CHILDREN OF THE WORLD - Child labour in Cambodia

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Child labour refers to the full-time employment of children under a minimum legal age. In Cambodia, the state had ratified both the Minimum Age Convention (C138) in 1999 andWorst Forms of Child Labour Convention (C182) in 2006, which are adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO). For the former convention, Cambodia had specified the minimum age to work to be at age 14.

Yet, significant levels of child labour appear to be found in Cambodia. In 1998, ILO estimated that 24.1% of children in Cambodia aged between 10 and 14 were economically active. Many of these children work long hours and Cambodia Human Development Report 2000 reported that approximately 65,000 children between the ages of 5 to 13 worked 25 hours a week and did not attend school.

There is a need to eliminate child labour in Cambodia as a report by UNICEF states that child labourers could be missing out on education. When children do not attend school, they are denied the knowledge and skills needed for national development. Without education and vital life skills, they are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, which may exacerbate the existing cycle of poverty in their families. Consequently, this lack in productivity due to lack of education will hold back economic growth in Cambodia.

Situation of Child Labour in Cambodia 

It is believed that Cambodia’s economic growth and progress is a contributing factor to the increasing number of child labourers. The huge demands of the construction industry is one example where it has pushed children to work in factories or brick kilns, foreclosing the option of school education for most of them.

In 2003, an ILO survey reported that one in every ten children in the capital above the age of seven was engaged in child domestic labour. Children who are too young to work in the fields work as scavengers. They spend their days rummaging in dumps looking for items that can be sold for money.

Others spend their days in the streets peddling. Tourists play a key role in this form of child labour as many are willing to buy from these children, out of good intentions, escalating demands. This reinforces the notion that children are more valuable in the streets than at school. However, there are also arguments that it might be better to buy from child sellers or they might be forced to work in even more hazardous activities.

A common ramification of child labour is denied access to basic services, namely education and healthcare. The Children’s Rights Department of the Cambodian League for Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO) survey showed that out of 400 children aged 5 to 17 who worked as garbage dump scavengers only 35% went to school.

Child labourers also suffer from health problems. For instance, carrying excessive loads may cause stunt development. There is the possibility of child scavengers made injured by sharp, contaminated objects or moving traffic. Other problems include long hours of work, respiratory and skin diseases, life-threatening tetanus, joint and bone deformities.

The economic and societal impacts are far reaching, hence raising awareness and efforts to prohibit child labour are important.

Efforts to reduce child labour 

The Cambodian government is working together with NGOs and UN agencies to tackle the problem of child labour. One of the major donors is the U.S Department of Labour. Since 2001, the department has funded ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour to provide education and other services to children engaged, or are at risk of engaging in exploitive labour.^[6]

There has been some progress in Cambodia. In 2008 there were 2000 children working in the salt industry in the Kampot province. By 2010 it has decreased to around 250 children.