While children must be protected from work which is harmful to their health and development, they also have a right to work. To this end, child workers should enjoy the same rights as their adult counterparts so as to be able to defend their labour rights, such as being able to join a union, as well as additional protections.
Imposing a blanket ban on all child work without addressing the economic conditions which push children to work in the first place can mean that children will resume working the moment official eyes are averted, and risk becoming part of the illegal economy where abuse and exploitation are routine.
Instead of prohibiting children from working, governments should formalise and regulate their labour activities, establish safeguards to ensure their protection and that the decision to work is the child’s own. Child employment should be safe, adapted to a child’s age, fairly paid, and should not interfere with their other rights, especially their education and development.
Read more on page 15 of our discussion paper Age is Arbitrary: Discussion paper on setting minimum ages.
We recognise that there is no consensus on the minimum age of admission to employment. After much discussion, this section is under review. We don’t believe this area of children’s rights is straightforward. However, we continue to hold concerns about reports from advocates on the ground and child workers themselves that the implementation of ILO Convention 138 on the minimum age of admission to employment is having inadvertent harmful consequences for children’s rights. We therefore feel that a thorough impact assessment of this Convention is needed.
Campaigns and resources
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“Labour rights: Child labour and protecting working children,” by CRIN
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“A better approach to child work,” by a group of researchers and practitioners, published on openDemocracy
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“When is it okay for children to work?” by Human Rights Watch
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"Response to Human Rights Watch's letter on minimum-age standards with respect to child labour" by a group of researchers and practitioners, published on openDemocracy
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"Open Essay: a better approach to child work" by a group of researchers and practitioners, published on openDemocracy
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The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) is a programme that the International Labour Organization has run since 1992. IPEC’s aim is to work towards the progressive elimination of child labour by strengthening national capacities to address child labour problems, and by creating a worldwide movement to combat it.