by Philippe Gousenbourger, ITUC Youth Officer

This new ITUC report shows that the Burmese military junta currently in power has no intention of showing any more interest in the population than their predecessors have over the last 47 years of military dictatorship and highlights the link between the abuse of human rights, including trade union rights, and the catastrophic situation of Burmese children. Crushing all forms of opposition the Burmese military junta spends at least 40% of the State budget on the army, even though the country is not facing any external military threat, and leaves only crumbs for such important sectors as education and health care.

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According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 200 million children in the world today are involved in child labour, doing work that is damaging to their mental, physical and emotional development. Children work because their survival and that of their families depend on it. Child labour persists even where it has been declared illegal, and is frequently surrounded by a wall of silence, indifference, and apathy. But that wall is beginning to crumble. While the total elimination of child labour is a long-term goal in many countries, certain forms of child labour must be confronted immediately. Nearly three-quarters of working children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour, including trafficking, armed conflict, slavery, sexual exploitation and hazardous work.

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Million children are at work instead of school. The global financial crisis could push an increasing number of children, particulary girls, into child labour. Today is the World Day Against Child Labour. Most child labour is rooted in poverty, often associated with multiple disadvantage. Socio-economic inequalities based on language, race, disability and rural-urban differences remain deeply entrenched. Girls can face particular disadvantages due to discrimination and practices which allocate certain forms of work to girls. Many girls take on unpaid household work for their families, usually more so than boys.

Around the world, an estimated 100 million girls are involved in child labour. Many of these girls undertake similar types of work as boys, but often also endure additional hardships and face extra risks. Moreover, girls are all too often exposed to some of the worst forms of child labour, often in hidden work situations. More, click here

The ITUC has launched a new video spot to highlight the problem and press governments to tackle the exploitation of children more effectively, both through funding quality education and enforcing labour law.