HYDERABAD: Intensifying its campaign against child labour, the consortium of voluntary organisations headed by an Ireland-based concern are working for securing a "child labour free" label on all the imports into Europe.

Comprising organisations from Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and Czech Republic, the consortium is working with trade unions and others that are getting more and more involved in the campaign to secure the label.

Addressing a press conference Proinsias de Rossa, Irish member of the European Parliament, said no company advertised that an element of child labour was involved in the making of their products.

A report in a Portuguese weekly publication has alleged that a Portuguese company sub-contracted by the Spanish multinational, Zara, is using child labour to sew shoes for the Galician firm.

The report in the publication, ‘Expresso’ supports its article with photographs of the children, aged between 10 and 14, working at home. It says they are paid 40 cents for each pair of hand-sewn shoes, and that this type of child labour is quite common in Northern Portugal, an area of high unemployment.

The name of the company in question has not been released, but Zara’s parent company, Inditex, have said the allegations would be a very serious breach of their code of conduct.

An inspection of the factory last year, as part of the textile company’s audit system of its sub-contractors, detected nothing untoward.

‘We shall confirm it first, but if it is true, Inditex will be implacable, and this factory will no longer carry out any work for our group,’ said a spokesman.

For having the most number of child labourers in Iloilo, the component city of Passi is placed in the priority list of recipients of the International Labour Organization-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC).

ILO-IPEC representative Sol Ebarle said they chose Passi City to be the recipient of their livelihood and training program. Though, he could not exactly say the exact figures of those children working in sugar cane plantations.
Children who are working in sugar cane plantation is only one of the six worst forms of child labour in the country today. The other worst form of child labour are children who are in mining and quarrying, deep-sea fishing, and pyrotechnics production, which are highly dangerous and children who are into commercial sexual exploitation and domestic work.

The ILO-IPEC's action plan is based on three pillars -- supporting and mainstreaming national responses to child labour; deepening and strengthening the worldwide movement against child labour and further integrating child labour concerns in over-all ILO strategies to promote decent work.

Ebarle said they will help the affected children to enroll in vocational trainings such as motorcycle repair and maintenance and get involved in the vegetable production. Children who are 15 to 17 years old can avail of the vocational training.

Classes for motorcycle repair will be taught at the Passi Trade School. Instructors are all TESDA-trained. While, a non-government organization will handle the vegetable production.

He added that they work in partnership with trade unions, government and non-government organizations to upgrade the lives of the children who are considered child labourers. The roots of child labour cases starts with poverty and the institution of livelihood programs will uplift the lives of the children.

Aside from Passi City, the ILO-IPEC has already introduced trainings on tractor repair and maintenance and automotive repair in areas in Negros Occidental. The four areas La Carlota City, Binalbagan, Isabela and Himamaylan. The training has already started in January 2006 and it is facilitated by the Sugar Industry Foundation.

Over 40,000 children below the age of 10 work at the tea estates on a full-time basis, in Tooro region alone, according to the International Labour Organisation.

Tooro region is one of the leading tea producers in Uganda where child labour is reportedly rampant.

At least 200,000 people in western Uganda earn their living by plucking the green leaves at Shs1,500 per day.

The problem, which according to ILO reports, remains a daunting challenge that underscores the urgent need to help children in the region to return to normal life of schooling, and good health.

Regional Secretary for the National Union of Plantation and Agricultural Workers of Uganda, Mr Paddy Twesigomwe, said the actual number of children withdrawn from the tea estates is 365 partly because of the radio campaigns.

Child labour is partly encouraged by the deepening poverty and the HIV/aids scourge forcing children to engage in labour to fend for their families either as child parents or to complement their parents' income.

State Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari, who spearheaded the raid, said that the children, aged less than 14 years, had been forcibly asked to work for 14 to 18 hours per day by the unit owners, Arman and Ujala, also from Bihar.
 
The Karnataka Labour department rescued 27 children, all hailing from Bihar, from an illegally-operated embroidery unit in the city during a raid this morning.

State Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari, who spearheaded the raid, said that the children, aged less than 14 years, had been forcibly asked to work for 14 to 18 hours per day by the unit owners, Arman and Ujala, also from Bihar.

He said that though the owners had fled before the raid was carried out, supervisor Feroz (19) was detained.

Mr Ansari said the children, all hailing from Seethamari district of Bihar, were brought to the city ten months ago by Arman and Ujala. They were kept locked in a dingy room, measuring 10 ft by 12 ft, and were not provided adequate food and facilities.

He said the illegal operation was on since 1995 using many children. It was said that they had a similar unit in Vijayawada.

The Minister said the owners had refused permission to the children's parents who came from Bihar to see their wards, lying that they were working in the Vijayawada unit.

Mr Ansari said a well planned trap was laid by the police and labour department after he came to know about the operation from three boys who escaped from the unit. Though Dharmendra, one of those who had escaped, claimed that he received Rs 3,000 per month, inquiries with the children revealed that the owners hardly paid any salary to the children and sent paltry sums of Rs 200 or Rs 400 to the parents once in three or six months.

He said the children were treated badly and some of them had wounds. The children would be provided medical aid in a premises run by voluntary agencies and sent back to their native places after despatching necessary intimation to the district authorities concerned in Bihar.

THE case study of 18-year-old Mohini and 25-year-old Sarita in their forced employment throws light upon human trafficking.

The Pendu Mazdoor Union which helped free these girls from a local hospital here today claim that they have a list of almost 500 girls working in Punjab who are bonded labourers. The union claims to have helped the district administration of Nawanshahr stop the auction of girls in 2003. The price is apalling, Rs 500 per child and Rs 1,000 per girl, claims Tarsem Peter, the president of the union.

Human trafficking has another form and that is through agencies. This reporter called up a placement agency in New Delhi and the agent explained how one can get a maidservant. ‘‘We have girls from places like Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. We charge Rs 7,000 for a girl plus one month’s salary. If you want a girl who can cook, then the monthly salary for the girl will be Rs 2,500. These girls can cook Punjabi food. The contract will be for one year. If the girl does not like your home, we will replace her. This is our responsibility.’’ The agency claims to have been approved by the government.

Peter said, ‘‘This is human trafficking. Some girls are placed in homes, some in shops and some in flesh trade. The worse is that these girls are illiterate and poverty-stricken so they do not raise a voice. Their employers hand over their salary to the agency and in a way these girls become bonded labourers as they are working with no minimum wages or a holiday and cannot even say when they want to go back home, for this is decided by the agency or the employer.’’

RESPONDING TO reports of an alarming number of children selling at the Savanna-la-Mar market in Westmoreland, the Office of the Children's Advocate is spearheading a drive to stem the practice.

Children's Advocate Mary Clarke told The Gleaner that her office had received calls from concerned residents notifying her of the widespread activity.

As a result of those concerns, investigators from the Child Development Agency (CDA) were dispatched to the town.

"The agency sent investigators to the Sav-la-Mar market on March 17 and found 23 girls and boys ranging from five to 16 years old in or around the market and working as moving vendors," Ms. Clarke said. "The majority of the children were from inner-city communities in and around Sav-la-Mar."

She explained: "The reasons given for their absence from school included 'Jeans Day' at school, suspension from school, no money to go to school, or 'my parents need my assistance to improve income'."

The parents in the latter category were subsequently contacted by CDA officials and made aware of the provisions of the Child Care and Protection Act regarding child labour and denial of education.

Several parents told investigators they were not aware that they were in breach of the law.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

"Several indicated that they would refrain from this practice, having received this information," the Children's Advocate said. "The team visited six schools in and around Sav-la-Mar one Friday and found attendance satisfactory. The team will be visiting schools, view attendance records, conduct public education for stakeholders who use and work in the market."

Investigators will be conducting weekly spot checks in the market over the next three months.

Ms. Clarke also noted reports of child labour and truancy at Winchester Avenue and Manor Park in Kingston.

