In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of children pushed into child labor has reached 160 million, an increase of 8.4 million, with 9 million more at risk. This alarming trend can be effectively addressed by making quality public education accessible to all, a top priority worldwide.
The number of child labor victims stands at 160 million worldwide, an increase of 8.4 million in the last four years, according to a new report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF.
The report highlights that progress in eradicating child labor has stalled for the first time in two decades. It points to a significant increase in the number of children between the ages of 5 and 11 in child labor: they now represent just over half of the total global figure. Most child labor is done within the family unit.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in child labor. Nine million more children are at risk of being pushed into child labor by the end of 2022 due to the pandemic, according to the new report from the ILO and UNICEF. A simulation model shows that this figure could reach 46 million if they do not have access to essential social protection coverage.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with school closings and the accompanying economic crisis, is being felt by millions of children who have been pushed into the workforce at a devastating rate.
EI affiliates from thirteen countries (1) are implementing programs on the elimination of child labor with the support of EI and its partners.
Most of these projects are related to the development of “child labor free zones” (ZLTI) in a community or group of villages. In these types of projects, all components of a school community cooperate with local authorities, community leaders and employers to systematically eradicate child labor and (re) integrate boys and girls into the full-time statutory education system. .
The involvement of education unions usually begins with the training of teachers in the area in question. These trainings are particularly focused on going back to school for girls, generally the group most affected by child labor in some specific areas. In countries such as Mali and Togo, the teachers’ unions involved in these projects encourage the creation or strengthening of associations of mothers of pupils, as they play a crucial role in the schooling of girls.
The crucial role of education unions
The unions involved in these projects have reported many cases of child labor victims who have returned to school thanks to their projects, as well as children who were at risk of dropping out of school but have continued to attend school. In 2019-2020, 686 children (374 boys and 312 girls) from ZLTIs created by EI affiliates in seven African countries returned to classrooms (2).
In Albania, where the unions SPASH and FSASH have extensive experience in the fight against child labor, monitoring groups made up of teachers, parents and students from the schools where the project is carried out are created with the aim of follow closely the children at higher risk of dropping out of school and contact the families of those who have dropped out of school.
This model has made it possible to reduce child labor even in the most vulnerable communities, such as the Roma community. In addition, it has encouraged teachers to involve local authorities more. Enriketa Zeno, head of the FSASH section in the Berati district, shared his experience during a training of teacher trainers organized by SPASH and FSASH in May: “We not only collaborate with the Regional Directorate of Education, but also with the city council of the municipality, and as a result 15 families of boys and girls who had dropped out of school received monthly aid that made it easier for them to return to the classroom. This example may inspire my colleagues from other districts. ”
Reduce the effects of the pandemic
The Covid 19 pandemic has led to an increase in child labor. Nine million more children are at risk of being pushed into child labor by the end of 2022 due to the pandemic, according to the new report from the ILO and UNICEF. A simulation model shows that this figure could reach 46 million if they do not have access to essential social protection coverage.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced to keep educational establishments closed for long periods of time and has caused an increase in child labor.
During the closures, the unions have been in contact with teaching staff, community leaders, and local and school authorities involved in child labor projects, allowing them to gather first-hand information.
Among the observations noted are: loss of interest in education among students due to inability to access educational materials online; the lack of funds available to schools to purchase protective equipment against COVID-19; the difficulty of enforcing and maintaining the rules of physical distance in educational centers and on the way to and from; and the increase in pregnancies and early marriages. Another observation noted is the difficulty of finding those students who have remained in the adult or work world during the closure period, have become accustomed to earning a little money and have lost the school discipline they had before the pandemic.
When schools reopen, there is usually a decrease in the number of students compared to the months before closing.
The strategies put in place in the framework of the projects allow for results in terms of the return of children to the classroom shortly after the resumption of teaching. This is the case of Malawi. “Before the closure in March 2020, the number of students enrolled in the 10 schools included in our project in the Kabwinja area was 7,809, but when they reopened in October, there were only 4,096 students,” explains Pilirani Kamaliza, project coordinator for the Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM).
“We organized a ‘Back to School’ campaign: we broadcast pro-education messages through loudspeakers placed in vehicles that circulated throughout Kabwinja, we put up three large billboards with anti-child labor awareness messages in strategic locations, and the teachers and village leaders visited families in their homes “.
The unions TUM and The Private School Education Union of Malawi (PSEUM) also held an assembly in which the highest authorities of the district, teachers, students and the parents of the selected schools participated. Messages were broadcast asking that all boys and girls go back to school. In December 2020, three months after the reopening of the 10 schools in the target area, the number of students enrolled was 8,058, more than before the closure due to the pandemic.
“Thanks to our awareness-raising actions, the rate of children going back to school is higher in Kabwinja than in other areas of the district. In addition, the project schools also have a better retention rate. Now, the teachers are very attentive and react to the first sign that a child may have dropped out of school, “says Pilirani Kamaliza.
Among the most relevant responses of the union projects in the fight against child labor during the crisis caused by the pandemic include the training workshops on the manufacture of disinfectant gel with local materials in Nicaragua, the training of the SNE-FDT in Morocco to teachers who feel lost in the face of new technologies for distance learning, the training of teachers in Togo on the transmission routes of COVID-19, the broadcast of radio announcements calling for a return to the classroom, etc. The Ugandan union UNATU has started to organize psychological support sessions for teachers who face a large number of cases of pregnancy and early marriage among their students.
Lessons learned by unions participating in these projects show that it is possible to reduce the devastating effects of school closings on increasing school dropouts and child labor. These lessons should make governments reconsider their obligation to guarantee access to quality education for all, financed with public funds.
For more information on EI’s work, see the study: EI and AOb projects related to child labor: Good transnational practices
(1) Projects to combat child labor currently supported by EI and its partners (AOb, Mondiaal FNV, GEW Fair Childhood Foundation, Stop Child Labor coalition) in 13 countries: Albania, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Costa from Ivory, India, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nicaragua, Senegal, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
(2) Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
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