Child Labour
More than 200 million children in the world today are involved in child labour. They are doing work that is damaging to their mental, physical and emotional development. Child labour must be abolished. Its total elimination may be a long-term goal in many countries, but certain forms of child labour must be confronted immediately.
Nearly three-quarters of working children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour. This includes all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery such as the trafficking of children; debt bondage and serfdom; forced or compulsory labour; the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for armed conflict; child prostitution; and any forced work which is likely to harm the health or safety of children.
Unions can play an important role in helping to abolish child labour. They can investigate and document cases, build awareness of the issue through campaigns, use their collective bargaining powers to help eliminate it, and promote international labour standards which address the issue.