Report: Child labor declining worldwide

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Abolishing child labor by 2016
More than 30 nations have set a deadline of 2016 to abolish the worst forms of child labor, and the ILO urged other countries to set target dates as well. The report did not mention the United States.

In Brazil, child labor has been virtually eradicated in the formal sector, where the government tightened inspections and began prosecuting employers who violate labor law, said Pedro Americo, national coordinator of the government’s Program for the Eradication of Child Labor.

Pressure from foreign consumers led employers in export industries to form a pact to reject child labor and forced labor, he said.

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But most working children are part of the informal economy, which is not protected by labor laws. Some employers hire children because they are cheap and flexible, and family businesses often cannot afford to pay formal employees, the ILO said.

“We still have a lot to do in the informal area and where child labor is hidden, like pornography and drug trafficking,” Americo said.

Money for staying in school
The Brazilian government has helped keep many kids off the job market with a program that began in the 1990s. It pays families a monthly stipend to keep their children in school and involved in extracurricular activities like dance, crafts or sports.

“You only see the result after 15 years,” Americo said. “You need political determination to do it.”

Mexico also has tried a program to help poor families keep their kids in school, and Brazil is sharing its experiences with Chile, Colombia, Tanzania and Mozambique.

“It’s a complex problem,” said Alison Sutton, Coordinator of Child Protection at the U.N. office in Brasilia, the capital. “You need law enforcement, cash outlays, education, an extended school day, income generation and training.”

Brazil’s program to eradicate child labor has reached 1 million children and is expanding, she said.

“What Brazil has done is so impressive, that it’s worth studying by other countries,” she said.

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