DILI, 3 august 2022 (TATOLI)– The National Commission Against Chail Labor (NCAIL) reports that 52,000 child laborers in Timor-Leste are a major cause of low family income.
President of NCAIL, Anicetu Leto Soro said the 2022 survey from NCAIL was focused on the main causes of child labor in Timor-Leste.
“We are conducting a survey to identify the main causes of children being placed into child labor in Timor-Leste, and the NCAIL survey data shows that the number of child laborers has reached 52,000, due to low family incomes,” president Anicetu Leto Soro told TATOLI in this office, Hudi Laran, Wednesday.
Leto Soro said the survey had identified that 60% of the 52,000 children had access to school while 40% of children have no access to school and were focused on working to support the family income.
“These children mostly work as street vendors selling eggs, cigarettes, washing cars, and also doing heavy work to support their family,”
At the same time, Leto emphasized that these children were mostly from Dili, Ermera, AInaro, Aileu, Lospalos, and Suai.
Following the issue of child labor, NCAIL has made six important recommendations to the government’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Coordination to address this issue, including Providing social assistance to parents that their children work for others, adapting to the National Action plan against child labor, increase financial transfers to vulnerable families to meet basic needs, provide subsidies or free schools to children, provide parents and employers with more information on child labor issues, provide work designs on credit schemes that are easy for children to ensure they can access to schools.
While following the 2016 National Child Labour Survey, shows that Around 67,688 children (aged 5-17 years old), or equal to 16.1 percent are economically active both in rural and urban areas. Out of 16.1 percent of economically active children, 12.5 percent are in child labor and the majority of them 19,195 (55.5%) are involved in hazardous work,(meaning that they work long hours, and work in dangerous conditions, or carry out night work).
Of a total population of children, 83.8 percent are attending school; however, children in child labor are less likely to attend school.
Around 43,000 children (aged 5-17 years old) are reported never attended school; among these children, 6,455 are involved in economic activity, 4,901 are in child labor, and 2,888 are in hazardous work.
In line with the survey ILO and UNICEF recently launched key findings of qualitative research on the drivers of child labor in Timor-Leste.
In the key finding research ILO together with its constituents and partners, called for increased investment in social protection systems and schemes to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labor.
The global ILO and UNICEF research found that as of 2020 and before the COVID-19 crisis took hold, only 46.9 percent of the global population were effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit. Coverage for children is even lower with nearly three-quarters of children or equal to 1.5 billion lacking social protection.
Therefore a key finding of the research also provides an urge for the Government of Timor-Leste to urgently adopt the National Action Plan Against the Worst Forms of Child Labour and its list of hazardous works for children.
The National Action Plan Against Child Labour aims to guide and strengthen the works of government institutions such as the Commission against Child Labour and the Labour Inspector office to fight against child labor in Timor-Leste.
The National Action Plan is now still in the process of reviewing by the government since its submission in 2020.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia Borges
