Eliminating and Preventing Child labor
Anyone under the age of 18 is considered a child, according to the United Nations.
Child labor is work that children should not be doing because they are too young, or if they are old enough to work, because it is dangerous or unsuitable for them. Whether or not work performed by children is defined as child labor depends on the child’s age, the hours and type of work and the conditions in which the work is performed.
Check the age of your employees: Almost all countries have set a minimum working age of 14, 15 or 16 years of age, in accordance with this international standard. In some cases, families may have been unable to register a birth (distance from the village to the district capital, transport and document fees). This is a serious issue, both for employees who need proof of age, and for children who are too young to work and should remain in school. Children up to the age of 18 who work in hazardous conditions or perform hazardous tasks are considered to be child labor.
Carry out workplace risk assessment:
When carrying out step 3 of risk assessment analysis, be aware that safety and health risk control measures take the following order of importance:
1. Removal or substitution of hazards with non-hazardous processes (e.g. stop using agrochemicals for organic farming).
2. Safe use of tools, equipment, technology and engineering (e.g. use of an automatic chemical spray system to replace human operation).
3. Use of safe work methods, practices, organization, information and training (e.g. training on the safe practice of a chemical spray).
4. Hygiene and welfare (e.g. instrumental of shower/washing facilities).
5. Personal protective equipment (e.g. use of special masks, gloves, boots and outside clothing).
Stop hiring children below the minimum age: Immediately stop hiring children below the relevant minimum age. This does not mean you cannot recruit workers above the minimum age into decent youth employment. But there should be a permanent ban on underage recruitment. This should be understood by all employees responsible for hiring.
Reduce the hours for children under the minimum age: It is difficult to describe what is meant by “light work” and it is rarely given a legal definition. It is important to make sure that children do not work more than the legal maximum number of hours per week.
Provide support to children found in child labor: Getting children into school and compensating for the loss of their wages could cost your company in the short term. However, you may be able to offset these costs by negotiating with adult workers for improved productivity.
Support education: Provide support for children’s education, in agreement with the public education authorities, by paying to improve (or set up) schools near a plantation or factory, or by helping families pay for their children’s school fees.
Elimination of the need for child labor: Look at the difference in wages paid to children below and above the legal working age. The costs of eliminating child labor are often misunderstood. There may be little difference between paying a 14-year-old and paying a 16-year-old. With regards to hazardous work, the wages of a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old may be very similar. Slightly older workers are also likely to be more productive.
Establish one or more monitoring systems: It may be difficult to trust this external audit assessment because it has been paid for by the company. Monitoring child labor means doing reliable and regular checks on workplaces. Furthermore, suppliers can put on a false show for inspectors by hiding their child workers or moving them from export production to domestic production worksites. Carrying out surprise checks and looking at all the company’s worksites can get around this problem.
