International Labor Organization (ILO) Child Labor and The UAE Legislation - Essay Example

? International Labor Organization (ILO) Child Labor and The UAE Legislation BMGN N470, Industrial Relactions Assessment Warda Al Meqbali ID#: 200220299 Higher Colleges of Technology Abu Dhabi Women's College Instructor: Jane Bourne Date: 4 June 2015 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 What is child labor? 4 Examples of Child Labor Practices In the World 5 Why Child Labor Should Be Abolished 6 TWO ILO Conventions Currently In Force Relating To Child Labor 7 Do ILO Conventions Have Been Successful Or Not? 8 UAE Legislation And The ILO Conventions 9 Conclusions 10 Bibliography 11 Introduction This essay discusses the International Labor Organization (ILO) initiatives with regard to the abolition of child labor. Also, exemplify the UAE legislation enacting for the purpose of complying with the ILO conventions. In this essay I will focus on the following: What is the ILO? What is child labor? Examples of child labor practices in the world Why child labor should be abolished. Two ILO conventions currently in force relating to child labor. Are ILO conventions have been successful or not? UAE legislation and the ILO conventions. What is the ILO? International Labor Organization (ILO) is a United Nations specialized agency. It is keen to enhancing social justice and human and labor rights, following its mission that labor peace is the basis of prosperity. ILO Established in 1919 at the end of World War I by the Treaty of Versailles as a part of the League of Nations. In 1946, the ILO was transferred to the United Nations. In 1969, the organization was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. ILO is an international organization that tends to evince concern for the international labor issues and aims at setting such labor standards at an international level that assure optimal and good working conditions for all labor at a global level and lead to the elimination of bad labor practices. In the current context almost 189 countries happen to be a member of ILO and UAE became its member in 1972. ILO has recognized 190 conventions that are sincerely affiliated to the labor matters. Of these 190 conventions, ILO has recognized about eight conventions as fundamental conventions that deal with the quintessential principles and rights at the work place. Of these eight conventions, two conventions that are Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999 (No. 182) tend to focus on child labor and aim to abolish child labor (How the ILO works, 2013) What is child labor? The term child labor is the full time employment of children who are under a minimum legal age that is set by the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) to be 15 years. In International Labor Organization conventions that are Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the child labor is work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development (Child Labor, 2013). When a child is employed for work leaving his normal way of life is called a child laborer (Child Labor, 2013). As mentioned in the ILO Conventions the work can be called child labor depends on the age of the child, the type and hours of work. Children who considered child labor who is enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses at early of their age. Child labor is a phenomenon that is globally ubiquitous. At a global level, children do get employed in a range of jobs and professions are they agriculture, mining, manufacturing, scavenging, begging or organized crime (Child Labor, 2013). Many a times children get embroiled in the circumstances like deployment in armed conflicts, engaging in debt bondage to compensate for the debts incurred by their parents or grandparents and in multiple facets of the organized crime like human trafficking, as sex workers, drug trafficking, etc (Child Labor, 2013). There is no denying the fact that many of these activities are indeed abominable in the sense that they jeopardize the physical, psychological and moral health of the children engaged in them and deprive them of their basic and fundamental rights (Child Labor, 2013). It goes without saying that going by its illegal credentials, child labor is mostly entrenched in the informal sectors of the national economies and deprives the children of their due wages, medical care, protection against abuse and violence and maltreatment by the employees (Child Labor, 2013). Examples of Child Labor Practices In the World In India almost 14.4 percent of the children of the age group 10 to 14 serve as child laborers (Annabel Lau, 2009). In Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Kenya these figures commensurately tend to be 30.1 percent, 11.6 percent, 17.7 percent and 41.3 percent respectively (Annabel Lau, 2009). This statistics merely tends to be the tip of the iceberg as it does not include the child laborers below the age of 10. In that context it would not be wrong to say that owing to the lack of availability of the accurate statistics pertaining to the child labor at a global level, even if one attempts a rough estimate of the child laborers around the world, the figure would certainly amount to hundreds of millions (Annabel Lau, 2009). Even a developing economy like India happens to be the worst offender when it comes to child labor (Annabel Lau, 2009). As per a 1990 census, the number of child laborers in India that were below the age of 14 amounted to an enervating 11.3 million (Annabel Lau, 2009). Child Labor constitutes 3.6 percent of India’s collective work force (Annabel Lau, 2009). A big chunk of this child labor gets employed in the agriculture sector in India (Annabel Lau, 2009). Many children in Northern India owing to the financially constraint circumstances are forced to work in industries