"We are planning a stakeholders consultation for persons working with street children, to review our policy position. Children working is illegal," she commented.

"In Sav they did not have a clue that this was illegal. We are appealing to members of the public to contact us when they see this practice."

When contacted, Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, Councillor Delford Morgan, said yesterday that he was unaware of reports of child labour in the town.

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Yet another horrifying tale of child labour and torture has come to light here with the police rescuing a 12-year-old Sunita, reportedly an orphan, from a residence at the All India Radio colony.

The girl with blisters on her back was sent to the hospital for a check-up, while one S Patnaik has been arrested in this connection, according to police. It is learnt that Mr Patnaik’s wife is working with the AIR here.

According to the local police, Sunita, who hails from Koraput district, was subjected to mental and physical torture while working as a domestic help. The girl alleged that she was often punished and assaulted by her house masters. They had poured hot dal on her back resulting in blisters, a police officer said.

Receiving information of such torture, a police team had raided the house last night and rescued the girl. A case under Sections 342,323,234,506 and 34 of IPC, along with charges under the Juvenile Justice Act and SC/ST Atrocities, has been registered against the accused person.

A couple of years ago, the state had been rocked by a similar tale of brutal torture of a child labourer in a royal family at Khariar.
More recently, in Jajpur district, a minor, who had been fretted by a shopkeeper, was saved by some people.

ISPs would be required "to declare publicly whether or not they have taken, or are taking, appropriate technical steps to block access to web sites that contain child pornography" under a new law which has had its second reading in the House of Commons.

If passed, the Control of Internet Access (Child Pornography) Act would require every ISP to declare in its annual report and on its website whether it is actively pursuing measures to prevent its customers from obtaining access to known child pornography websites. It would stop short of compelling an ISP to block access.

It was introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Margaret Moran, Labour MP for Luton South, last October. She told the House of Commons at the time: "Let us not be under any illusion. The situation surrounding internet child pornography is appalling."

She cited estimates from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, suggesting that 20,000 new images of child pornography go online every week.

Moran pointed to the Cleanfeed filtering system introduced by BT in [2004]. It prevents BT's customers accessing a blacklist of illegal websites, collated by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). "I commend those ISPs that have used the available technology to block such sites," said Moran. "AOL, BT, Yahoo! and Vodafone are models of good corporate citizenship."

But she said too many ISPs do very little to block child pornography sites. Hence the bill.
"The Bill is intended primarily as a public accountability mechanism," she said. The declaration in the annual report would come alongside others that are already required – such as declarations on carbon emissions or health and safety.

"The public, parents and policy makers are all entitled to know who is trying to kill off the trade in illegal child abuse images and who is not," she added.

MONROVIA: An international charity said on Monday that aid workers and UN peacekeepers were trading food for sex with young girls at Liberian camps set up for people left homeless by years of war.

The charity Save the Children, which surveyed nearly 160 children and about 170 adults who were either living in camps or had recently returned home, said they were repeatedly told of girls having sex with older men for money, food and other goods.

The men cited included peacekeeping soldiers, aid workers and other powerful men in the community. The report did not give the nationality of aid workers or peacekeepers involved. About 17,000 UN peacekeepers are in Liberia to provide security.

It said an alarming number of girls as young as eight were having sex with older men including policemen, teachers, aid workers and UN peacekeepers in exchange for money, food or favours like a ride in a car or watching a film.

"There are significant developments which indicate the communities are becoming increasingly resigned to the fact that sex in exchange for goods and services is another method of survival," Save the Children said in its 20-page report.

"Despite some initiatives to reduce sexual exploitation and abuse, little change has been ... (made) to the lives of vulnerable children since 2002," the report states. Save the Children said it asked the interviewees about their livelihoods and how people met their basic needs.

Liberia is just starting to recover from years of civil war, and many of its citizens still live in camps set up after they were forced out of their villages. Twenty-five camps were originally built, and some have since been closed.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Liberia said the survey was conducted nine months ago and is outdated, and much has improved since.

