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by Talia Jayasekera

Hands made rough and hard by blisters and welts. These are not the hands of a hard working adult but the hands of a child forced to labour. Callused hands that are the result of working 16 hour shifts at a stretch, in cramped conditions, churning out anything from footballs to clothes to exercise gear for multi-national corporations. Child labour is a burning issue throughout the world. Large companies are notoriously known for their cheap labour tactics by hiring children to work in their foreign factories.

Sri Lanka too can lay claim to this issue. Many households and plantations hire child domestic workers. It is a fact that is often hidden but not rued by the household. These children face many hardships from their early days. Born into poverty, they do not have the luxuries we do. Instead they must do menial work to earn their daily bread. In some cases, they are underpaid or not even paid.

They have no access to education, medical care or any other necessity. Abuse, both mental and physical, is commonplace for these children. They are given a horrifying glimpse into the 'adult world' much too early. We stand tall and strong when it comes to our children having the right to basic necessities and education but these rights do not extend to the young child cooking and cleaning our house. In that respect, we are rather hypocritical.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that there are 246 million children working as child labourers. The ILO recently launched its `International Program for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)', to combat the problem of child domestic labour in Sri Lanka. The ILO, working in collaboration with the Labour Ministry's Women and Children Affairs Division and trade union organisations will engage in activities aimed at prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of children in domestic labour.

The biggest problem faced by these organisations is underage children working in the plantation sector. The current minimum working age for admission to employment is 14 years. This was changed in 2000 by the Government from the original age of 12 years.

The ILO will address this issue with the help of the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) and the National Workers' Congress (NWC). The NWC signed an agreement with the ILO for the program 'mobilising the Plantation Committees to Combat Child Labour', which through interventions will provide catch-up education, non-formal education, vocational training and community mobilisation.

"Child labour on plantations is a highly hidden area", says National Programme Manager to IPEC Ms Salgado. "I cannot give you an exact number on the children but it is definitely a focused area. The reason we are so intent on this area is because rapid assessment, done by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), shows there is a huge cluster of children from the Hatton area working on plantations".

"As a result, we launched a massive prevention and awareness campaign in collaboration with the Labour Ministry to help rescue children caught in this vicious cycle. We trained over 300 officers, that is probation, labour and police officers, on how to deal with these situations so that the techniques and methods used would not wary in standards. It is a concerted effort on all parts", she said.

"Rescue operations are handled primarily by the Labour Ministry. It is impossible for us to just walk in and take a child away. Thus the Ministry has their own protocol on such matters. If there is abuse involved, then the Ministry has to contact the police. The child will then be placed in a probation home so it is important to have the probation officer also present".

"But once the child is rescued, we do not just forget about them. We have something called follow-up services. We give them the opportunity of education and if the child is above school-going age, then non-formal education is provided. We also find them job opportunities in various contact companies. In most cases, we try to integrate the child back into the families and communities".

"Most importantly, we try to get the whole community involved including the families of the children. We organise programs to strengthen the community and we depend on them for support. Economic empowerment is also provided as they are often very poor families", said Salgado.

"The reason for working with the CWC and NWC is because these unions have strong influence in various areas. They can combat this problems in areas we cannot reach. And they serve as a way to mobilise society. The police and the Labour Ministry must be commended for their hard work".

"In conjunction with the IPEC programme, The ILO is running another program known as `Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB)'. This program is aimed at generating business for the affected families. We provide them with ways to start new and innovative businesses. The Labour Ministry has a program as well that is called `Human Resource Placement', which is aimed at motivating youth to start non-traditional but lucrative businesses. Not everyone can be doctors and lawyers. So we must educate them on other ways to earn their livelihoods. This is done for rehabilitation purposes", she said.

Sources at the Labour Ministry Commissioner say the various divisions are playing a big part in this elimination program.

The law and penalties handed to individuals, who hire children for domestic and plantation labour, is presently being revised and made more stringent. The Ministry will also be launching other programs to be run simultaneously with IPEC. With the help of ILO, the Ministry will work hard to make this program very successful.

Seeing a young child doing hard labour is heart breaking to anyone with a humane heart. We look after our own with such love and concern but fail to see the plight of these less fortunate youngsters. They too have the right to lead happy and trouble-free lives.

Those who only see a financial gain from abusing children should be dealt with. The Government should ban child labour instead of merely raising the age-limit. No child should be subjected to such an undignified existence in a world full of greedy adults.

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