like carpet weaving that take a big toll on their health and education (Annabel Lau, 2009). Why Child Labor Should Be Abolished As known, child labor harms the health of the children and stops them from being at schools for education. It is shatters family relationships that are the basis of personal development at this age. Child labor is a great problem all over the world. Child labor interconnected with the economic disparities gross and be associated with unacceptable restrictions. For example, the practice of a work is not appropriate for children occurs dangerous and sometimes deadly accidents. This happened because they did not grow enough mentally or physically to work safely. In my opinion, child labor is a crime. Employ and occupy children in different jobs, take full advantage of their minor age is a crime. Minor children are working as domestics for long hours. They become sick and have a miserable life. This cold-hearted practice of child labor should stop. Accordingly, those poor children get the opportunity to grow up like any citizen in the country. When a child should go to school for education, he goes to a garage or to a mill or factory. Sometimes they work as a buyer on the streets or they work in the fields as a farmer. Therefore, child labor should be abolished in order to give those children a happy and successful life. TWO ILO Conventions Currently In Force Relating To Child Labor The two main Conventions introduced on child labor for eliminating child labor are Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999 (No. 182) were developed by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Minimum Age Convention, 1973 - No. 138 It aims to abolition of child labor, specifying that the minimum age for admission to employment will not be less than the age of completion of obligatory education. This convention also tends to assure that children do not get employed in potentially hazardous works at too young an age. As per this convention the age for getting employed in a potentially hazardous work that may compromise on the health, safety or morals of the children is 18. This convention has set the basic minimum age for work at 15 while in case of the developing nations it has made an exception by setting the minimum age for work at 14. This convention allows the children in the age group 13-15 to do light work provided it does not interfere with their health, safety and education. Again an exception has been made for the developing countries by setting the age limit for light work between 12 and 14 years. Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999 - No. 182 This convention includes all children under the age of 18 in line with the definition of the child under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It requires to take prompt and effective measures to ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. It includes slavery and similar practices, forced recruitment for employment in armed conflict, used in prostitution and pornography, and any illegal activity, as well as the work that is likely to damage the health, safety and ethics of children. This convention had been approved by 173 of the 183 member States of the ILO by the end of 2010. The primary objective of this convention is to insulate the children below the age 18 around the world from the worst forms of labor and hazardous work that may include slavery and its varied forms like human trafficking, debt bondage, forced or compulsory labor, prostitution an pornography, drug trafficking and organized begging, and other such works that may jeopardize the physical and psychological health, safety, education and morals of the children below the age of 18 (Child Labor, 2013). However, it needs to be noted that this convention tends to differentiate between hazardous work and worst forms of work (Child Labor, 2013). While it holds that hazardous work may be made non-hazardous for children by making the requisite changes in the work environment, the worst forms of work could be considered acceptable under no circumstances (Child Labor, 2013). Do ILO Conventions Have Been Successful Or Not? Though combating child labor is indeed a daunting and difficult task still as per a 2006 ILO report on child labor, the one big thing that the ILO conventions have done is that they have brought the notion and concept of child labor and the evil associated with it on the world stage (ILO, 2006). Before the adoption of the ILO conventions on child labor, child labor happened to be an issue that accrued a lukewarm attention in a large number of nations and most of the nations’ attitude towards the issue of child labor varied from being an abject to a total lack of concern (ILO, 2006). So the one big success of the ILO conventions has been that they have helped identify, define and prioritize the issue of child labor. It is largely owing to these conventions that the international community today has not only extended a formal recognition to the issue of child labor, but also owing to a ratification of these conventions by a large number of nations, the world community has initiated an organized, unified and systematic initiative against child labor in all its forms. So the biggest success of the ILO conventions on child labor has been their capacity to accrue recognition and support for the issue of child labor at a global level. It is indeed heartening to note that simply owing to the international political support and commitment garnered by the ILO conventions on child labor, the proportions of child labor have indeed diluted around the world. As per a 2006 ILO report, in the year 2004, the total number of children trapped in child labor around the world stood at 218 million (ILO, 2006). Out of this, roughly 126 million children were engaged in hazardous and worst forms of work (ILO, 