"The camps that are subject primarily of the report are now closed; so there are good things that are now happening in Liberia," Jordan Ryan, the coordinator, said. He said UN staff who engage in such "unacceptable behaviours" are fired.

"With the coming in of a new government, mechanisms are being put in place to limit these kinds of things," said Mohammed Sheriff, Liberia's deputy health minister.

In Congo, a UN study found that peacekeepers had sex with Congolese women and girls, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money.

District collector Naveen Mittal released a poster embossed with Nestam-Badikira at the camp office here on Tuesday.

The fortnightly programme with an aim to enroll more number of child labourers in the bridge schools would be held by the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan in co-ordination with education department, would be held from May 15 to 30.

Addressing a meeting on this occasion, Mittal exhorted the officials of SSA and Child Labour Project to achieve the target of 100 per cent enrolment of child labourers into the bridge schools.

He said that percentage of attendance in schools is around 70-80 per cent and the drop-out rate is about 10 per cent and asked the officials to take the help of local communities in enrolling more number of children.

He said the responsibility of enrolling more number of children lay equally with the district education officers and directed the officials to take immediate steps towards eradication of child labour.

He set a target of registering 100 cases each to 50 mandal education officers.

Committees should be formed to conduct surprise checks on the schools. District educational officer A Satyanarayana Reddy, SSA additional project director P Madhavi Latha, NCLP project director K Sivasankara Rao, assistant labour commissioner J Nageswara Rao were present.

The Moroccan government is preparing a law to ban child labour and in particular the use of children as domestic servants. Yasmnia Baddou, Morocco's secretary of state for family, childhood and the disabled, told a press conference on Tuesday that the law aimed to "create a Morocco that is worthy of its children" and would focus on "regulating domestic labour and punish all use of little girls as maids." According to the US rights group Human Rights Watch, Morocco has one of the highest child labour rates in the Middle East and North Africa.

Moroccan law bans children under 15 from working.

However, a survey carried out by Morocco's employment ministry, the rights group International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and the World Bank, cited by the Maghreb Arabe Press news agency, found that some 600,000 children between the ages of seven and 14 work in Morocco - 11 percent of the country's children in that age group.

The Human Rights Watch's report issued in December last year said that "girls as young as five work 100 or more hours per week, without rest breaks or days off for as little as six and a half Moroccan dirhams (about 70 US cents) a day. These girls are often exposed to physical and even sexual abuse and denied schooling."

The US-based rights group blamed the Moroccan cabinet for neglecting children's rights.

The draft bill is reportedly also aimed at fighting recruitment networks, especially in poor rural areas where child labour is most widespread.

The number of child labourers in the Asia Pacific declined 4% between 2000 and 2004, leading the International Labour Organization (ILO) to express optimism on Thursday that the worst forms of child labour might be eliminated by 2016.

ILO's latest report, "The end of child labour: Within reach," released Thursday, disclosed that the number of "economically active children," aged 5 to 14, in Asia and the Pacific fell to 122.3 million in 2004, compared with 127.3 million in 2000.

Worldwide the number of child labourers fell to 190.7 million in 2004, compared with 211 in 2000, a 10 per cent decline, according to the ILO.

Latin America and the Caribbean have been the most successful regions in reducing child labour, while Sub-Saharan Africa has been the least so.

"Progress has been made in reducing child labour in the countries of the Asia Pacific, particularly in the worst forms," said Lin Lean Lim, the ILO's deputy regional director for Asia Pacific. "We believe that the target of eliminating the worst forms of child labour within 10 years is achievable, but we must redouble our efforts to do so."

The report noted that Southeast Asia and China, where population growth is generally slowing, had made more progress than South Asia in reducing child labour.

"It is South Asia that is the bulk of the problem, of why the decline has not been faster than what we would have hoped for," Lim told a press conference.

"China's child population has been going down, so relatively speaking its less of a problem than the India/South Asia situation," said Lim.

