Let’s take care of our future

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection is concerned that information about the use of child labour is still being registered in Azerbaijan. In fact, we all witness it on an almost daily basis. Children collect fares on public transport, work as waiters and unskilled workers, couriers, merchants, construction workers etc. In the regions, especially in the north-west, child labour is used in agriculture. Children quite often work on tobacco plantations, causing irreparable damage to their health. What is to be done? The main reasons for child labour include family problems, mostly of an economic nature. Children abandon school, and this is a major problem which has been raised repeatedly by the Ministry of Education. They work extra hours and even at night. Homeless children, for example, may undertake any kind of work to survive. And this runs counter, not only to national, but also to international law. According to the Labour Code, it is forbidden to engage children aged under 15, otherwise the guilty employer can be prosecuted. Children older than 15 may work only with the consent of their parents but, by certain provisions of the regulations, they can’t be used for heavy work. A working day must not exceed four hours etc. According to the Law on Children’s Rights, adopted in Azerbaijan in 1998, persons under the age of 18 are considered children. A source from the Ministry of Labour said that there are no precise statistics available to state bodies or nongovernmental organizations working with children about the number of homeless children and those engaged in illegal labour, because it is practically impossible to maintain such statistics. There are some estimates. International organizations working in the area of children’s rights multiply approximate figures by 10, which does not always reflect reality. Internal affairs offices have registered about 4,000 children, including 30-40 per cent who are not coachable. Law-enforcement bodies conduct regular raids jointly with the Ministry of Labour on cases of child exploitation. Therefore, representatives of the Labour Ministry’s Main Labour Inspectorate, try to establish, during inspections of companies and commercial enterprises, the age of personnel, the presence of employment agreements, compliance with safety norms and the regularity and timeliness of payments and annual leave. It has been established that children from low-income families are abused most of all. Employers are lured by the possibility of cheap manual labour and easier management. In fact, no employment agreements are signed with 90 per cent of such children. These children have no idea what an agreement is. Such cases are quite widespread in restaurants and cafes. Meanwhile, the ILO Convention says that if children are engaged in labour activities, their salary must differ from that of adults. Resources Experts maintain that regulations are very important in fighting child exploitation. For example, the state and nongovernmental organizations must engage teenagers and children from low-income families in special educational programmes. This means that these children should develop and grow in normal conditions despite their family’s unfavourable situation. Besides, educational work should be carried out with parents and employers. In general, there is a mechanism in Azerbaijan providing for equal conditions for all children, regardless of their status. This includes targeted social aid for low-income families, as well as various benefits. It is also clear that more flexible concepts should be developed, because the current benefits are often not sufficient. But as the well-being of the population increases, the means to support those on low-income will expand. Most importantly, society should not remain indifferent to the problem. It is also worth indicating that the rights of children and their labour activity in Azerbaijan are regulated by the Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic, the Labour Code, the Family Code and the Law on Children’s Rights. The State Committee on the Problems of the Family, Woman and Child says that the main age-groups of working children are 12-14 years for boys and 12-16 for girls. At this age girls are mainly engaged in prostitution, while boys work as fare collectors and car washers. Monitoring suggests that the monthly income of such children averages between $20 and $50, a maximum of $100, but this kind of money can only be earned by girls engaged in prostitution. Only 2 per cent of these children spend the money on education, while others spend it on food. A total of 64.7 per cent of these children live with lone mothers or brothers and sisters. It is beyond doubt that Azerbaijani legislation on child labour is well ahead of that of many European countries. Compared to countries of South-East Asia or Latin America, one can say that there is no child labour in Azerbaijan. Moreover, experts say that child exploitation is on a downward trend in Azerbaijan, especially in the commercial and transport sectors. In the service sector, however, child labour is still commonplace. This problem can hardly be resolved by administrative methods alone. For example, one of the leading toy-manufacturing factories in India has been using child labour. Subsequent observations revealed that many of these children, or their families, were simply starving. Therefore, the path Azerbaijan has chosen to resolve this problem is seen as the most acceptable – the provision of targeted social assistance by administrative methods. However, serious problems still remain in this area – to begin with, the child must be fed. What to do in free time? Today, the engagement of children in labour is certainly a reality. This fact, which is an indicator of the degree of social justice in society, can be approached from different angles. But no significant factor in this situation should be ignored. All children’s clubs, where children can spend their free time, must be paid for. In most cases, parents don’t want, or can’t afford, to spend money on their children’s leisure time. Thus children try to earn the money themselves. This can lead to several situations; first – the money is earned and spent on children’s clubs (sports, etc.); second – after the money has been earned, the direction of its spending changes, new and more attractive commodities appear, such as cigarettes, alcohol and then drugs; third – after the money has been earned, parents think that it should not be spent on the child, but on the family’s needs. In some cases, this leads to disagreements between parents and the child. In any case, it is undesirable to urge children to earn money on their own, but when discussing prevention it is necessary to make children’s time more effective and interesting. Otherwise, the free time available may result in children taking an undesirable course of action. The campaign to free children from heavy work started about 150 years ago. The International Labour Organization, faced with this problem, had to adopt a convention protecting underage children from exploitation. The document says that children under 15 must not be engaged in production or agriculture. Early employment affects their health and deprives them of education. According to the ILO, over 200 million children are currently victims of exploitation. Over 10 million work as domestic servants. The top three countries using child labour at home are Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil. These practices are expanding in neighbouring Russia. According to some information, from 50 to 60 million children worldwide are engaged in hard work. At least a million every year fall into the trap of sexual exploitation or become victims of trafficking. Today, about 300,000 children over 8 years of age take part in military conflicts in over 30 countries.