Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: Children working in mines and quarries are
faced with considerable health and safety
risks and are deprived of their formative years.
Terre des Hommes calls for an immediate halt
to all forms of hazardous child labour, and
runs programmes to offer alternatives to
working children and provide them with
opportunities for education.
An estimated one million children around the world work in small-scale
mining and quarrying activities in hazardous conditions. They spend long
hours doing harmful work, carrying loads that are too heavy and using
dangerous or inadequate tools. They inhale toxic dusts, work with
explosives and risk work-related death or serious health problems. In small
quarries, children often toil as unpaid bonded labourers. "Children are
treated as mere commodities", said R. Salinari, President of the
International Federation Terre des Hommes, they are made to work in
conditions that adults are less likely to accept and this is at the expense of
their health and their future".
Hazardous forms of labour can also be found in other sectors such as
agriculture. According to Terre des Hommes (Netherlands) 60 000 to 200
000 children aged between 5 and 14 work on plantations in the Philippines
where they are exposed to heat, dangerous equipment and chemicals.
Children working near fields where pesticides are used complain of
dizziness and nausea. The possible effects of exposure to pesticides on
children are more serious than on adults since their body mass is less, and
the limit of non-harmful exposure is therefore lower than for adults.
Terre des Hommes supports the ILO call to end this exploitation of
children. "It is an achievable goal, but it requires clear political will to
address the plight of the most disadvantaged sectors of society. Children
often work in hazardous conditions because their families do not have the
means to protect them", said E. Hamouda, Coordinator of the International
Federation Terre des Hommes. Working conditions have to be improved,
and adults should be employed and paid a fair wage. Employers,
businesses, governments and customers have to take responsibility, and
make the end of child slavery a top priority. Terre des Hommes also calls on
these actors to support programmes that work in favour of exploited
children.
Terre des Hommes (Germany and Netherlands) supports projects in the
state of Karnataka, India, where many children work in small-scale
quarries. Thousands are being exploited together with their families as
bonded labourers, breaking stones that are exported to different places.
Terre des Hommes supports the struggle of these families in order to
improve their legal situation and their working conditions; non-formal
education is made available to children by organising lessons in the
evening. At the same time, income generation activities for the families
have been initiated to reduce the need for child labour.