COURSE UNIT:ENVIRONMENTAL AND

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
TOPIC :CHILD LABOUR
FACILITATOR: MRS MBOOWA MARY
PRESENTOR: AUMA EDNA
REG NO: 2017-MPH-PT-AUG-004
26TH/10/2017
CHILD LABOUR
PRESENTATION OUTLINE

 INTRODUCTION
 DEFINITION OF CHILD LABOUR
 CHILD LABOUR STATISTICS
 FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR
 CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR
 CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOUR
 CHILD LABOUR IN UGANDA
 LAWS AND POLICIES AGAINST CHILD LABOUR
 PREVENTION OF CHILD LABOUR
INTRODUCTION

Almost 250 million children, about one in every six

children aged 5 to 17 on the face of the globe, are
involved in child labour.

Of these, some 179 million (one in eight) are

trapped in the “worst forms” of child labour. The
worst form are those that endanger the child’s
physical, mental or moral well-being
 Children can be found in almost any economic
sector. However, at a global level, most of them are
in agriculture (70%).

 Some hazards in agriculture are the exposure to

pesticides, the use of dangerous machinery or tools
(like knives), carrying heavy loads, the presence of
snakes, and so on.
WHAT IS CHILD LABOUR

The term “child labour”

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 refers to work that:
is mentally, physically,
socially or morally
dangerous and
harmful to children;
and interferes with
their schooling by:
depriving them of the opportunity to attend
school;

obliging them to leave school prematurely; or

requiringthem to attempt to combine school

attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
 According to the ILO , not all work performed by children is
equivalent to “child labour”. Work in the sense of economic
activity is a statistical definition.

 The concept is therefore based on minimum age of entry into

the labour force, non-hazardous work and worst forms of
child labour.
 The ILO convention on minimum age exempts children
from 12 to 13 years old only if they are engaged in light
work. Thus all children 5 to 11 years working in
economic activities are considered to be in child labour.

 Article34 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda

(1995) prohibits child labour.
 In its most extreme forms, child labour 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 often at a very
early age.

 Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called

“child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and
hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is
performed and the objectives pursued by individual
countries.
 whilstchild labour takes many different forms,
a priority is to eliminate without delay the worst
forms of child labour as defined by Article 3 of
ILO Convention No. 182:
 (a) all forms of slavery or
practices similar to slavery,
such as the sale and trafficking
of children, debt bondage and
serfdom and forced or
compulsory labour, including
forced or compulsory
recruitment of children for use
in armed conflict;
 (b) the use, procuring or
offering of a child for
prostitution, for the
production of pornography
or for pornographic
performances;
 (c) the use, procuring or offering of a
child for illicit activities, in particular
for the production and trafficking of
drugs as defined in the relevant
international treaties;

 (d) work which, by its nature or the

circumstances in which it is carried
out, is likely to harm the health,
safety or morals of children
CHILD LABOUR STATISTICS
FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR

Economic activities
selling small objects,
shoe-shining,
Pottering

 Sexual exploitation (prostitution)

Illicit activities
scavenging,
begging

Criminal acts
drug dealing,
pick-pocketing
CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR
1. Poverty: Children who
come from poor families
may be forced to work to
support their siblings and
parents or supplement the
household income when
expenses are more than the
parents’ earnings.
2. Low Aspiration:

Low aspirations by parents and children is a major cause of

child labour because in such a situation, being employed in a
local factory, or selling grocery in the streets is the normal
way of life. To these types of children and parents, success
only belongs to a certain region or group of people.
3. Huge demand for unskilled labourers: Children are
mostly unskilled and provide a cheap source of labour,
making them an attractive option for many greedy
employers.

4. Illiteracy: A society with many educated people

understands the importance of going to school and pursuing
dreams. Illiteracy, on the other hand, makes it difficult for
many people to understand the importance of education.
Illiterate people view education as a preserve of the
privileged in the society.
5. Early Marriages

6. High cost of education: Too many parents who live in

abject poverty, priority is given to providing food for the
family because education is too expensive to afford
especially when there are many children to pay school fees
for.
CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOUR
Loss of Quality childhood:
A child should play with friends and make memories for a
lifetime. Youths should explore life and form strong
foundations that would define their adult lives.

