and the Construction of Vulnerability - Child Trafficking

protection from exploitation and abuse. Indeed, many are subject to intense labour
exploitation. For example, the sugar cane industry, Brazil nuts industry, and the private
ranch sector in Bolivia are all heavily dependent on forced labour, mostly involving
internal migrants. 76 Workers are recruited from areas where large populations of
poor, indigenous or “mestizo” people live, and many of those subject to forced labour
are children. It is estimated that almost half of the 33,000 people who work harvesting
sugar cane are women and children, and of the children, 7,000 are below
the age of 14. Most of these children have migrated into such conditions with their
families. There are many other examples of entire families of migrants being subject
to forced labour in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. 77
In Europe too, children who have migrated with their parents often work.
Research 78 has identified migrant children in Norway working for family businesses,
shops and farms. In Italy, Moroccan and Chinese children were found to be working
outside school hours in family businesses. Other Moroccan children were living
and working with relatives in order to send money home to their parents. These were
low-paid and informal jobs. The report observes that such child work need not be
a problem, providing it does not negatively affect education and is not exploitative
or harmful in other ways. However, it also comments on the fact that in some European
countries migrant children are more likely to work than national children, and
their work is more likely to be illegal. The report concludes that such child labour
often reflects a failure to enforce appropriate regulations.
More generally, it can be argued that failure to enforce labour legislation and to adequately
monitor workplaces, places both adult migrants and those aged below 18 at
risk. Better enforcement can thus play an important role in protecting and promoting
the rights of migrant workers. However, where enforcement mechanisms are tied
to immigration controls, undocumented workers do not necessarily benefit from
stricter enforcement and may even be harmed by it. The current emphasis on employer
sanctions and labour inspection in the EU does not automatically assist in the struggle
to promote and protect the fundamental rights of irregular migrants. 79
There is
particular concern about the fact that “the labour inspectorate in a number of member
states of the European Union is obliged to report a worker’s irregular status to the
immigration authorities”. This seriously undermines the rights of undocumented
workers. 80 It may also heighten pressures on undocumented migrants to seek work in
the informal sector, where they may be at still greater risk of abuse and exploitation.
6.1.2 Vulnerability in the Informal Sector
There is much research to show that independent child migrants often end up working
in the informal sector, a phenomenon that cuts across both the affluent and
developing world. Whether in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia or
76. Sharma, 2006
77. ILO, 2005
78. Cecchetti, 1998
79. PICUM, 2007
80. Ibid, p. 6
Child Migration and the Construction of Vulnerability
31