Gotcha!

The important role of media in combatting child labor was once again highligthed with the successful "rescue" on a banana packing plant here in Davao City.

An initial complaint sent to ABS-CBN led to the issuance of a court action for a search warrant. The television crew was accompanied by the Department of Labor, City Social Services Development Office and the City Legal Office in the "raid."

Here's the account from Sunstar Gotcha!

Less than 5% comply with laws

After the previous post on International Labor Organization (ILO) citing the Philippines on child labor, here comes a real shocker.

Only 24 of 500 members of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) or less than 5 percent comply with laws on child labor.

To correct his problem, ECOP is launching a campaign "Child Labor-Free and Child-Friendly Recognition Program." The project is in partnership with guess who - ILO.

ILO cites RP efforts

Is child labor really declining in our country? Well, if not true good.

Read this report on ILO citing the Philippines, along with Cambodia, Mongolia, Indonesia and Vietnam, as setting concrete deadlines in eliminating the worst forms of child labor.

It is not declining fast enough

Child labor cases in Asia have gone down, but it is not declining fast enough.

This according to the UN's International Labor Organization report.

Suffocating life itself

"To thwart a child's natural work, the visionaries of education have said, is to suffocate life itself.

In short, becoming a person is a full-time job. This is the real reason that forcing children to do adult work is so damaging: It not only exposes them to soul-killing tedium, but robs them of the time they need to become adults. They're deprived not only of the chance to go to school, but of the freedom to pursue their curiosity -- to engage in that crucial and illuminating project called play."

Read the complete editorial at StarTribune.com of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

Africa adds to miserable ranks of child labor

Sub-Saharan Africa remains a huge pit where children as young as 5 or 6 years old work.

It is the difference between eating and going hungry, said one grandmother who works with his grandson in a quarry to earn $3 a week.

While there is a trend worldwide in the decline in child labor, here the figures remain the same as far back a century ago.

Forum and training

I dropped by briefly at the Forum on Child Labor at Kuya Ed's Restaurant last week. I was happy to note that many barangay officials were there. There were also participants from NGOs and child-focused social development agencies.

Congrats to the National Coalition Against Child Labor in Commercial Agriculture for the succesfull conduct of the forum.

The Coalition is holding another important activity this week. It's the training of advocates on child labor to be held at Eden Nature Park on August 16-19.