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Article shared by Tom McDermott

Duvan Tomas Pérez, age 16 Article shared by Tom McDermott

Syria’s dire economic situation has forced students from impoverished backgrounds to miss school this year, as families cut back on expenses and try to shore up household incomes by sending their children to work instead. Schools in government-held areas of Syria reopened in September after the summer break, welcoming back an estimated 3.7 million children, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency. However, many others did not show up. Among those marked as absent were children who had no other choice but to become laborers to earn money and help their families make ends meet as Syrians grapple with a devastating and unprecedented economic crisis. In an attempt to prevent children from being deprived of their right to education, and ensure they are not forced into exploitative child labor, civil society groups have established projects designed to help vulnerable students continue their studies. For example, Mart Team, a charity in Damascus, has launched a campaign called “A...

The Kids on the Night Shift  The following article from the NY Times Magazine is too long to present in our newsletter. Here is a short summary. If you are concerned about child labour, please take time to read the full article. Click here If you cannot open the article, please let us know and we will send you a copy. ....... This article tells the sad story of a 14 year old boy and his community of mostly immigrant families in Virginia. The 15 year old boy is Marcus Cux, who came to the US from his village in Guatemala. Like many such young immigrants, his family sent him alone, knowing that under US law, unaccompanied children who cross the border illegally are generally allowed to remain in the US while their status is reviewed. Like many other unaccompanied children Marcus settled with other immigrants, and found work in a Purdue chicken slaughterhouse as part of a night time cleaning crew. Such work is illegal but everyone in the area understands that children like Marcus...

The Guardian this week reports on the plight of child workers in the vegetable fields of the San Juan valley in Colorado. As a resident of Colorado the issues of child labor here are particularly poignant for me.  I was most impressed, however, by the story of Jacqueline Aguilar, now 21, who worked in the fields at age of 12.  Jacqueline has now returned to the area as an activist following an internship with the Child Labour Coalition.   One major aim of the Coalition is to push back against attempts by several US states to loosen laws and allow labor in various industries. This is how changes for the good 'might' happen, young people who have actually experienced child labor with coalitions experienced with human rights and political movements.   During the 1960s is was César Chavez and Dolores Herta, two activists who through strikes, publicity and shaming of the industry led the way to a major change in how farm workers were treated and paid for their...

By Alice Cuddy BBC News The future of millions of children is at risk as growing numbers are pulled out of school and into work, the head of the United Nations' labour body has told the BBC. Read the original article on BBC Gilbert Houngbo, DG of ILO Gilbert Houngbo, director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said there had been a "regression" in regions around the world amid global economic problems. Some of the worst forms of work involved sexual exploitation. He said urgent action was needed. "Compound the Covid effect with the rise in inflation and the cost of living that followed [and] it has just made things worse," he said. "Unless we act now and we act decisively and fast, the problem will [continue to] worsen." Data compiled by the UN in early 2020 found that some 160 million children were being subjected to child labour, and that global progress to end it had stalled for the first time in 20 years. Mr Houngbo, the former...

On Monday’s World Day against Child Labour, the International Labour Organization ( ILO ) shared these staggering numbers as a reminder of the urgent need to end this practice. Tweet URL ILO ’s Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said that for the first time in 20 years, child labour is on the rise. Gilbert Houngbo, ILO DG “Child labour rarely happens because parents are bad, or do not care. Rather, it springs from a lack of social justice,” he said. Solutions: decent work, social protection Mr. Houngbo stressed on Twitter that the “most effective solutions” to the child labour emergency are decent work for adults, so that they can provide for their families, and improved social protection. He also underscored that tackling the root causes of child labour requires ending forced labour, creating safe and healthy workplaces, letting workers organize and make their voices heard, as well as ending discrimination, since child labour often affects the most marginalized. Staggering figure for su...

A US department of labor investigation uncovered child labor violations at three McDonald’s locations in Louisville, Kentucky, which included finding two 10-year-olds working unpaid, sometimes until 2am. The three McDonald’s franchisees cited in the investigation own a total of 62 locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, were found to employ 305 children who were working more than legally permitted hours and performing job tasks prohibited by law for their age. Civil penalties totaling $212,754 were issued against the franchisees for the violations. The franchisees include Bauer Food based in Louisville, Kentucky, Archways Richwood based in Walton, Kentucky, and Bell Restaurant Group based in Louisville. Around 93% of McDonald’s locations worldwide are operated by franchisees. The investigation found the franchisees employing 14- and 15-year-olds who were working outside of the hours and over the numbers of hours minors are permitted to work and exceeding the daily and w...

