By Badrina Al-Mursyida
Child labour is defined by the ILO Minimum Age Convention (C138) 1973 as any job performed by children under the age of 12, non-light work performed by children aged 12 to 14, and dangerous work performed by children aged 15 to 17.
Many children in underdeveloped nations lack access to basic necessities. This would have a profound impact on the development of children and their ability to serve their country in the future. The work of combating child labour must be at the core of programmes meant to defend their rights to prevent child labour.
The most effective means of ending child labour should be implemented, such as assisting communities in altering their cultural acceptance of child work and providing families with income, education, and protective services.
Child labour can be related to SDG No. 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) which in SDG target 8.7 it is stated explicitly that the global community must take immediate and effective measures aimed at eradicating forced labour, eliminating modern slavery, stopping human trafficking, and making sure that all forms of the worst kinds (such as the recruitment and use of children as soldiers) of child labour are prohibited and eradicated by 2025. “People” and the “social pillar” of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda are the focus of SDG goal 8.7.
This issue also related to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institution) which is related to child labour supports SDG target 16.2: targeted to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children. In its most extreme forms, child labour entails children being enslaved, removed from their families, exposed to grave dangers and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities, frequently at a very young age. Thus, ILO components are united in the fight to eliminate the worst kinds of child labour, to which several technical departments also contribute.
According to a study conducted by in 2007-2008 in Sabah, the primary reason why children are employed is to support their families financially. Family or social issues may cause children to drop out of school in order to earn a living, and compulsory schooling may compel children to work part-time to pay for their education. Thus, we can deduce that an increase in family wealth and a decline in poverty would cause households to remove their children from the labour force.
It was discovered that today, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may for the first time in 20 years observe an upsurge in child labour. Malaysia has signed the ILO Conventions on Minimum Age (C138) and Worst Forms of Child Labor (C182). Malaysia indicated interest in being an Alliance 8.7 Pathfinder Country in November 2019.
During the webinar, the ILO and UNICEF urged Malaysia to follow SDG target 8.7 which is to end forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking, and child labour. It attains this by scaling up effective solutions, encouraging innovation, and maximising the impact of resources (Sand 2003, Krieger 2004). Hence, the Malaysian government should adopt a plan to increase public awareness of child labour, protect young employees, and boost national capacity to eradicate child labour, including strengthening enforcement, establishing a referral mechanism, and enhancing social support.
The previous article also investigates the subject of child maltreatment among working children. Three types of child abuse have been encountered by working children in Malaysia, according to aprevious study. Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse are included, most children were subjected to emotional abuse.
Despite the fact that the Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1966, does not encourage the employment of children in Malaysia, research indicated that children are still employed. Children are favoured as labour force due to their inexperience, relative immaturity, and susceptibility to manipulation, intimidation, abuse, and exploitation. This should not be the case for youngsters who are employed, as they are still immature and require thorough guidance from their employers in order to do their obligations.
In spite of the fact that child labour persists in Malaysia, little is known about its occurrence, nature, and distribution. The number of children engaged in child labour has not been quantified with precision. Child workers’ membership in marginalised communities, such as stateless, undocumented, migrant, and refugee children, undoubtedly adds another dimension to the unknown statistics in Malaysia, particularly in East Malaysia. According to an unpublished claim on a foreign news website, an estimated 33,000 youngsters work in palm oil farms and international media reported that Malaysia’s palm oil sector was accused of exploiting children on its plantations.
The issue of child labour is common in many nations worldwide, including Malaysia. Thus, the competent committee should seek detailed information and statistical data on the nature child labour and their numbers should be kept up to date to define priorities for national action to abolish child labour, especially at its worst forms.
Furthermore, responsible committee shall guarantee that appropriate sanctions, including criminal penalties, are imposed for infringement of national rules prohibiting and eradicating any form of child employment.
Moreover, it is important to enhance international cooperation and support among responsible committees for the prohibition and effective eradication of the worst kinds of child labour. ***
(Badrina Al-Mursyida is a student in Department of Business Administration, Kulliyyah of Economic and Management Sciences (KENMS). The article is part of ‘Responsible Consumerism’ course. The views expressed here are those of the writer/author and do not necessarily represent the views of IIUMToday,)