World Day Against Child Labour

WHAT IS CHILD LABOR?

A boy in a gray t-shirt carries a stack of bricks on his back

The International Labour Organization defines child labor 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 data released by UNICEF in 2017, 12 percent of all children in India are engaged in some form of child labour. Their vulnerability makes them easy targets for exploitation, which makes it vital for the government to frame stringent laws in this regard.

Additionally, Ratna remarked that in a country like India, where children helping with family work is ingrained in the social fabric, “a child assisting a family should not even come under the legislative purview”. 

She pointed out that if “help” at the family level exceeds a certain duration, or puts the child in harmful circumstances, it could affect the growth and development of the child, and would be akin to child labour.

On this World Day Against Child Labour will look back on progress achieved over a 100 years of ILO support to countries on tackling child labour. 

We will also look forward towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7 set by the international community calling for an end to child labour in all its forms by 2025.

We also encourage ratification of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, which protects both adults and children.