Features

2012

1. 

   From Haiti

   Slavery in a free land

   29 August 2012

   The use of children as domestic workers is pervasive throughout Haiti. Though culturally accepted for generations, a new campaign has been launched to combat what is one of the worst forms of child labour.

2. 

   Article

   Working a childhood away in Afghanistan’s kilns

   07 June 2012

   Children as young as five work as brick makers in Afghanistan’s kilns, as poverty and debt keep their families in low-wage bonded labour. Tackling the issue is far more complex than just banning child labour in the kilns, the ILO says.

3. 

   Article

   From a child’s eye: Working in the hot sharp salt fields of Cambodia

   07 June 2012

   This year, the world marks the tenth anniversary of the annual World Day Against Child Labour. But for many parents in Cambodia, sending their children to work is an economic necessity.

4. 

   Q&A

   Buried in bricks: Bonded labour in Afghanistan

   06 February 2012

   Bonded labour of adults and children in brick kilns is one of the most prevalent, yet least known forms of hazardous labour in Afghanistan. A new ILO study on the phenomenon marks the first attempt to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of bonded labour in two provinces of the country. ILO Online spoke with Samuel Hall consulting, lead author of the study.

2011

1. 

   Questions and Answers

   Questions and answers on food security

   13 December 2011

   Recent food price shocks threaten some 1 billion people with hunger. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that climate change, along with rampant commodity speculation and lack of social protection are contributing to widespread food insecurity, resulting in hunger, poverty and even increased child labour. ILO On-line talked to Marva Corley-Coulibaly and Uma Rani Amara, senior economists at the ILO International Institute for Labour Studies about the growing concerns over food insecurity, and what urgent actions are needed to address the crisis.

2. 

   Article

   Freeing Cambodia's children from work by 2016-A real possibility?

   02 December 2011

   Story of Nit's family, her family lives in a shaky thatch hut a short walk from the magnificent Ta Prohm ruins in the Angkor World Heritage Site. Her grandfather abandoned his family 15 years ago, and with no farm land, everyone has done their bit to stay together. Like her mother, aunt and grandmother, Nit now sells bracelets, postcards and magnets to tourists

3. 

   Feature story

   Questions and answers on the hidden reality of children in domestic work

   08 August 2011

   The recently approved ILO Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 on decent work for domestic workers aim to protect and improve working and living conditions of millions of workers worldwide, who have few – if any – labour rights. Many are children who spend long hours working as domestic helpers, performing tasks such as cleaning, ironing, cooking, minding other children and gardening instead of being at school. ILO News spoke to ILO experts Martin Oelz (TRAVAIL) and José M. Ramírez (IPEC) on the current situation of child domestic workers and how the new Convention and Recommendation can help impact their lives.

4. 

   Article

   The impact of pesticide exposure on child labourers in agriculture

   22 June 2011

   The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO held a side event during the conference (on 22 June at 13:00) to highlight the impact of pesticide exposure on children, and child labourers in particular. ILO News spoke to Paola Termine, ILO Technical specialist on child labour in agriculture, who is also coordinating the International partnership for cooperation on child labour in agriculture, ahead of the meeting.

5. 

   Feature story

   Monitoring hazardous child labour in Tajikistan

   10 June 2011

   Labour inspectors often find it difficult to reach out to informal economy workplaces where hazardous child labour occurs most frequently. According to this year’s ILO report for World Day Against Child Labour, child labour monitoring (CLM) systems are a powerful means to support labour inspectorates.

6. 

   World Day against Child Labour, 12 June 2011

   From child labourer to child advocate: How Rodel succeeded in leaving the mineshaft

   26 May 2011

   More than half (53 per cent) of the 215 million child labourers worldwide do hazardous work. While their number is increasing among older children, aged 15-17, progress is being made for younger children, aged 5-14, says the latest ILO report on child labour “Children in Hazardous Work”. Some of them succeed in leaving the dark tunnel of a mineshaft or other dangerous workplaces, as the example of Rodel from the Philippines shows.