Are children at risk in tight labour markets? UNICEF explains * There is substantial concern that COVID-19 and associated socioeconomic crises may have set back global progress on child labour. * Projections show that without mitigation measures, up to 8.9 million more children may have been pushed into child labour. * Companies and governments must collaborate to take a multifaceted approach to protect children from economic shocks, experts say. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic shocks have upended progress towards multiple economic and social development goals. There are fears that these include setbacks in the fight against child labour. Even prior to the pandemic, the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) was raising concerns that progress to end child labour had stalled in previous decades. In a report published with the International Labour Organization, the agency estimated that 160 million children—nearly 1 in 10 worldwide—were engaged in ...

Allowing work in hazardous jobs. Definitely in violation of the CRC. Habib In a pre-dawn session on Tuesday, the Iowa state senate voted to allow children to work longer hours and serve alcohol, the latest move by Republican-controlled statehouses to combat a labor shortage by loosening child labor laws . The Iowa bill would expand the number of hours that children under 16 can work from four to six a day, allow minors to work in previously prohibited industries if they are part of a training program, and allow 16- and 17-year–olds to serve alcohol with a parent’s permission. It passed the state senate by a vote of 32-17, two Republicans joining every Democrat in opposition. The vote took place just before 5am, after protests and delay tactics by Democrats. “We do know slavery existed in the past but one place it doesn’t exist, that’s in this bill,” said Adrian Dickey, the Republican responsible for shepherding the bill to passage, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch . “It simply i...

Today, the NY Times continued its investigative reporting on the migrant child labour violations with some definitive news that the Federal agencies are ready to take action. Readers may recollect that we have been following this story by posting the updates. There were justifications made by some States to lower the age , with Arkansas leading the group and passing legislation superseding Federal laws. Finally, with the evidence piling up against employers who were willing to pay the fines for violation and yet blatantly employ children in night shifts the meat packing plants . For your convenience, the gist of the fairly comprehensive (lengthy) article is presented here together with the link to NY Times article. "An investigation by The New York Times has revealed that the US ignored warnings about child labour after more than 250,000 migrant children arrived alone in the country in the past two years. The report states that thousands of children have ended up working in punish...

A 16-year-old says he’s still cleaning a Kansas slaughterhouse months after his employer was fined for employing kids. When the Labor Department discovered over 100 migrant children cleaning Midwest slaughterhouses in February, their employer, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., paid a $1.5 million fine, agreed to stop employing children, and quickly fired all workers found to be underage. Read the original article But a 16-year-old whom NBC News is calling Pedro said he’s still cleaning blood and animal parts off the kill floor of a Kansas slaughterhouse up to seven nights a week, a job illegal for anyone younger than 18 under U.S. labor law. Pedro spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity. Although the job is hard, dangerous and tiring, he fears losing his paycheck would put him and his family in Guatemala in an impossible situation. Pedro said he used a false identity to get the job. From 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., Pedro is responsible for hauling away animal parts in a cart, scrub...

This morning I was rudely shocked to read that in some states of the US , (which continues to be the lead donor to UNICEF and the ILO), legislators are moving backwards and not protecting children from working outside their homes in factories and agriculture. .. while the US has ratified ILO182 (Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour) it has NOT ratified ILO138 (Minimum Convention) and given its Federal structure, States can set their standards. Read how Arkansas legislators are attempting to lower the age from 16, the state and federal regulation. At the risk of being called naive, can one infer that this issue is outside the 'jurisdiction' of UNICEF's Executive Director and she does not have a role in her own country to advocate for child rights and influence her fellow American legislators. What about the advocacy role of the US Committee? "Sree Gururaja  The Dangerous Race to Put More Children to Work https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/opinion/editori...

The New York Times of 26 February carried a hard hitting, informative and well-researched article, “ Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs across the US" ( Click here to read the original - short text summary below). The article shocked me at first. It seemed shameful that in one of the richest countries in the world, children as young as 12 years old were working in jobs, some linked to well known companies. I then realized that the federal laws in the US are not necessarily compliant with international conventions, including those relating to children. Is this alarming situation a new phenomenon? Is the surge of such children related to the pandemic? Or a breakdown of institutions ? I was reminded of Niall Ferguson's predictionsin his book,”The Great Degeneration” ( 2012) and this another instance of the decay of law, institutions and of civic society, the pillars of modern post WWII society? What does this mean as this ‘degeneration’ is happening globally ...