Malawi'’s agricultural sector is critical to its economy, employing around 77% of the population and accounting for 23% of gross domestic product (GDP). The majority of workers in agriculture are smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate less than one hectare of land. Despite its importance, the sector faces significant challenges, …
The recent Ghana Labour Standards Survey (GLSS-6) has shown that 21.8 per cent, representing 1.9 million children aged between five and 17 years out of the over eight million nationwide population, are engaged in child labour. The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations says the statistics released in August 2014, …
A survey conducted by Child Rights International (CRI), a civil society organisation committed to promoting children’s rights, has shown that over 2,092 children in Ghana are exposed to high risks as a result of child labour. This includes thousands of child labourers from age five to 17 working in small …
On 23 March 2017, the British Medical Association, in partnership with the Sustainable Development Unit for the health sector in England, released Ethical procurement for health: workbook 2.0, 1 a guide and workbook for protecting labour rights in medical supply chains. This is an update to a document released 6 …
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Abuses linked to mining in countries such as Myanmar and Colombia are being overlooked by technology companies focused only on eliminating "conflict minerals" from war-torn parts of Africa in their supply chains, researchers said on Thursday. In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), competition for mineral …
NYALIGONGO, Tanzania, April 4 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Three years ago, 14-year-old Julius left his family near the lakeside city of Mwanza, Tanzania, to try his luck mining gold. Today Julius is in no hurry to leave, despite having one of the riskiest jobs on a chaotic mine site - …
Nairobi — THE worst drought in decades is exposing Kenyan women to sexual attacks and girls to early marriages and forced labour. Women have been reported to walk long distances to the nearest sources of the means, endangering to sexual perverts lurking along the way. Rights groups reported women were …
The principles laid down in the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) offer guidelines to multinational enterprises, governments, and employers’ and workers’ organizations in such areas as employment, training, conditions of work and life, and industrial relations. This guidance is founded substantially on principles …
More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years of are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million children under 5 years, …
This research paper, commissioned as part of the series ‘Starting Strong: the first 1000 days of the SDGs’, identifies key actions toward addressing the unfinished business of the MDGs and how to reach those who are furthest behind in relation to the new SDGs. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address …
Global firms behind popular brands such as Kit Kat, Colgate toothpaste and Dove cosmetics use palm oil produced by child workers in dangerous conditions, Amnesty International has claimed. The human rights organisation traced a range of well-known products back to the palm oil company Wilmar, which it alleged employs children …
Women and children in India’s flood-hit eastern region are at risk of being preyed upon by human traffickers and sold into slavery in middle class homes, restaurants and shops, and even brothels, aid workers warned on Friday. Heavy monsoon rains have caused rivers including the Ganges and its tributaries to …
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Almost 60 percent of countries are at high risk of using slave labour in their supply chains, according to a new global index launched on Thursday, which also ranked North Korea as having the worst record of slave labour in the world. By assessing incidents …
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Tens of thousands of children across southern Africa are being pushed out of school and into early marriage or child labor because of drought and hunger caused by the El Nino weather pattern, charities said on Wednesday. Southern Africa has been hard hit over the …
Rajya Sabha passed a bill which prohibits employment of children below 14 years in all occupations or processes except where the child helps his family, with the provision for imprisonment up to two years for any violation. ‘The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill’ makes employment of children below …
Question raised in Lok Sabha on Child Labour, 18/07/2016. The number of main workers in the age group of 5-14 years in the country is 43.53 lakh as per 2011 Census which shows a decline from 2001 Census. The number of main workers in the age group of 5 to …
More than half a million Iraqi children are estimated to be at work rather than at school as violence and displacement hurt the income of millions of families, according to the United Nations childrens' agency UNICEF. The number of children currently working, more than 575,000, has doubled since 1990, the …
A two-month NGO investigation into palm oil giant Indofood's plantations reveal numerous worker and human rights abuses. PepsiCo, which has licensed out its brand to Indofood in Indonesia, said it was taking steps to address the findings. Indofood is an arm of the Salim Group and one of the world's …
No one wants to knowingly buy products made with child labour or those that harm the environment, but we also don’t want to work too hard to find out whether our favourite products were made ethically, according to a new study. We really don’t like those good people who make …
A new guide by FAO aims to help ensure anti-child labour measures are included in agricultural and rural development programmes, in particular those targeting family farmers. Programs intended to boost local food production and support family farmers often do include components to address the issue of child labour in agriculture. …
The second volume of the ILO World Report on Child Labour series highlights the close linkages between child labour and good youth employment outcomes, and the consequent need for common policy approaches to addressing challenges arising in countries where both child labour and youth unemployment prevail. The Report presents empirical …
