Ecology. /Ecological monitoring
Derkach K.M., Mandryka
V.V.
Measures against child work.
by M.I. Tygan-Baranovskiy
Conception of ecological monitoring includes a
system of regular complex observations, appraisal and forecasting of changes in
environment conditions and factors, which influence on these conditions. The main requirement of ecological monitoring
is accuracy, adequacy, timeliness and fullness of receiving information and
quality of nature environment. The health condition of population and social
and demographic reality is a main source of
monitoring information. The most difficult questions are questions of
ecology of people on harmful productions. These productions are hazardous not only for all
people but for separate categories of peoples such as children, women, and
persons, which possesses some limitations on health. The questions of safety
and industrial hygiene must solve individually.
But global application of child labour
emphasizes the lack of ecological happiness monitoring of population in
manufacture.
An estimated 246 million children are engaged in child labour. Of those,
almost three-quarters (171 million) work in hazardous situations or conditions,
such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture
or working with dangerous machinery.
Millions of children work under horrific circumstances. They may be
trafficked (1.2 million), forced into debt bondage or other forms of slavery
(5.7 million), into participating in armed conflict (0.3 million) or other
illicit activities (0.6 million). However, the vast majority of child
labourers – 70 per cent or more – work in agriculture [1].
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The Asian and Pacific regions harbour the
largest number of child workers in the five to 14 age group, 127.3 million in
total. (19 percent of children work in the region.)
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Sub-Saharan
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Fifteen percent of children work in the
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Approximately 2.5 million children are working
in industrialized and transition economies.
More
than 456 thousand children in
Among the working children, 42%
stated that they worked in unfavorable conditions.
Notably, problems of heavy physical
labour and excessive concentration began at an early age. In the 7-9 year age
group, 9% of children said they were required to perform strenuous physical labour and 10% said the high intensity of their work
required excessive concentration. In the 10-12 age groups, these rates were 15%
and 8%, respectively.
This fact emphasizes serious concerns
about the physical and mental development of children who have been working in
hazardous conditions since early childhood. Primary measures taken in
addressing the problems of child labour should aim at
removing children from occupations that, in violation of all standards, involve
children in hazardous conditions and unavoidably lead to severe consequences.
One of the
methods for preventing the exploitation of child workers is to acknowledge that
there is such a problem and in his view this is extremely important, as is also
public opinion legalization of child labour can under no circumstances be
considered.
Standards to regulate child labour were the
very earliest international instruments put in place concerning child
protection [2].
1919 - the ILO adopts the Minimum Age (Industry)Convention (No. 5) at a time when
child labour was still pervasive in
1930-1957 - the involvement of children in abusive, forced or violent types of
workplaces is also addressed by the ILO’s Forced Labour Conventions No. 29 (1930), and No. 105 (1957).
1956
- the
Supplementary Convention on Slavery prohibits.
1973
- the
ILO adopts the Minimum Age Convention (No. 138) which fixes a minimum age of
employment or work of children and young people in line with countries’
different stages of development and other flexibility built-in.
1989
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
1999 - the ILO’s Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
(No. 182) focuses on immediate action to eradicate those forms of child labour.
Support for universal
access to basic education and action to end children’s employment in ‘worst
forms’ of labour are important, but actions on a
broader front, particularly those related to poverty and family needs, are also
required. The ILO’s ‘Time-Bound Programmes’
to eliminate child labour are a good example of such
a broader approach.
They comprise a package
of interventions covering prevention, withdrawal, rehabilitation and future
protection.
The ILO’s International Programme Elimination of Child Labour
(IPEC) was established in 1992. IPEC is the largest programme of its kind globally and the
biggest single operational programme
of the ILO. By December 2005, it was
operational in 86 countries, with an annual expenditure
on technical cooperation projects that reached over
US$70 million in 2005.
Current socio-economic situation
The aim of monitoring researches –
the receiving of answers on questions about state of object and elaboration the
recommendations about optimization of this object. System of ecological
monitoring require a choose of instruments of financing; limitation of time, labour force; law and moral standards, which must be compulsory for all
people.
Refinements on the legal setting may
include:
1) Legislative
regulation of labour activity for children under 16
years (statutory limit in
2) Disciplinary,
administrative, civil and criminal liability for the violation of child labour laws has to be tightened up.
3) The development of national child labour
policy implies an impact on the situation in various areas of people’s life and
branches of economy.
4) Establishing a Child Labour Commission in all
regions of
5) Renewing night school and extramural courses as schooling options for
working children and adolescents.
6) Having for necessity departments of effect respective measures to
provide against forced labour of school students
under a pre text of school labour training,
assistance to farms, etc.
7) Setting up social rehabilitation centers and educational programs for
children who have long been out of school (or did not at tend it at all).
8) Developing children’s vocational and labour
training programs.
9) Fostering cooperation between government agencies, trade unions and
leagues of entrepreneurs in order to re solve the child labour
problem.
10) Collaborating with
international organizations to apply best practices in re solving child labour problems.
11) Raising awareness of the public and
NGOs of child labour tendencies in
Literature:
1) www.
ilo.org
2) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. – Hague. – 1989