Entries by Reid Maki

10 Facts about Child Soldiers…

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How do you define a ‘child soldier’? The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child (1990) defined childhood as under 18 years of age. In 1997 an International conference in Cape Town adopted the definition, “any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity…” A key 2nd Conference in Paris 2007[1] concluded with a definition of, “any person below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities.” The Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 of the International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers estimated there are 300,000-plus child soldiers at any point in time[2]. Forty percent of those are thought to be girls[3]. Most are aged between 13-17 years, but they are accounts of children as young as 7. Why do they join how do they become child soldiers? Many children are forcible recruited and brain washed. Children are cheap requiring less pay and food, available in times […]

CLC Support Statement for the Restoration of Child-Labor Funding

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Child Labor Coalition Statement in Support of the Restoration of Funding for US Department of Labor’s ILAB Child-Labor Programs   The Child Labor Coalition, whose members include the following 35 groups, representing millions of Americans, supports the continued full funding and operation of the Department of Labor’s child labor programs, operated through ILAB (International Labor Affairs Bureau). We find these invaluable programs to be a critical tool in the fight against child labor, child trafficking, and child slavery and believe they have played a significant role in the reduction of child labor by one-third—over 60 million children—since 2001. Additional supporters follow this list of CLC members: American Federation of Teachers Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs       Bank Information Center Beyond Borders buildOn Communications Workers of America Farmworker Justice First Focus Campaign for Children Free the Slaves Global Campaign for Education—US Global Fairness Initiative GoodWeave Human Rights Watch Injury Control Research Center, West Virginia University International Brotherhood of Teamsters International Initiative to End Child Labor International Labor Rights Forum Media Voices for Children Migrant Legal Action Program National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education National Consumers League National Education Association National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association The Ramsay Merriam Fund Save the Children Solidarity Center, AFL-CIO United States Fund for UNICEF United Food and Commercial Workers International Union United […]

Press Release: Child Labor Coalition expresses concern about child and adult workers killed in recent factory collapse in Pakistan

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          For immediate release: November 6, 2015 Contact: Child Labor Coalition Coordinator Reid Maki, (202) 207-2820 Washington, DC—The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) laments the tragic deaths that occurred Wednesday in the collapse of a plastic-bag factory in Lahore, Pakistan. At least 23 workers died in the factory, including an unknown number of child workers. Rescuers have pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble, but dozens of other workers still trapped are thought to remain. Although the details are still not yet fully know, a young boy working in the factory who survived the incident told reporters that dozens of children were among the 150 workers trapped in the collapsed building. Several reports mentioned children as young as 12 working in the factory. South Asia has been the scene of a number of factory tragedies in recent years. In 2013, more than 1,100 workers died in the Rana factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2012, more than 100 workers died in the Tazreen fire just outside of Dhaka. That same year, 289 people were killed in a fire in Karachi, Pakistan, and on the same day, a shoe factory fire in Lahore killed 25 workers. “This latest Lahore collapse highlights the vulnerability of factory workers,” said Sally Greenberg, co-chair of the CLC and executive director of the National Consumers League. […]

Recent Child Labor News (August 31, 2015)

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Recent child labor news: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nestle claims it will make KitKat sustainable in 2016: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-31/nestle-s-kitkat-to-change-cocoa-supplies-to-address-child-labor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Candy Industry editor says Tulane report is a call to step up child labor responses and it may be time for President Obama to get involved: 2.03 million: Cocoa industry needs to respond to rising … It’s not what the industry expected. Not what people heavily committed to the cause expected. View on www.candyindustry… Preview by Yahoo ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Top 5 findings from the 2105 “Cocoa Barometer”: Check the Chain. Fight Child Slavery.* See the top 5 findings from the important Cocoa Barometer report. View on nochildforsale.ca* Preview by Yahoo   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ US Court of Appeals rules companies can hide conflict minerals: U.S. Court of Appeals Reaches Decision in Nation… Today, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion holding that publicly-traded corporations have a First Amendment rig… View on freespeechforpeople… Preview by Yahoo Recent CLC Web article, “Buried Childhoods – Child Labor in Mining and Quarrying” by Sharon Fawcett: stopchildlabor | Buried Childhoods — Child Labour …* 20SHARES share on Facebooktweet on Twitter   Sharon Fawcett Jestoni* quit school at age 14 in order to take part in small-sca… View on stopchildlabor.org* Preview by Yahoo ~~~~~~~~~~~ CLC-member First Focus on how a Children’s Commission could benefit American kids: A Children’s Commission […]

CLC and 57 Groups Urge Congress to Pass the “Children Don’t Belong in Tobacco Fields” Legislation Banning ChildLabor in US Tobacco

