World Day Against Child Labour 2020
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Every year on June 12, the World Day Against Child Labour is observed on June 12 in almost 100 countries all around the globe.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are about 152 million children globally who are engaged in child labour, 72 million of whom are in hazardous work.
History of World Day Against Child Labour
So many children in the age group 5 to 17 are engaged in work that deprives them of a normal childhood, like getting adequate education, proper health care, leisure time, or just basic freedom. In 2002, the United Nations body that regulates the world of work, the International Labour Organization (ILO), launched the World Day Against Child Labour for this very reason.
What is Child Labour?
The International Labour Organization defines child labour as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”
Not all work done by children is child labor. Activities that contribute to a child’s positive development and provide skills and experience for them to become productive members of society are not child labor.
According to the ILO, child labor refers to work that:
- is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children,
- interferes with their schooling by:
- depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
- obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
- requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
