child labour statistics: concepts and definitions

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Child Labour Statistics:

Concepts and Definitions

Challenges and Strategies in Improving Labour Statistics in Africa

Tuesday 23 November 2010

International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, ILO Geneva

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Child Labour: Concepts and Definitions, International Conventions

Defining Child Labour (CL) ……. 1 For any country the concept and definition

of CL for statistical measurement should take into account the national needs and circumstances.

Therefore, the starting point for developing the definition of CL is : - National legislation (where available)- Guidelines provided by international

labour standards/ ILO Conventions , international statistical standards and other international instruments

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Resolution concerning Statistics of Child Labour

Defining Child Labour (CL) ……...2 The statistical measurement framework

for child labour is structured around two main elements, namely: -age of the child; and -productive activities by the child including

their nature the conditions under which these

are performed , and the duration of engagement by the

child in such activities.

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The international legal framework

The international legal framework 1. ILO Convention Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)Applies:

- to all economic sectors, and - to all working children

whether - they are employed for wages, or working on their own account.

It is the most comprehensive and authoritative international definition of minimum age for admission to employment (that is, being at work).

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ILO Minimum AgeConvention

No. 138

General minimum

age specifications

Exceptions for developing countries

Basic Minimum

Age (Art. 2)

15 years 14 years

Hazardous work (Art. 3)

18 years

(16 years conditionally)

NO EXCEPTION

Light work (Art. 7) 13-15 years 12-14 years

Requires a national policy for theeffective abolition of child labour

(Art. 1)

Requires a specification of minimumage (Art. 2)

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2. ILO Convention on Worst Forms of Child Labour [WFCL], 1999 (No. 182) No “flexibility clauses” – makes no distinction between developed and developing countries, and applies to all girls and boys younger than 18 years. Defined in Article 3 (No.182) as: (a) all forms of slavery, and practices similar

to slavery, include debt bondage & forced labor, and use of children in armed conflict

(b) use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, pornography, etc.

(c) use, procurement or offering of a child for illicit activities, particularly trafficking in drugs

(d) work that is likely to harm the health, safety, or morals of children

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ILO Worst Formsof Child Labour Convention

No. 182 and its Recommendation

No. 190

PRE-AMBULE OF CONVENTION: « ..child labour is to a great extent

caused by poverty and (..) the long-term solution lies in sustained economic growth leading to social progress, in particular poverty

alleviation and universal education.. »

A new global cause

Calls for immediate action to eliminatethe worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency

Irrespective oflevel of

developmentof country

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All sectorsof economic

activity

Girls and boys

under 18 years

Special attentionto most vulnerable( like those very young, and girls )

Worst forms ofchild labour as

prioritytarget groups

Children in illicit

activities

Children inprostitution and

pornography

Children indebt bondage and

serfdom

Includingforced

recruitmentfor use in

armed conflict

Children inslavery, forced or

compulsory labour

Children inhazardous work

(however, C182 doesnot define hazardous

and leaves it to thecountries))

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3. United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child, 1989Defines a child as an individual under the age of 18 years.[Note: All children younger than age 5 years are assumed to be economically inactive, so for CL analysis the age group 5-17 years is considered]

Provides that children be protected from economic exploitation and

work that threatens their health, education and development into a responsible adult member of society.

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Statistical measurement of CL

Statistical measurement of CL …… 1

■ Age of a child: The target population of CL comprises all persons in the age group from 5 to 17 years, where age is measured as the number of completed years at the child’s last birthday.

■ National statistical offices may, in consultation with the responsible government offices for education, protection and welfare of children and adolescents, set the lower age threshold below 5 years if that is considered useful in the light of national circumstances. [Note: The lower age threshold should never be higher than the official age for entry into compulsory schooling.]

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■ Children in employment: Children in employment are those engaged in any activity falling within the production boundary in the SNA for at least one hour during the reference period. They consist of: (a) those in child labour within the SNA production boundary; (b) children aged 12 to 14 years in permissible light work; and (c) adolescents in the age group 15 to 17 years engaged in work not designated as one of the worst forms of child labour.

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■ Children in other productive activities: Children in other productive activities includes children who perform unpaid household services, that is, the production of domestic and personal services by a household member for consumption within their own household, commonly called “household chores”. In contrast, the performance of household services in a third-party household, paid or unpaid, is an economic activity and included within the production boundary of the SNA.

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■ Child labour: The term child labour reflects the engagement of children in prohibited work and, more generally, in types of work to be eliminated as socially and morally undesirable as guided by national legislation, the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

■ Note: Child labour may be measured in terms of the engagement of children in productive activities either on the basis of the general production boundary, or on the basis of the SNA production boundary – but the measurement framework should be clearly specified.

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■ Child labour (contd.): For the purpose of statistical measurement, children engaged in child labour include all persons aged 5 to 17 years who, during a specified time period, were engaged in one or more of the following categories of activities:(a) worst forms of child labour;(b) employment below the minimum age, and

(c) hazardous unpaid household services [where general production boundary is the measurement].

