Social justice to eliminate child labor

SGGP June 13, 2023 06:49

“Social justice for all. End child labor!” is the theme of this year’s World Day against Child Labor, June 12.

Children in Lilongwe, Malawi

On this occasion, the International Labour Organization (ILO) organized a high-level workshop on the sidelines of the 111th International Labour Conference taking place at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland). The workshop focused on discussing the link between social justice and the elimination of child labour, as well as measures to promote social justice.

The Director of the ILO’s Social Protection Department, Shahra Razavi, said that stepping up efforts to ensure adequate investment in universal social protection for children – ideally through universal child benefits that support families at all times – is an appropriate and ethical choice, and one that paves the way for sustainable development and social justice. ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said that the roots of child labour are rooted in social injustice. The solution to ending child labour is decent work, which means creating safe and healthy workplaces for adults, ensuring adequate benefits, including unemployment, sickness, maternity, disability and pensions, so that they can support their families and send their children to school rather than having to go to work.

The statistics site Theworldcounts.com estimates that globally there are currently 218 million child laborers aged 5-17, of whom 152 million work in extremely dangerous conditions. The worldcounts.com also estimates that at the current rate, there will be an additional 121 million child laborers globally by 2025. Child labor is not limited to poor countries. About 84 million children in middle-income countries and 2 million children in high-income countries also have to work to make a living, even though they are at the age of "not yet full, not yet worried". For families, communities and society, child labor will increase the economic burden when they suffer accidents, injuries, and abuse; risk of disorder, complicated social problems when children fall, thereby negatively affecting the country's socio-economic development, causing a decrease in the quality of future human resources...

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cong-bang-xa-hoi-de-xoa-lao-dong-tre-em-post693440.html