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[Our  NGO letter supports legislation to ban child labor in US tobacco fields. There is both a Senate and a House version in the current Congress–HR 1848 and S 974]   April 16, 2015 Dear Senator/Representative: We write to you as organizations representing millions of Americans, including teachers, healthcare professionals, workers, farmworkers, and advocates concerned about children’s safety. We are alarmed at reports that children are risking acute nicotine poisoning and other health and safety hazards in US tobacco fields. We urge you to co-sponsor the Children Don’t Belong in Tobacco Fields Act, which would prohibit children under the age of 18 from employment that brings them into direct contact with tobacco. This legislation would not affect children working on their family’s farm. A study released last year by Human Rights Watch found that child tobacco workers on US farms are exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, extreme heat, and other dangers. Nearly three-quarters of the child tobacco workers they interviewed had experienced symptoms including nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, headaches, dizziness, difficulty breathing, skin rashes, and irritation to their eyes and mouths. Many of these symptoms are consistent with acute nicotine poisoning, also known as Green Tobacco Sickness. According to a new bulletin published by OSHA and NIOSH, children and adolescents who handle tobacco may be more sensitive to chemical […]

NCL’s 2015 Five Most Dangerous Jobs For Teens:

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Tips for Teen Workers, Parents, and Employers to Help Working Teens Stay Safe in the Work Place  The National Consumers League’s Guide, Updated Annually   Report author: Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy National Consumers League   Introduction: Although fatality rates are dropping, we continue to lose too many children at work No parent thinks their child will be hurt at work, but according to the Children’s Safety network, about every 9 minutes a U.S. teen is hurt on the job. In July 2014 in Duvall, Washington, 19-year-old Bradley Hogue was killed by a rotating auger—a metal device like a giant corkscrew while working inside the bark-blower truck. In January this year, the state of Washington assessed employer Pacific Topsoils with penalties totaling $199,000, noting that employers were regularly exposed to three mechanical hazards that could seriously injure or kill them. In October 2014, an Idaho teen, 18-year-old Jeremy McSpadden, Jr., of Spokane Valley, Washington portraying a zombie at a Halloween haunted hayride died tragically. The boy, wearing a mask, emerged from a corn maze, stumbled on uneven ground, lost his footing and fell under the rear wheel of the bus. He was killed instantly. In May of 2015, Kyle Sing, 15, was putting in a fence on his family’s farm in Eldridge, Missouri when he became caught in […]

44 Groups Sign-On to CLC Letter Asking Major Tobacco Companies for Better Wages, Collective Bargaining for US Farmworkers and Expansion of the Dunlop Commission Process

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[Child Labor Coalition letter mailed May 4, 2015 to Reynolds American Inc., Phillip Morris International, and British American Tobacco] On June 24, 2014, a collection of organizations representing millions of Americans, including teachers, healthcare professionals, workers, farmworkers, and advocates concerned about children working in the tobacco fields wrote an open letter to the tobacco industry, outlining a number of steps that must be taken to eliminate child labor from tobacco supply chains. We are heartened that Reynolds American has expressed interest in implementing stronger policies to end child labor in tobacco fields. However, as we noted in our letter, enacting higher standards is only a portion of the solution. To truly address the problem of child labor in tobacco, effective reporting mechanisms must be established in the fields, and adult workers must receive wages that allow them to support their families and send their children to school rather than work. This is why we are writing you again, in support of efforts by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) to establish a system for tobacco farm workers in North Carolina to negotiate for better wages, improved working conditions, and establish a committee that can resolve issues for tobacco workers and growers when they arise. We ask that you sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FLOC to negotiate recognition of […]

New Legislation Introduced to Protect US Children Working in Tobacco Fields –Please Call Your Member of Congress and Ask them to Support

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Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act The Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act (S.974/H.R.1848) would end the practice of children working on tobacco farms, where nicotine absorbed through the skin while handling tobacco plants can lead to nicotine poisoning. The bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from coming into direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves. U.S. law prohibits children under the age of 18 from buying cigarettes, but allows children as young as 12 to work in tobacco fields. Nicotine Poisoning and Other Risks Human Rights Watch published a 2014 report based on interviews with 140 children who worked on U.S. tobacco farms in 2012 and 2013. The majority of children were working for hire. Key findings include: • Child tobacco workers began working at age 11 or 12, working 50-60 hours per week. • Children experienced nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches, and sleeplessness while working on tobacco farms. • Children worked in hot conditions with jobs ranging from harvesting tobacco plants to applying toxic pesticides. • Many pesticides used in tobacco production are known neurotoxins. Long-term effects include cancer, neurological deficits, and reproductive health problems. Protections for Child Workers The U.S. has no specific restrictions to protect children from nicotine poisoning or […]

Hazardous Labor

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In 2012, more than half of child laborers—85 million—are in hazardous work (down from 171 million in 2000).   Source:ILO