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[AMMAN, 10 July 2007] - Officials from the public and private sectors have announced the launch of a code of conduct to combat child labour in Jordan, but experts believe the country needs more than "a piece of paper" to fight the phenomenon. The code of conduct will be circulated around the kingdom in areas known to have a high concentration of child labour. It indicates areas of concern, including health and safety hazards, and explains how employers can turn away fathers seeking employment for their children. Officials who worked on launching the project say the code of conduct has no legal power and will depend on the moral obligation of employers. "We just want employers to know there are organisations monitoring this issue. There was a big wall of silence regarding child labour, but now this wall is cracking and we hope to bring it down," said the national programme manager of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO's) International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour, Nihaya Dabdoub. There are no official figures regarding the number of working children in Jordan, but activists believe thousands of them are in heavily populated cities, including Amman, Zarqa, 30km east of Amman, and Irbid. Hazards Most children work in garages, factories or on farms; they also clean cars or sell items at traffic lights. They are subject to various hazards on a daily basis: heavy vibrating machinery, noise pollution, poor lighting and exposure to chemicals. Many have heavy coughs, shortness of breath and aching limbs and joints caused by long working hours and exposure to chemicals. A recent ILO survey showed that some children had no awareness of such risks, with 24.8 per cent unable to distinguish between loud and normal noise levels; 25 per cent not sure about adequate lighting levels; and 37 per cent unaware of the dangers posed by handling chemicals on a daily basis. Another study by the Jordanian Ministry of Labour showed that, 13 per cent of working children in the country are subjected to forced labour, with over 16 per cent earning an equivalent of US$15-70 a month. The majority of children working are school dropouts aged 9-17 and working an average of 60-65 hours a week to help supplement their families' income. Experts also say many children are often subject to systematic sexual abuse, but this phenomenon is being swept under the carpet by society. Current law Labour law bans the employment of children under 16, whilst those aged 16-18 should not work more than a six-hour day, with employers liable to a JD500 fine (about US$710) if caught. However, the labour law is not being enforced. "It is good to have a code of conduct, but it is not necessarily going to curb child labour given that laws are not being respected," said Ebrahim Saif, head of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan. Activists say the issue is not being taken seriously: "You can never see a labour inspector fine an employer who has a child working for him. They will even pretend they did not see anything," said Dabdoub. "Over 99 per cent of the inspectors' time - as they tour factories, shops and other places of work - is spent on hunting illegal expatriates from Egypt and Syria, and if they notice children working they don't bat an eyelid," she told IRIN. She said this was the first year ever that the Labour Ministry had allocated part of its annual budget to child labour issues. Study A recent study by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan showed that the larger the family the poorer it gets, and the poorer the family's children are, the more prone they are to be sent to work at a young age. Economists believe more children will be forced onto the labour market as the country's economic condition worsens due to an increase in oil prices and lack of natural resources in the country. Statistics show that this year unemployment is around 14.3 per cent. "It is a vicious circle: If we send the child home to study, the poorer the family gets, but if we allow that child to work he will remain poor because of his lack of education," said Saif. Further information
pdf: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/2c890299cbf522916a599f163b...