Fight Against Child Labor

Child labor is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It affects them mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and it hinders with their schooling. In worst cases, at a very early age, child labor involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities.

Those were the reasons we should fight against the alarming situation of child laborers. The Philippines launched a nationwide campaign against intolerable practice of child labor. “The Batang Malaya: Child labor free Philippines” is the country’s response for new action towards the global deadline of ending the worst forms of child labor by 2016.

We have to do something to stop child labor. We must pity those children who sacrifice their lives, rights and freedom.

 

by: Ady Faye Abunto

 

References:

http://www.ilo.org

www.manilatimes.net

The Alarming Increase of Child Laborers

“The rising number of child labor in the Philippines is an indictment of the government’s failure to positively address the population problem”, according to Albay Representative, Edcel Lagman.

The child laborers were deprived of education, that is why, they don’t have enough knowledge and  understanding of the realities of life especially when they had started a family of their own.

“The number of child workers in the Philippines has breached the 5 million mark comes in the heels of the aggravated maternal death rate of 162 deaths per 100,000 live births”, according to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Lagman strongly believes that both maternal deaths and child labor will be reduced and prevented once the RH bill becomes a law. Also, according to him, “..the unremitting pregnancies of Filipino women in the marginalized sectors due to lack of information and access to reproductive health and family planning services and supplies largely contribute to the increase in child labor as numerous children are suffered to work in their tender years to augment family incomes”.

 

 

 

ph.news.yahoo.com/child–labor

www.davidpaulmorris.com

 

Child Labor’s Root

Poverty is one of the most critical social problems that our country is facing over the past years. Informal settlers, malnutrition and child labor are few of the results of the worsening poverty in the Philippines.

Thus, poverty is said to be the ROOT of Child Labor. Insufficient basic needs push the children to work, even in a young age. Instead of staying in school to learn, they have to go to mines, farms and other dangerous places to find money.

When will Poverty ends? So that children of young age will not sacrifice their lives and future to feed their family. How could we end it?

 

Child Labor’s Consequences

Every child has the right to learn, to play and to build relationships. They should be educated in school for them to learn things and apply it to their lives. They should enjoy their childhood by playing what they want to gain friends. They should also build and maintain good relationships to their family, relatives and friends. However, Child Labor became the hindrance to child’s rights and development.

Children engaging in child labor don’t go to school because they have worked to provide food for their family. Thus, they can’t learn things they suppose to learn. They can’t be a productive citizen and can’t have a fulfilling life because at an early age they were exposed to an environment of poverty. They can’t also enjoy their lives because of the hardships they were experiencing.

They say, “..the youth is the hope of our country..”, then how can we attain this if most of the youths of today were imprisoned to hardships and sacrifices?

CHILD LABOR HELP: Child Labour- Wikipedia/photos

Growing Numbers of Child Labor

Philippines belongs to the third developing countries. As the economy goes down, an increasing number of child laborers go up. The numbers of child labor in the Philippines increased by approximately 30 percent from 4.2 million in 2001 to 5.5 million in the year 2011. The Survey on Children of the National Statistics Office (NSO) shows, alarming the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Instead of going to school and enjoying their childhood, these 5.59 million child laborers must wipe their sweat and sacrifice to provide food and needs to their family. Hazardous child labor was higher among boys, with 66.8 percent compared to girls with 33.2 percent. Central Luzon (10.6 percent), Bicol (10.2 percent), Western Visayas (8.5 percent), Northern Mindanao (8.2 percent) and Central Visayas (7.3 percent) were the regions with the highest incidence of hazardous child labor.

Most of these children work in rock quarries, mines, farms, industries and on fishing boats. One of the most dangerous child labor practices in the Philippines is the Deep sea fishing. Many fishermen use young boys to help them catch fish, who unfortunately die, due to hazardous practices. In some cases, these child laborers die because of the accident caused by dynamite fishing. Are you going to let these things happen again and again?

References:

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/35801/child-labor-in-philippines-up-by-30-percent-over-10-years

http://abcnews.go.com/meta/search/imageDetail?format=plain&source=http://abcnews.go.com/images/International/gty_phillipines_child_labor_148060199_ll_120709

http://aqualifeforyou.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html

by: Ady Faye C. Abunto

Eradicate Child Labor

Directed by the principles protected in the ILO’s Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention No. 182, the ILO’s International Program on Child Labor (IPEC) facilitates to attain the abolition of child labor.

Nowadays, child labor became a normal way of engaging a child to illegal and dangerous works. It is because of financial needs in order to feed themselves and their family. Though they can help their parents, it is still an illegal act because instead of enjoying their childhood and enriching their physical, emotional and psychological capacities, they were deprived of it.

Government and non-government organizations were alarmed of it, thus, they still find solutions and help for them to abolish child labor. As a development communication student, we should also help campaign against child labor and let our voices be heard to help out the children engaging in child labor. Let us help them speak their minds and follow their hearts on where it should be.

www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour

http://miesquizofreniaparticular.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/cerremos-los-ojos/

Burden of A Young Mind

A child has rights and privileges to live properly. However, because of social problems that our country goes through, his freedom was forgotten. His rightsof formal education, basic necessities and healthy living, yet sometimes, these rights cannot be achieved by some children.Their dreams were buried and just leave behind.

One of the most alarmingly and most rampant problems in the Philippines is the Child labor. This problem is caused by many social problems that arise in the country and one of those social problems and said to be the root of child labor is POVERTY. It is the number one enemy of the people and the top cause of the increasing number of Child labor. 5.59 million Child laborers arestriving in the Philippines and most of them are working hazardous labors, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).Hazardous child labor refers to employment in industries and occupations designated as hazardous under the country’s occupational safety and health standards. These 5.59 million was deprived of their rights and privileges to enjoy life and childhood. They have to strive and work hard to eat two to three times a day. In a young age, they must know how to live with poverty. These children don’t have a choice. They have to carry the burden of life.

by: Ady Faye Abunto

Reference:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/218947/philippines-has-3-m-child-laborers-nso-ilo

Child Labor in the Philippines

Child Labor means illegally engaging children aging below 18 years old in unsafe works or activities. Poverty is said to be one of the reasons why children are forced to work. Statistically, Philippines have 2.06 million children who are working in farms, mines and quarries. And as of October 2011, 5.49 million children are working, of which 3.028 million were child laborers and 2.462 million were exposed to dangerous labor.

Child Labor affects the child’s physical, mental and emotional development. Thus, the child becomes weak and could suffer to different kinds of ailments. Unfortunately, this serious, illegal act became rampant because of the large need of money to provide foods and other basic needs of the family. That is why a lot of government and non-government agencies are working together to stop the illegal child labor and to give a healthy and safe environment for the children to live in.

rachanadeshpande2.articlealley.com

http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang–en/index.htm