Child labour, therefore, leads to loss of quality childhood as

children will be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the
amazing experiences that come with being young. Children
are often encouraged to play because it helps in their growth
and development.
2. Health issues:
 Can lead to health complications due to undernourishment and poor
working conditions.
 Physical injuries especially for those working in mines and factories
 Exposure to hazardous chemicals and air pollutants especially for
those working in industries and mines
 May suffer from occupational hazards like chronic back pain in the
long run due to lifting of heavy weights
 Accidents at the workplace that may lead to loss of limbs or even
death
 3. Mental trauma:
 It is not a pleasant experience to be kept working as a child while
your age-mates are out playing and going to school.

 Issues such as bullying, sexual exploitation, and unfavourable

working hours may result in mental trauma in these children. They
will find it hard to forget the past and may become societal misfits
because of bad childhood experiences.

 lack of emotional growth and thus insensitivity.

4. Illiteracy:
 The lack of education and illiteracy makes children
individuals with limited opportunities as far as employment
is concerned.

 Education also prepares a person for several challenges in

the society and without it, one may turn out to lack the basic
skills required to overcome many of life’s problems. An
illiterate person, on the other hand, considers force to be the
only answer to nearly all of the challenges experienced
CHILD LABOUR IN UGANDA
 More than half of the children aged 5-17 in Uganda were
working
Table 11.3 shows the distribution of working children by
region. The results indicate that 51 percent of the children
aged 5-17 years in Uganda were working (UBOS,2010).

 Across all regions, more males (52%) than females (49%)

were working. The Western region (56%) followed by the
Central region had the highest proportion of working
children(UBOS,2010).
 
Working Children Kampala Central Eastern Northern Western Uganda
             

Male 25.2 53.3 54.4 47.1 55.4 51.8

Female 25.4 50.3 51.4 43.5 56.0 49.4

Both Sexes 25.3 52.1 53.0 45.3 55.7 50.6

Where do they work
 There are many working children in Uganda. Many of
these working children are aged between 10-14 years.
Some are in the 15 – 17 year age group. Some are less than
10 years old. (UBOS,2010)

 Findings indicate that most of the working children have

attended some formal education. Although this is the case,
findings further indicate that still one in every five
working children had no formal education.(UBOS,2010).
 25 percent of the children aged
5-17 years were child labourers
with males (28%) having slightly
higher rates than females (24%).
It is further observed that Child
labour was highest among
children in the age group of 5-11
years (34%).
 Some of the working children
work at their employer’s
premises or “sites”, whereas
some work in plantations, crop
farming or doing unskilled
manual labour.

 Many of the working children

are engaged in domestic duties.
Girls are more likely to engage
in domestic work than boys.
 Some children beg, wash
cars, scavenge, work in the
commercial sex industry,
and sell small  items on the
streets.
Children in Domestic Work (CDW)
 Most common practices in Uganda.

 They lack clear terms of service from their employers, they

are usually over worked, not paid or underpaid.

 Are prone to the risk of sexual exploitation by male

employers and boys in the homes where they work.

 Deprived of an opportunity to go to school or enroll in any

form of productive skills training.
 Other hazardous activities
include construction
(particularly brick baking), sand
and gold mining, and stone
crushing.
 Child trafficking

 The children can end up working as child

domestic workers (CDWs), street beggars,
bar and restaurant attendants, sex workers,
strippers and vendors. Others work at fish
landing sites or on agricultural plantations.
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)

 Children exploited in commercial sex often suffer

exploitation at the hands of caregivers comprising
parents/guardians, teachers and others who are responsible for
looking after children.

