"I work everyday after I knock off from school, I do different types of piece works and digging pits is one of them. I get six thousand kwacha for each pit that I dig and sometimes I have to share it with other children who help me in carrying the sand out of the pit when I am tired...it makes me sad when other children and myself have to work like slaves in order for us to survive while other children have an opportunity to go to school without working for anything..."
The moment the issue of child labour is brought up people run quickly to definitions. The report cited previously on child labour in Zambia here should help. Chapter 4 deals with the extent to which children’s work in Zambia constitutes “child labour”, i.e., the extent to which work is injurious, negative or undesirable to children. As a general point work by children per se is not necessarily injurious to children or a violation of their rights. Indeed, in some circumstances, children’s work can be beneficial, not harmful, contributing to family survival and enabling children to acquire learning and life skills. Three main international conventions – the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ILO Convention No. 182 (Worst Forms) and ILO Convention No. 138 (Minimum Age) – define child labour and provide a framework for efforts against it. The 14 year old boy example given above certainly qualifies under the definitions as child labour.
To help avoid child labor, it is necessary to provide the opportunity for their parents to get better paying jobs. In this respect, Multi Facility Economic Zones (MFEZ's) being established throughout the country will help a lot. Also, if other services such as free school lunches can be provided, it will reduce the need for children to earn income for food. Over the long term, relevant skills/education upgradation should be focused on, as it will lead to rising incomes. In this respect, I am opposed to teaching more than two languages (English and the local language) in school as mentioned in the article previous to the child labor article posted, at this stage of development, since it will divert time and resources from more important subjects such as science and math.
ReplyDeleteA correction - the multilingual education article I referred to above is the third article prior to the child labor article.
ReplyDelete