The short-term impact of COVID-19 has already been felt, the long-term tremor is expected to unravel. One such mid to long term impact is on child labour. Due to COVID-19-induced economic slow down, million more children are at the risk of being pushed into child labour, claimed the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF.
The bodies stated, “Millions more children risk being pushed into child labour as a result of the COVID-19 crisis , which could lead to the first rise in child labour after 20 years of progress.”According to the latest report by ILO-UNICEF, child labour decreased by 94 million since 2000, but that gain is now at risk.
“As the pandemic wreaks havoc on family incomes, without support, many could resort to child labour,” said Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General. According to 2017 data, around 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are employed worldwide. Of the total child employed, 152 million are victims of child labour; almost half of them, 73 million, work in hazardous child labour. In absolute terms, almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to be found in Africa; 62.1 million in the Asia and the Pacific; 10.7 million in the America; 1.2 million in the Arab States and 5.5 million in Europe and Central Asia. It is claimed agriculture is the highest employer of child labour.
The cycle of child labour starts with rise in poverty which leads to increase in child labour. Some studies show that a one percentage point rise in poverty leads to at least a 0.7 per cent increase in child labour in certain countries. It is estimated that people in extreme poverty could soar by 40 million to 60 million this year alone compared to before the crisis. UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “As poverty rises, schools close and the availability of social services decreases, more children are pushed into the workforce. As we re-imagine the world post-COVID, we need to make sure that children and their families have the tools they need to weather similar storms in the future. Quality education, social protection services and better economic opportunities can be game changers.”
As per ILO-UNICEF, the best way to tackle this issue would be introducing more comprehensive social protection, easier access to credit for poor households, the promotion of decent work for adults, measures to get children back into school, including the elimination of school fees, and more resources for labour inspections and law enforcement.
