There are 13 million (8.8%) of children in child labor in Latin America and the Caribbean …and in the Middle East and North Africa there are 9.2 million (8.4%). Source: ILO
Child labor among girls fell by 40% between 2000 and 2012, compared to 25% for boys. Source: ILO
Join Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi as he presses for movement to end child slavery. There are 5.5 million child slaves in the world–that’s 5.5 million too many! Sign the petition here.
The Philippines has 2.9 million child laborers but in its 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, USDOL said the country was making “significant” progress in dealing with the problem. [source: https://tinyurl.com/llxpt2o]
For immediate release: October 14, 2014 Contact: Reid Maki, (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org Washington, DC–The Child Labor Coalition (CLC), whose 34 member organizations fight exploitative child labor, welcomed news in the US Department of Labor’s 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report released last week, suggesting significant progress is being made in the war to reduce child labor internationally. “The report is another sign that good progress is being made in efforts to reduce child labor around the world,” said Sally Greenberg, co-chair of the CLC and executive director of the National Consumers League. According to USDOL, nine percent of the countries assessed—nearly one in 10—reported “significant advancement” in their child labor responses, and half of the countries assessed experienced moderate advancement. Nearly six in 10 countries assessed made significant or moderate advancement; 36 percent—just over one in three—were judged to have made minimal or no advancement. “The numbers look even better if you dig a little deeper,” said Greenberg. “The 13 countries that USDOL said had made significant advancement are mostly ones that have battled substantial child labor problems—advancement in those countries (Albania, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uganda) is very encouraging.” “Likewise,” Greenberg said, “the 13 countries that made no advancement included only five countries with […]
October 15th, 2014: The Child Labor Coalition (CLC), a group of 34 organizations dedicated to fighting exploitative child labor, is celebrating the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai—two tireless and courageous advocates for the universal education of children and child rights
Introduction: Jobs for teens are an important part of youth development, providing both needed income and teaching valuable work skills. A survey from Citigroup and Seventeen magazine released in August of 2013, found that almost 80 percent of students take at least a part-time job during the school year. Many teens take summer jobs. A job can build confidence, teach social skills, and provide an array of other benefits. According to research in the January/February 2011 issue of Child Development, teen jobs decrease the likelihood working teens will drop out of school—as long as teens work 20 hours or less each week during the school year—and they increase future earnings [Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies]. However, there are dangers associated with teen work. In a typical year, 25-35 children die at work in the U.S. Twenty years ago, that number was over 70. To some extent, these dropping numbers are a result of fewer teens working. Since the recession of 2007, too many teens have been competing for too few jobs. The summer of 2014, however, saw some improvement in the summer teen job market. The youth unemployment rate in July was 13.6 percent—the lowest rate in 6 years. However that rate is still over twice the adult unemployment rate. We believe that health and safety education efforts […]
(Washington, DC) Fifty US-based organizations called on President Obama to protect children in US tobacco farming in a letter released today. The letter, issued by the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) and 15 other groups, expressed alarm that children are risking acute nicotine poisoning, pesticide poisoning, and other health and safety hazards in US tobacco fields and asked the president to take a narrowly-tailored regulatory action to protect child workers who are allowed by current labor law to work in tobacco fields at the age of 12. The letter, signed by organizations, representing millions of teachers, healthcare professionals, workers, farmworkers, and advocates concerned about the safety, education, and welfare of children, also asks the president to call on the Department of Labor to conduct targeted field investigations to ensure that no children under 12 are working in the fields illegally. A recent report, “Tobacco’s Hidden Children: Hazardous Child Labor in United States Tobacco Farming,” by Human Rights Watch found that of 141 child tobacco workers interviewed in North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, three-quarters reported getting sick while working on US tobacco farms. Many of their symptoms—nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, headaches, and dizziness—are consistent with acute nicotine poisoning (also known as “Green Tobacco Sickness”). “Children in the US can’t legally buy cigarettes, but children working in tobacco fields are suffering […]
August 28th, 2014: We write to you as organizations representing millions of Americans, including teachers, healthcare professionals, workers, farmworkers, and advocates concerned about the safety, education, and welfare of children
In Nigeria, over 200 girls were recently abducted from their boarding school and are reported to be eventually sold as brides for as little as $12 each. This petition calls on all World Leaders and enabled parties to rescue them. More than one million individuals have signed this Change.org petition. Will you add your voice and ask for action? Sign by going here.
CLC members—the Ramsay Merriam Fund, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association—made this web site possible through their generous support.