Health, Safety and Environment - International Labour Organization

Manual 4:HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT FACT SHEETSFact Sheet 5: Hazardous child labour BackgroundNumbers ofworkingchildrenHazardsIn 2000, ILO IPEC reported that 352 million children were “economicallyactive” worldwide. Of these 352 million, 246 million children aged 5-17are involved in child labour, which the ILO says should be abolished.Whole generations of children are being deprived of the chance to taketheir rightful place in the society and economy of the 21st Century. Newestimates, published in 2002 by the International Labour Organisation(ILO), suggest that the situation has been worsening, with one in everyeight children in the world – some 179 million children aged 5-17 –exposed to the worst forms of child labour which endanger the child’sphysical, mental or moral well-being.It is further estimated that: over two-thirds (70%) of all working children are found in agriculture at least 90 per cent of economically active children in rural areas indeveloping countries are employed in agricultureWhile the health of child workers has not been well studied yet, it is knownthat child workers face a great many occupational health and safetyhazards. Occupational hazards and work conditions can have permanenteffects on the long-term development of children who have to work.Physically and emotionally, child workers are at greater risk of sufferingfrom work-related health problems than adult workers. For example:children using hand tools designed for adults are said to have a higherrisk of fatigue and injurywhen children find that the personal protective equipment available atthe workplace does not fit them properly, they have no choice but towork without it or to use makeshift devices which have no protectivevalue, such as putting handkerchiefs over their noses and mouthsinstead of using respiratorsyoung workers have lower tolerance to heat than adultschildren working on plantations and farms are more likely to have anunstable life as they are constantly on the move with their parents“following the crops”. The children change schools as they migrate withtheir parents for seasonal work; they work for long hours and do heavyand exhausting jobs139 Health, Safety and EnvironmentA Series of Trade Union EducationManuals for Agricultural Workers