She noted that there still had to be a "sea-change of attitudes among communities and families to accord every child the right to their childhood."

Specifically, many Asian communities remain reluctant to spend money on providing education for girls, she noted.

May 03, Colombo: The Wages Board of the Labour Department of Sri Lanka has allowed child labour, says a government notice published in Sri Lankan newspapers.

The unethical notice dated 19 April, 2006, under the name of Labour Commissioner Mahinda Madihahewa relates to the wages of labourers who come under the Wages Board Act. The wages to be paid to labourers between the ages of 14 and 16 in the coconut and spice industries are specified in the notice.

Accordingly, male workers between the ages of 14 to 16 and female workers between 14 to 15 years in the cocoa, cardamom and pepper sectors are paid Rs. 163.22 a day. (approximately $1.63). A labourer above that age is paid Rs. 167.22.
Male workers between the ages of 14 to 16 and female workers between 14 to 15 years in the coconut cultivation sector are paid Rs. 144.50 a day (approximately $1.44). A labourer above that age is paid Rs. 151.25.

Sri Lanka considers all persons less than 18 years as children and child labour is not allowed in the country. Low rate crdit card loan for Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus Car

AWARENESS on child exploitation issues would be raised in the lead up to World Day Against Child Labour next month.
This was revealed by the ILO-backed awareness committee tasked with raising the public's knowledge on the existence of child labour in the country.

Committee chairman Nesbitt Hazleman said children's place was in school and not to assist the nation in building and development.

"We need to understand the magnitude of this problem and to see what type of work these children are involved in," he said.

"We want to talk about it and to improve people's life and help build Fiji."

The theme for this year's June 9 celebration is 'Eliminate Child Labour Now'.

Save The Children Fiji's Margaret Logavatu said child exploitation existed in various forms in Fiji and they were concerned.

"Child labour is anything the children are engaged in which takes them away from school and making them work under their physical ability," she said.

She said there was a need for stronger laws to be implemented to protect children and she stressed that sex exploitation was also a form of child labour and more should be done in this area.

"Agencies should be working more closely and more consolidated effort needs to be done. A lot of the industrial laws should be put in place and the root problem to be addressed," she said.

Minister for Social Welfare, Adi Asenaca Caucau said to raise awareness against children working and working without pay would be their main aim where they were trying to stop this from going further.

Adi Asenaca said it was sad to note that the problem existed in Fiji and people should realise that it was important for the children to go to school and not work as labourers.

She hopes that their upcoming campaigns would have an effect on the society.

ILO said that child labour appeared to be a growing problem in the Pacific Island countries including Fiji and that a wide range of stakeholders have expressed their concern and were willing to work together in curbing the issue in its infancy.

Activities are being planned and it is expected that stakeholders, including those from industry, civil society, law enforcement and civil society agencies would be involved in the preparation for the day.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) would on Thursday release a new global report providing fresh estimates of the number of child labourers worldwide and regionally, and analysis of progress to date in the struggle against the menace. A statement released in Accra on Tuesday said the Report entitled "The End of Child Labour: Within Reach" would be launched at a wide range of events globally, including the ILO's American Regional Meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, by Juan Somavia, ILO Director General. The statement said the Report had been prepared by the ILO's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). It said it provided the most recent and wide-ranging assessment currently available on the extent of child labour and international efforts to stop it.

Four years ago, the ILO provided the first global Report allowing a reliable assessment of the child labour situation and calling for the creation of an effective strategy to stop child labour. It said this year's Report would present a new global agenda, building on lessons learned over the past years to achieve further progress in the elimination of child labour.

KENDRAPARA: Though child labour is banned, children are seen sweating it out everywhere - in factories, hotels, construction sites, crusher and brick kiln units. If unofficial reports are any indication, the number of child labourers in the coastal district of Kendrapara has increased considerably in the past two years. In fact, reports of child exploitation and sexual abuse are also pouring in from several of such work-places.

“Unfortunately, neither the district administration nor the Labour department is taking any step to eradicate the problem though the State Government has been issuing directives from time to time,’’ alleged Prafulla Nayak, secretary of Pragati, a voluntary organisation.