■ Note: Please refer to schematic diagram.

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Age group General production boundary

SNA production Non-SNA production

(1a) Light work3

(1b) Regular work4

Worst forms of child labour (3a) Hazardous unpaid

household services1

(3b) Other

non-SNA production

(2a)Hazardous work

(2b) Worst forms of

child labour other than hazardous

work

Children below the minimum age specified for light work(for example, 5–11 years)2

Employment below the

minimum age for light work

Employment below the general minimum working

age

Employment in industries and occupations

designated as hazardous, or work for long

hours and/or at night in industries and occupations

not designated as hazardous

Children trafficked for work; forced

and bonded child labour; commercial sexual exploitation of children; use of children for illicit

activities and armed conflict

Unpaid household services for long hours; involving

unsafe equipment or heavy loads; in

dangerous locations; etc.

Children within the age range specified for light work(for example, 12–14 years)2

Children at or above the general minimum working age (for example, 15–17 years)2

1 (3a) is applicable where the general production boundary is used as the measurement framework for child labour.2 Age-group limits may differ across countries depending upon the national circumstances.

3 Where applicable at the national level.4 Children in employment other than those covered under columns (1a), (2a) and (2b).

Denotes child labour as defined by 18th ICLS resolution Denotes activities not considered child labour

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■ Worst forms of child labour (WFCL): Defined earlier with Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 182 (C182)

■ Based on national circumstances, countries may also wish to collect data on activities by children which are outside the general production boundary, such as begging and stealing, and which may be considered in the context of WFCL.

■ Activities covered under Article 3(a)–3(c) of C182 are referred to as “WFCL other than hazardous work”, and often also termed “unconditional WFCL”. [Note: Standardized statistical concepts and definitions for these CL forms are not fully developed. Statistical measurement methods are at an experimental stage.]

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■ Hazardous work by children: Activities covered under Article 3(d) of C182 –3(c) are referred to “hazardous work”. These are defined as :

(a) exposes children to physical, psychological, or sexual abuse

(b) underground, under water, at dangerous heights, and in confined spaces

(c) with dangerous machinery, or involves manual handling of heavy loads

(d) in unhealthy environments that expose children to health hazards

(e) under particularly difficult conditions (e.g. long hours), or if freedom confined

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■ Hazardous work by children (contd): Hazardous work by children is statistically defined in terms of the engagement of children in activities of a hazardous nature (designated hazardous industries and occupations) as reflected in paragraphs (a)–(d) of previous slide. It may also be work under hazardous conditions, for example, long hours of work in tasks and duties which by themselves may or may not be of a hazardous nature for children (hazardous work conditions) as reflected in paragraph (e) of previous slide.

■ Hazardous occupations for children are designated on basis of national laws or regulations, where they exist. Designated hazardous occupations for children may also be identified on the basis of recommendations from competent consultative bodies, such as, the National Steering Committee on CL.

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■ Hazardous work by children (contd):■ Hazardous work for children may be measured in

terms of designated hazardous industries for children in countries that have prohibited the engagement of children in specific designated industries, for example, construction, and mining and quarrying.

■ Long hours of work: When hours actually worked at all jobs during the reference period is above a specified threshold, that may be determined in terms of the maximum number of hours of work that the national law or regulation sets for children who have reached the minimum working age.

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Statistical measurement of CL …… 10■ Light work (permissible): Permissible work by children below

minimum age for employment that is: (a) not likely to be harmful to child’s health or development; and (b) not such as to prejudice child’s school attendance, participation in vocational orientation or training programmes, or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received. [Note: A restriction on weekly hours of work is required for this age group, but the determination of the maximum number of hours is left to the competent national authorities. In its absence 14 hours per week limit may be applied.]

■ Hazardous unpaid household services by children are those performed in the child’s own household under hazardous work conditions, such as, for long hours, in an unhealthy environment, involving unsafe equipment or heavy loads, in dangerous locations, etc. The effect on a child’s education should also be considered when determining what constitutes long hours.

212/21

Conceptual framework of child labor(SNA production boundary)

Forms of child labour

Children in employment

Child labour

Hazardous work

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Global child labour measurement framework

Children in employment(5-17 years old)

Para 12

In otherindustries

In otheroccupations

Not long hours of work(<43 hrs)

Non-hazardouswork conditions

5-11 yrsPara. 32

12-14 yrs 15-17 yrs

14+ hrsPara. 33-35

Light work(<14 hrs)

Not child labourChild labourPara. 14-37

In designatedhazardous industries

Para. 27

In designatedhazardous occupations

Para. 25-26

Long hours of work(43+ hrs)Para. 28-30

In other hazardouswork conditions

Para. 24

Hazardous unpaidhousehold activities

by childrenPara. 36-37

Hazardous workby children

Para. 21-30

18th International C

onference of Labour Statisticians, R

esolution concerning statistics of child labour (ILO

, Geneva, 2008)

child labour statistics: concepts and definitions

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