Jakarta (ILO News) – In a new report issued for World Day Against Child Labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warns that a staggeringly high number of children are still caught in hazardous work – some 115 million of the world’s 215 million child labourers – and calls for urgent action to halt the practice. The report, “Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do,” cites studies from both industrialized and developing countries indicating that every minute of every day, a child labourer somewhere in the world suffers a work-related accident, illness or psychological trauma.

The report also says that although the overall number of children aged 5 to 17 in hazardous work declined between 2004 and 2008, the number aged 15-17 actually increased by 20 per cent during the same period, from 52 million to 62 million. Other main findings include:

• Children have higher rates of injury and death at work than adults, as shown by a range of research studies.
• A substantial number of children experience long working hours that significantly increases the risk of injury.
• The largest number of children in hazardous work is in Asia and the Pacific. However, the largest proportion of children in hazardous work relative to the overall number of children in the region is in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Most of the decline in the total numbers of children in hazardous work is among girls.
• Over 60 per cent of children in hazardous work are boys.
• Hazardous work is more commonly found in agriculture including fishing, forestry, livestock-herding and aquaculture in addition to subsistence and commercial farming.

The report also says exposure to hazards can have a particularly severe impact on children, whose bodies and minds are still developing late into teenage years. The report looks in detail at six economic sectors: crop agriculture, fishing, domestic service, mining and quarrying, and street and service industries.

In Indonesia, since 2000, many important developments have taken place to eliminate child labour. 20% of the State budget goes to education including equivalency education that caters for the education needs of child labourers that dropped out of school. The Programme Keluarga Harapan makes it conditional for families who receive a grant to send their children to school; it also included child labour as a specific impact indicator. A 2009 decree of the Ministry of Home Affairs has established local action committees to coordinate and supervise the withdrawal of children from child labour, including hazardous child labour.

Despite such progress, child labour remains a significant problem in the country. The National Child Labour Survey conducted by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed that 1.7 million children aged 5 to 17 years are child labourers; some of them in hazardous works. Child labourers are found in almost every district in Indonesia, in agriculture, including plantation, domestic work and in street based work.

“The commemoration of the World Day against Child Labor this year is a good opportunity to remind all stakeholders on the plight of children who are engaged in hazardous works and hence to take urgent actions in tackling the problem”, says Peter Van Rooij, the ILO Director for Indonesia. The ILO will conduct several activities to commemorate the day, together with its local partners in the province of South Sulawesi, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua and Jember.

In Jakarta, a Kite Making and Flying competition as well as a Movie session and a talk show on children involved in hazardous work will be organized by the ILO in partnership with Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia (YKAI) on Sunday, 12 June from 08.30 – 12.00 WIB in Monas – Jakarta. Similar activities will also be conducted in the provinces mentioned above.

The event overarching objective will be (a) to increase public awareness on the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) risks child labourers are facing in the hazardous sectors, and (b) to reinforce the commitment of policy makers for meaningful actions to be taken against hazardous child labour.

The website on World Day against Child Labour 2011 can be found online at: /global/meetings-and-events/events/world-day-against-child-labour/2011/lang--en/index.htm

For further information please contact:

Mr Patrick Daru
Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO’s Education and Skills Training Programme
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 150
Email

Ms Arum Ratnawati
Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO’s Child Labour Programme
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 122
Email

Ms Dyah Larasati
National Programme Officer of the ILO’s Education and Skills Training Programme
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 139
Email

Ms Dede Sudono
Education Specialist of the ILO’s Child Labour Programme
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 126
Email

Ms Gita Lingga
Media Relation Officer
Tel.: +6221 39139112 ext.115
Email