According to Nayak, there have been several cases when child labourers have been allegedly subjected to sexual abuse in their work-place or forced to work in hazardous surroundings. But the administration has not taken any step for their rehabilitation.

In fact, till date the administration has not been able to carry out a proper survey to identify the child labourers in the district, he alleged

The army of child workers is growing despite claims by the government of an improvement in the situation and an increase in the number of schemes to rehabilitate them.

The last census, in 2001, showed that the number of child labourers has gone up from 11.59 million in 1991 to 12.66 million in 10 years. But a recent report by Global March Against Child Labour, a non-government organisation, pegged the figure higher.

“Unofficial sources claim between 25 million to 30 million child workers because a significant number of them— in the domestic and agricultural sectors — are not covered in the census,” the report said.

And all this despite a number of legal and social initiatives launched by the government two decades ago.

The Child Labour Act of 1986 sought to prevent the employment of children in hazardous occupations. The act, however, did not cover sectors like domestic service and agriculture and the urban and rural informal sectors where children work in large numbers.

Bangalore: FedEx Express, one of the world's largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to over 220 countries and territories, along with CRY (Child Rights and You), a leading advocate for child rights, has launched a three-day programme to create awareness about child labour on the occasion of Anti-Child Labour Day, observed internationally on April 30.

‘FedEx Cares' initiative that was launched on Friday, was aimed at sensitising the public on Child Rights and issues of Child Labour in the country.

This initiative involved an interactive theatre workshop for children to share their perceptions and experiences of their rights as children and bring to the fore how these 'Rights' impact their lives on a personal and community level.

The workshop would culminate with the staging of a play called 'Playground' at the Guru Nanak Bhavan on Saturday.

The children would also be seen performing the play at Shoppers Stop, Bannerghata Road and outside the popular Forum Mall in the city over the next two days, a joint realease said on Saturday.

"About 17 million children in India work as per official estimates, while NGO's estimate the number to be a whopping 100 million. We believe it is time for all of us to come together as a community and give our children their basic rights," Fed Express Managing Director (Sales and Marketing for India, Middle East and Africa) Mr Jacques Creeten said, commenting on the inititaitive.

"Children are seen as insignificant and invisible sections of our society, their voices rarely heard or considered. Being the most vulnerable, it then becomes our priority to ensure that children receive their basic rights to a happy, secure and carefree childhood," CRY South Director Regina Thomas said.

"There is a great deal each one of us can do to ensure a positive change. Whether it is refusing to employ a child in one's home or workplace or by refusing to be part of any system that exploits child labour. Getting more people to be aware and to take responsibility for the problem is precisely what we seek to achieve through this performance," she added.

The State Government is contemplating establishing Society for Elimination of Child Labour to build coordination between various departments of the government and with civil society organisations working for eradication of the social evil.

The Society will be headed by Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and ministers of school education and labour, chief secretary and secretaries of the departments concerned will be the members.

The chief minister reviewed the issue with School Education Minister N Rajyalakshmi and other officials here on Saturday.

The Federal Government appears set to address the festering problem of child exploitation in the country with a policy on child labour. A draft of the policy, which is currently in circulation, identifies the odious practice as a formidable challenge in view of its negative impact on the social, moral, cognitive and physical development of children. It provides guidelines for all stakeholders who are involved in the battle for the elimination of child labour in Nigeria.

The move by the Federal Government to formulate a policy on child labour coincides with the announcement of an amendment to the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2003, to include a fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for five years, or both, for any person who employs a child as a domestic help outside his home or family environment.

The Executive Secretary of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP), Mrs Carol Ndaguba, who made the amendment public, said corporate offenders would be liable to a N250,000 fine.

The criminalisation of the use of children as domestic servants and the move to formulate a policy on child labour, are welcome developments. A nation that is concerned about its future cannot afford to have its children, not only outside the school system, but engaged in unprofitable and inhumane labour.