Pandemic and famine force more than a million children to work

Carolina Gomez Mena

Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday June 12, 2022, p. 6

As the World Day Against Child Labor is commemorated today, Tejiendo Redes Infancia, the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (Redim) and World Vision Mexico spoke out for preventing the use of child labor and agreed that the pandemic, war and famine translate into low income,

This, in turn, leads to more child labor, they added.

Juan Martín Pérez, head of Tejiendo Redes Infancia, told this outlet that before the arrival of covid-19, it was estimated that 3.3 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 worked in Mexico; however, due to the effects of the pandemic, almost 4.5 million could be reached.

the ephemeris is an international reminder for states, in order to prevent child labour. There is a directly proportional relationship between its increase and low family income. The Federal Labor Law (article 23) stipulates that activities within the family circle cannot be sanctioned, because this occurs as an element of survival, but they are penalized when they put their health, safety and life at risk.

He underlined: The activities of child victims of trafficking or criminal recruitment can never be considered work. It is forced labor when the rights to school, health and play are affected, and this has to be punished and prevented. This happens in the agricultural sector, where eight out of 10 children work in small communities; most are in agribusiness.

The International Labor Organization indicates that, on a global scale, some 160 million children and adolescents work, and 60 percent do so in agriculture.

In addition to the above, covid-19 increased poverty levels, so it is estimated that by the end of this year 8.9 million more minors could be working.

The Redim referred that there are registered cases of use of labor from the age of five. Child labor is a phenomenon that affects one in 10 children and adolescents and one in four adolescents.

The Inegi Child Labor Survey, he mentioned, refers that 3.26 million people between the ages of 5 and 17 were in a situation of child labour. This represented 11.5 percent of the population in that age range..

In turn, Miguel Ángel Laporta, director of World Vision Mexico, indicated that in order to prevent improve safety conditions for local industries and businesses, regularize informal companies and workshops associated with the textile and clothing industry.

Many children have housework in unsuitable conditions. He added that Word Vision strives for the comprehensive approach to prevent child labor and promote labor rights.