child labour is often
“unpaid”. It is therefore essential to understand the household decision-making
process, which is based on the following key factors:
• Income from child labour. This, in turn, may be influenced by the
nature of technology: the higher the demand for unskilled labour,
the higher the return to child labour (which is often unskilled). It
is also sometimes argued that there is a high demand for child
labour in certain activities, such as carpet production, supposedly
because of the physical characteristics of children – the “nimble-
fingers view”. However, these demand-side factors play a
negligible role in the aggregate.
• The expected return to education, which in turn depends on the
availability of educational facilities and quality factors.
According to available studies and evidence presented in this
report, school costs and the quality of education play an essential
role in parents’ decision to send their children to school – as
opposed to work. Indeed, there are reportedly cases where the
quality of education is so poor that parents see little benefit in
sending their children to school.
• The overall level of income and wealth of the household. Even
where incentives are created to favour education, family income
and the asset situation of the household may compel families to
send children to work. In particular, some studies find that adult
wages need to reach a certain level before parents can afford
sending their children to school. However, more analysis is
needed to shed light on this crucial policy issue.
• There are also special circumstances such as death of the parents,
community factors, and the socio-cultural environment (mainly
in the case of bonded labour), which often lie behind the worst
forms of child employment.
10
A multi-dimensional policy approach is needed to tackle the problem of
child labour
These complex dynamics need to be borne in mind when thinking about
how to eliminate child labour. Though some forms of child labour are
unacceptable and should be eliminated urgently, others are closely related to the
development process. Recent experience shows that it is important to adopt a
comprehensive approach, including: the adoption of child labour legislation
which is consistent with market realities, measures to improve access to and the
quality of education, financial incentives and food-for-school programmes, as
well as community or social awareness raising. It is also possible to combine
schooling with work for children so long as the latter meets certain conditions.
Policy approaches should also address the fact that the realities of child labour
between boys and girls are often quite different.
Normative approaches are important, but “unrealistic” norms may be
counter-productive
Initiatives taken by international organisations to eliminate child labour
have contributed to raise awareness of the problem. Such initiatives are
especially important in the fight against the worst forms of child labour. In
some cases, they can also help collect financial aid to support targeted
programmes. However, since in many cases child labour is intrinsically
associated with the development process, it would be illusory to believe that
child labour can be entirely eliminated in the absence of further action to
enhance development opportunities.
National legislation prohibiting child labour below a certain age, together
with the appropriate enforcement mechanisms, is of course important. However,
two key considerations should be kept in mind when designing such legislation:
a) the minimum age of employment should take into account market (and
poverty) realities – otherwise there is a risk that legislation, if enforced, may
force children to work in the informal economy or under more hazardous
conditions, and thus be counter-productive; and b) legislation on a minimum
employment age should be consistent with legislation on compulsory education.
Better education, targeted financial incentives and overall development
strategies are essential
More generally, legislation and enforcement alone cannot be successful
without additional measures that make it cost-effective for poor households to
send their children to school. This can take the form of targeted financial
rewards to families that send children to school (as in the case of the Progresa
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