Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Guy Ryder has said that about 152 million children between the ages of five and 17 are trapped in child labour globally.
Speaking at an event to mark the World Day Against Child Labour at the ongoing 107th session of the ILO Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Ryder said world leaders must take steps to address the root cause of child labour.
The ILO Director General said between 2012 and 2016, there was โalmost no reduction in the number of children aged five to 11 in child labour.
โThese children typically begin child labour at the age of six or seven and they commonly perform hazardous work as they get older.โ
Calling for urgent action to tackle the economic root causes of child labour, Ryder said attention must be paid to global supply chains and unpaid family workers in agriculture.
He said: โThe challenge is not just about globally-traded garments, tobacco and cocoa; it is also about local markets for sorghum, millet, bricks โ and itโs about domestic work as well,โ he said, ahead of the World Day against Child Labour, marked on June 12.
Ryder said the 152 million children in child labour worldwide is partly because child labour in agriculture โ which is mostly unpaid family work, has been on the increase.
The event in Geneva also marked the 20th anniversary of the Global March against Child Labour, which culminated in June 1998, when hundreds of marchers, including children, took to the stage at the ILO where delegates paved the ground for the adoption in 1999 of ILO Convention No. 182 on โEliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labour.โ
General Secretary of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workersโ Associations (IUF), Sue Longley, stressed the importance of keeping a strong focus on agriculture, which is where about 70 per cent of child labour is.
Nazrene Mannie from the Board of Business Unity in South Africa highlighted the difficulty of tackling child labour when it takes place in family farms or enterprises, often hidden from public view.
This yearโs World Day Against Child Labour also seeks to promote safety and health for young workers.
