By Joan Nwagwu
GENEVA (SWITZERLAND)- Mr Guy Ryder, the Director-Genera, International Labour Organisation (ILO), on Friday charged governments, employers and labour unions to fight child labour by providing children with quality education in their countries.
Ryder made the call at the ongoing 104th International Labour Conference of the ILO on the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour with the theme, “No To Child Labour – Yes To Quality Education”.
“The unacceptable reality is that today, millions of children around the world, some as young as five, are still working for their survival and that of their families.
“Yet, progress has been made and should spur us all to re-commit to action to end child labour.
“On this World Day, we highlight the link between education and child labour.
“Making this link is key to developing effective strategies that can break the cycle of poverty which is a key factor, if not the sole factor, in producing child labour.
“As things stand, the aspirations of many parents for their children and of children themselves for a decent education will remain unfulfilled dreams. ”
He noted that many children had no chance of attending school, while some who had to combine schooling with work often dropped out of school.
According to him, some of these boys and girls sometimes drop out before reaching the legal age of employment and then become child labourers.
He noted that the situation today was further aggravated by the impact of conflicts and crises.
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“ In conflict zones, students and sometimes their teachers, have been the victims of violent attacks and kidnapping.
“The infrastructure of stability and prosperity is being undermined.
“In a range of circumstances, families are fleeing physical and economic insecurity, crossing borders and hoping for a better life.
“Children make up a large share of these migration flows, at times travelling without their parents.
“Such journeys are frequently paths to child labour and exploitation.”
The director-general said without adequate education, former child labourers were more likely than others to end up in poorly paid and insecure work as adults.
He said that there was high probability that they would live in poverty and that their children would share the same fate.
Ryder added that a collective challenge and responsibility is to enable all children, girls and boys, to have access to quality education.
He explained that second-class education perpetuate second-class citizens.
“We all know that a solid education and good teachers can make a world of difference to the lives and futures of children and young people,” Ryder said.
In his contribution, Mr Kailash Satyarthi, the President, Global March Against Child Labour and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, urged relevant stakeholders to muster the political will at all levels of development to formulate policies and take integrated actions against child labour.
“Ultimately, a future without child labour calls for inclusive development policies integrating decent work for adults, social protection floors and sound education systems.
“The ILO, governments, employers and worker constituents have been in the forefront of the fight against child labour for nearly a century.
“We remain committed to working nationally, internationally and with the multilateral system.
“This will ensure children’s right to education and freedom from child labour as well as its corollary, the dignity of decent work for adults.”(NAN)
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