The Bolivian Government’s decision to legally allow children as young as 10 years of age to be employed, goes against all international norms and conventions on child labour. Poverty cannot be an excuse for the decision
In a first, not for something that the world can be proud of, Bolivia has promulgated a law that allows children as young as 10 years to work. It is a sheer insult to the universal norms and standards stipulating the minimum age of employment in developing countries as 14 years. Also, no child up till the age of 18 years can be employed in any dangerous work.
Most of the countries have pledged compulsory education for their children up till the age of at least 14 years. At a time when many societies are progressively trying to increase the age of employment and compulsory education up to 16 years or even 18 years, Bolivia’s new promulgation casts a dark spell on such developments.
Authorities there have turned a deaf ear towards the independent voices of the global civil society. This regressive move is a blatant denial of an opportunity of education — the only weapon that paves the way for prosperity, equity, justice and sustainability in society. In this age of knowledge- economy, education is the most important tool for sustaining one’s identity and existence.
Bolivia has slipped several notches on the child rights reforms agenda by enacting such a law. This clearly comes in the wake of arguments purported by some indigenous organisations that give poverty as the excuse for children to be allowed to work. This step has shocked the global fraternity because the country has already ratified the International labour Organisation Convention 138 on minimum age of employment; Convention 182 on worst forms of child labour; and had vehemently supported the Dakar Framework for Action towards Education for All.
It has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that child labour perpetuates a vicious circle of illiteracy and poverty. Employers prefer children over adults primarily because they do not ask for minimum wages. They work long hours with very little or no pay. Children cannot unionise and raise their voice against exploitation that they face at the hands of their employers.
It is important to note that globally, there are 168 million child labourers and around 190 million unemployed adults. Clearly every child works in place of an adult. These children keep on doing repetitive tasks; they miss out on education and grow up to become unskilled individuals with eroded employability, thus they remain stuck in poverty.
The Bolivian economy cannot take off until all its children are at school attaining quality education and growing up to become qualified and skilled citizens. Thus child labour is counterproductive for the county’s economy. With children psychologically scarred for life, tiding over the exploitation that comes along with child labour, how can one imagine that Bolivia will ever be able to wriggle out of economic gloom — the reason that the country has attributed to taking this extreme measure of legalising child labourIJ
Furthermore, it is difficult to fathom that the Government still stakes a tall order that there will be no room for exploitation of working children and that the work done by them will be thoroughly monitored and regulated.
With about 8,50,000 child labourers in Bolivia and only 78 inspectors, the monitoring task per inspector is 10,897 child labourers already. Reducing the minimum age of employment to 10 years will further multiply the workload on the inspectors and they will not be able to inspect and report violations of child rights at workplaces. Thus, reduction in minimum age will only accentuate the chances of the children of Bolivia being more susceptible to trafficking, slavery, servitude, forced labour and violence.
Many organisations, including the Global March Against Child labour, Anti-Slavery International and Human Rights Watch, made earnest appeals to Bolivian President Evo Morales on several occasions.
By bringing down the minimum age of employment, Bolivia has compromised with the rights of children on the pretext of poverty. It has set a dangerous precedence that could be followed by some Sub-Saharan African and latin American countries, where the proponents of child work will find a new shot in their arm, conveniently ignoring international commitments.
This needs serious action by the United Nations before other countries start following the trend that Bolivia has unfortunately triggered.
(The writer is a child rights activist and founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan)