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

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/

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