2015 World Day Against Child Labour (Aired News-Commentary)

KICKING AGAINST CHILD LABOUR AS THE 2015 WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR IS MARKED TODAY FRIDAY JUNE 12

     

        

Child labour refers to the employment or engagement of children in any work or activity that deprives them of their childhood rights, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to them. It can also be defined as a fulltime employment of children who are under a minimum legal age.

        

Child labour is globally considered as an exploitative practice. Many international bodies describe it as an inhumane act. Legislations across the world prohibit it with extreme passion, that, it is widely regarded as a societal monster. Though, these laws do not consider all work by children as ‘child labour’; exceptions include, work by child artists, supervised training, and certain categories of work such as those common among indigenous American children, among other countries that are technologically inclined.

        

Prior to 1940, several children aged 5-14 worked in Europe, the United States and various colonies of European Powers. These children worked in areas including agriculture, factories, home-based operations, and mining. Some worked night shifts lasting twelve hours. Subsequently, with the rise of household income, availability of schools as well as passage of child labour laws, the rate of the incidence dropped tremendously.

       

In developing countries with high poverty and poor schooling opportunities, child labour is still prevalent. For instance, in 2010, Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest incidence rates of child labour with several African nations like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and many others witnessing over fifty percent (50%) of children aged 5-14 involved in one or two uncalled activities.

       

Survey shows that agriculture is the largest employer of child labour worldwide. More so, vast majority of child labour cases is found in rural settings as well as informal urban economies; in this area, children are predominantly employed by their parents or guardians, rather than factories. Suffice it to say; child labour is fundamentally attributed to poverty and lack of education or illiteracy.

      

According to the World Bank, the incidence of child labour in the world decreased from twenty-five percent (25%) to ten percent (10%) between the years 1960 and 2003. Nevertheless, with the acknowledgement of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), recently by the year 2013, the total number of child labourers remained high involving about 168 million children worldwide.

       

During the Industrial Revolution, children as young as four were employed in production factories with dangerous, and often fatal, working conditions. In view of the recent understanding of the dangers attached to the use of children as labourers, presently it is considered by wealthy countries such as Germany, Japan, France, the U.S.A, et al, as a human rights violation, thereby outlawing its practice. Whilst, some poorer countries still condone child labour.

         

It is noteworthy that, child labour has in recent times deteriorated appallingly in most developing nations like Nigeria. The one that has degenerated into a fathomless eyesore is the ongoing alarming incidence of hawking witnessed on several streets or roads across the federation. The most devastating aspect of this scenario is a situation where the children in question would be seen hawking their wares when they are meant to be in their classrooms. It is usually noticed that most of these child hawkers are under the care of their so-called guardians or relatives, unknowingly to their biological parents that their children are being subjected into such torture or life-threatening activity.

        

The type observed in the area of prostitution cannot be swept under the carpet whenever child labour is being discussed. In most occasions, female children are cajoled into prostitution by some pimps. The less-privileged parents would be told by the pimp, albeit deceitfully, that their children would be taken abroad for some lucrative jobs; they would also be informed that the children would be privileged to attend one of the best schools in the world.

        

Today Friday June 12, the global community is commemorating the World Day Against Child Labour. The Day was launched in 2002 by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action needed to eliminate it. Each year on 12^th day of June, the World Day Against Child Labour brings together governments, employers, NGOs and civil society as well as millions of well-meaning individuals from around the world to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be done to help them.

        

As the world marks the World Day Against Child Labour, we are requested to do everything within our reach to ensure that poverty and illiteracy, which are the basic attributes of child labour, are drastically and holistically alleviated in our respective societies. In addition, the legislature is expected to establish a law that would assign capital punishment to anyone found guilty of the abuse, which is currently on rampage in Nigeria. Think about it!

COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)

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frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

@fdnnwaozor