On Friday, June 12, the World Day Against Child Labor was commemorated under the slogan 'No to child labor - Yes to quality education'. Through this campaign, it is intended to generate reflection on the  role of education as a key factor to separate girls, boys and adolescents from the labor market, and lay the foundations for the acquisition of the necessary professional qualifications that allow a remunerated future. 

In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are 12.5 million girls and boys working, many of whom drop out of school or have a very low school performance due to two activities that require high physical, mental and emotional effort. In adolescence, the consequences of child labor become evident: adolescents have a greater propensity to engage in unpaid family jobs or to get jobs with very low wages and that are far from the characteristics of decent work.

According to the recent Executive Summary of the World Report on Child Labor 2015, data from the ILO School-to-Work Transition Surveys (ETET) indicate that, in low-income countries participating in the ETET program , between 20 and 30% of adolescents and young adults complete their transition to the labor market by the age of 15, that is, as child laborers.

The relationship between child labor and inappropriate adolescent work is a concern emphasized by this new  “World Report on Child Labor 2015: Paving the way towards decent work for young people” , which has been prepared by the International Labor Organization (ILO ) for the World Day Against Child Labor (12 June)
.In this regard, Guy Ryder -Director General of the ILO- points out the following:

“Our new report demonstrates the need for a coherent policy approach that addresses both child labor and the lack of decent work for young people. Keeping children in school and receiving a good education at least until the minimum age for employment will determine the whole life of a child: it is the only way to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for basic learning, and for future working life ” .

Girls, boys and adolescents in our region

In Latin America and the Caribbean, when a girl or boy between the ages of 5 and 14 works relatively light shifts (2 hours a day), attendance levels are little affected, reaching an approximate percentage of 96%. However, as the intensity of work increases and unquestionably becomes dangerous work, the average attendance is reduced by more than half (42%), which shows the conflict between work and study, especially when the working hours are intensive.

In our region, more than 95% of girls and boys between the ages of 7 and 13 attend basic education, but by age 15, this percentage drops to 85%. This means that there is a decrease in school attendance in the secondary stage. Regarding higher education, less than 30% of young people continue with these studies.

Approximately half of the NNAs in child labor in the region do not have formal training. This group is followed by semi-skilled workers, except in the Southern Region, where both groups are of similar size.

Informality, a factor that has high rates in the region, is also a generator of child labor: the context of informality largely favors the occurrence of girls and boys working. On the other hand, the effects of child labor can have long-term consequences, not only in the level of, but also in the quality of the employment obtained and the possibilities of being part of the informal labor market.

The focus of attention for reducing the incidence of child labor should be on education and in particular on increasing the attendance of boys and girls, since time in the classroom competes with time spent at work. It is essential to give urgent attention to the group of girls, boys and adolescents  who are outside the educational system, either because they are exclusively dedicated to work or because they are at risk of exclusion by not studying or working. Only in this way will we be able to move from a reactive culture to a preventive culture in the face of this problem.

Main recommendations:

The  “World Report on Child Labor 2015: Paving the way to decent work for young people”  highlights the importance of making efforts in the following areas:

• Early interventions to remove children from child labor and keep them in school.
• Measures to facilitate the transition from school to decent work for young people.
• Special attention to the situation of adolescents in hazardous work: eliminate child labor in the 15-17 age group.
• Integrating a gender approach: addressing the specific vulnerabilities of girls and young people.
• Ensuring an economic and legal environment conducive to making progress in reducing child labor.

The challenges faced by young people in the search for decent work are inseparable from efforts to reduce child labor. Therefore,  eliminating this reality is a fundamental political objective and a necessary starting point to achieve decent work for all.