 They suffer consequences such as psycho-social problems,

early pregnancy, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs),
dropping out of school and early entry into work where girls,
particularly, suffer a vicious cycle of exploitation and poverty.
UGANDAN LAWS AND POLICIES
AGAINST CHILD LABOUR

 ThePolicy, under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and

Social Development, is in the process of formulation
and it defines and enumerates the socio-economic
context of Child Labour in Uganda, the nature, extent
and magnitude of Child Labour, causes and
consequences, effects, and government response.
 A draftPlan of Action on the Elimination of Child
Labour has been adopted by the National Steering
Committee and disseminated to district line offices.
 The Constitution of Uganda, 1995, Chapter I, Article 34 (4),
provides for the protection of a child from hazardous and
exploitative work. The Constitution clearly spells out the
following rights for children: 

 “Children are entitled to be protected from social and

economic exploitation and should not be employed in or
required to perform work that is likely to be hazardous or to
interfere in their education, or to be harmful to their health
or physical, mental and spiritual, moral or social
development.”
 The Employment Decree, 1975 limits employment
of children to a minimum 14 years of age. The
Decree empowers labour inspectors to monitor
compliance.
 The Children’s Statute No.16, 1996 spells out the rights of a
child and the welfare 
principles that guide those caring for children. Part 2, Section
9 states that:

 ‘”A child has a right not to be made to work or take part in

any activity whether for pay or not which is likely to injure
the child’s health, education, mental and physical, or moral
development.”
INTERVENTIONS TO PREVENT
CHILD LABOUR IN UGANDA

 Government has embarked on national Universal Primary

and Secondary Education (UPE,USE) programmes, to
ensure more children at primary and secondary level get
access to formal education.
 The Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), The
National Council for Children, (NCC), The Child
Labour Unit at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and
Social Development (MGLSD), are all streamlined
directly and indirectly to address the plight of child
labour in Uganda.
LEGAL ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN

 According to the National Action Plan Against the worst

Forms of Child Labour 2013/2013- 2016/2017, actions
include withdrawal, rehabilitation, and integration of the
affected children within the framework of their families
and or communities
EXCEPTIONS TO THE LAW AGAINST
CHILD LABOUR
 The Employment Decree, 1975 limited employment of children
between 12-18 years of age and prevented (prohibited) it for
children below 12 years of age. (Part IV) The Decree however,
restricted employment for those aged 12-18 years and
empowered labour inspectors to monitor compliance.

 This law has however since been revised, and the minimum age
for employment of children was raised to 14 years.
PREVENTION/ERADICATION OF
CHILD LABOUR
1. Free education:

 Mid-day meals schemes can also be used as a motivating

factor for children whose parents can barely afford a meal
to learn. Even if they will be attending school because of
the free meals, they will still be able to learn and create a
good education foundation for themselves.
2. Moral Polishing:

 Child labour should not be entertained at all. It is legally and morally

wrong. Children should not be allowed to provide labour at the expense
of getting an education and enjoying their childhood.

 Factoryowners, shopkeepers, and industries among others should not

employ children.

 The society should be educated on the negative impacts of child labour

so that it becomes an issue that is frowned upon whenever it occurs.
3. Create demand for skilled and trained workers:

 By creating the demand for skilled and trained workers, child labour
cases will reduce since almost all child labourers fall under the
unskilled worker category.

 Establishing skill-based learning centres, vocational training centres,

and technical training institutions .

 Creation of job opportunities by the government .

4. Awareness:

 Parents should be made aware that sending their children to work has
legal ramifications and the law would take its course if they are found
to be aiding and abetting this vice.

 Conducting a campaign to create awareness about its harmful effects

would eliminate the practice. The government, together with non-
governmental organizations and the civil society, can create a strategy
to make such an initiative a success.
 5. Empowerment of poor people:

 Empowering poor people through knowledge and income generating

projects would go a long way in reducing cases of child labour.

 Parental literacy also plays an important role in ensuring that the

rights of children are upheld, and minors are not used as a source of
labour.

 Empowering parents with this kind of knowledge can create a positive

change in the society and encourage the shunning of child labour
practices in communities.
REFERENCES

 UBOS 2010
 My wage Uganda
 Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011,UNESCO
 ILO website , retrieved 17th/10/2017
 St Nicholas Uganda Children’s Fund