2006). Yet, it was largely owing to the impact of the ILO conventions on child labor and their political fallout and impact, the number of children trapped in child labor the world over fell by an impressive 11 percent over the last four years (ILO, 2006). In the same period the number of children trapped in hazardous work dwindled by 26 percent (ILO, 2006). If one considers the decline in the number of children engaged in hazardous work the world over for the age group5-14, the decline has been even more encouraging that is a full 33 percent (ILO, 2006). Thereby it would not be wrong to say that owing to the primacy accrued to the issue of child labor by the ILO conventions on child labor and the concomitant political and institutional initiative, the number of child laborers and the children engaged in hazardous and unacceptable work has been continually declining over the years. UAE Legislation And The ILO Conventions UAE became the member of ILO in 1972. UAE has ratified many salient ILO conventions and it ratified the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) in 1998 and the Worst forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999 ( No. 182) in 2001. Thereby the United Arab Emirates affiliates to the basic principles and ideals pertaining to child labor inherent in these conventions and is required to supplement these conventions within the country by adopting more detailed guidelines and laws. Thereby the UAE does have the legal mechanisms in place aimed at controlling and curtailing child labor. The UAE Federal Law No. 9 of 1980 prohibits the employment of a juvenile that is a child under the age of 15. The UAE Federal Law allows the employers to employ children in the age group 15-17, on the condition that the employees do so after soliciting a copy of the birth certificate of the individual they employ, a medical certificate that the child is physically fit to do the work for which one is employed and the signed written consent of the guardian of the child to be employed. The UAE Labor Law also prohibits the employment of the children in the age group 15-17 in works that are of hazardous nature or that tend to have a detrimental impact on the physical and psychological health. The UAE law also makes provisions for work breaks and holidays for the children in the age group 15-17 who work and does not allow these children to work for more than 6 hours in a day. It also prohibits the retention of children at the work place by the employers for more than 7 hours at a stretch. Besides, the children are also not allowed to engage in overtime by the UAE Labor Law. In case anybody employs a child below the age of 15, Article 34 of the UAE Code holds the employer and the guardian of the employed child as being guilty of breaking the law. The UAE legal statutes pertaining to the child labor are applicable to the children of all age, race, religion and nationalities residing in the UAE. The UAE Child Protection Law aims to protect all children against physical, psychological, emotional and moral abuse and neglect. Thereby the UAE child labor laws are in tandem with the aims and objectives of the ILO conventions. Yet, it is a fact that UAE needs to do much to assure that its child labor laws are fool proof and all encompassing. For instance the UAE Labor Law excludes domestic helps and individuals engaged in agriculture and grazing, thereby not providing protection to the children engaged in these professions (Internationally Recognized Core Labor Standards in the United Arab Emirates, 2012). The abuse of foreign children as camel jockeys is another area that needs concerted and sincere attention. Being a commercial hub, UAE is also witnessing heightened instances of child trafficking and prostitution (Internationally Recognized Core Labor Standards in the United Arab Emirates, 2012). Conclusions The ILO has a significant job that gives every person in the world a decent life. The most important issue that the ILO work on it is child labor. Children is the future and saving them from anything could destroy their life is a must. Bibliography Advancing the Campaign Against Child Labor. (2002). Retrieved October 20, 2013, from United States Department of Labor: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/Advancing1/CL%20Advance%20Camp.pdf Summry Outline For Action Programme On Child Labour. (2004, September 15). Retrieved October 20, 2013, from International Labour Organization: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/ankara/download/lib.pdf International Laws and Programs on Eliminating Child Labor. (2005). Retrieved October 13, 2013, from Know Child Labor: http://www.knowchildlabor.org/child_labor/how_international_law_defines_child_labor.php Information on the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (2006, May). Retrieved October 21, 2013, from Anti-Slavery: http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2009/2/2006uae_cameljockeys.pdf Ending child labour: A comprehensive. (2010, July 27). Retrieved October 20, 2013, from International Labour Organization: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/ankara/areas/childlabourinturkiyepdf/clreviewturkishexperience.pdf Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards In The United Arab Emirates. (2012, March 29). 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The ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 93, No. 4, pp. 943-948. The End of Child Labor: Within Reach. (2006). Retrieved 26 September, 2013, from International Labor Conference: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc95/pdf/rep-i-b.pdf The ILO: What it is. What it does. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2013, from International Labour Organization: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@webdev/documents/publication/wcms_082364.pdf Read More