This 2018, the ILO calls to commemorate the World Day against child labor under the slogan "Safe and healthy generation" to remind us that, although there is progress in the fight against child labor, of the 153 million children and adolescents of the world who live this reality, 73 million need more and urgent attention, because they carry out dangerous work, exposing their health, safety and even their own lives in the present, seriously jeopardizing the possibility of their future development and employability.

Children and adolescents in hazardous child labor work in fields, mines, factories and even in their own homes, with or without pay, for long hours, exposed to toxic chemicals, dangerous tools, which, added to their young age , inexperience at work and little ability to assess the risks and dangers of the activities they perform, makes them more vulnerable to injuries, illnesses and accidents.

The impact of hazardous work is reflected in the lives of minors, who see their physical, psychological and socioeconomic development affected; in their youth and adulthood, because its effects limit the possibilities of accessing secure jobs to lead a decent life with their families; in community development, public health budgets, and future workforce productivity.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, child labor is concentrated in the group of adolescents between 15 and 17 years of age. Although they usually have the minimum age for admission to employment specified in the countries, most of them are linked to dangerous activities, due to their nature or condition.

Therefore, to advance in the achievement of Target 8.7 and put an end to child labor in 2025, the region must address hazardous child labor as a priority and strengthen public policies and interventions aimed at restoring the rights of adolescents who they work; through sheltered jobs; ensuring health and safety conditions at work so that they can perform tasks for which they are trained and have adequate protection measures and, when appropriate, offer alternatives for job retraining that allows adolescents to perform jobs in accordance with your age and make a safe transition to decent work. 

A dangerous field ...

The highest percentage of child labor in the region is concentrated in the rural sector, and especially in agricultural activities (52%). This sector, considered, along with mining and construction, as one of the most dangerous, involves children and adolescents in long working hours, exposes them to extreme climates and the handling and use of dangerous chemicals and tools. In addition, it is an especially difficult sector for the work of the labor inspectorate and the offer of key protection services such as quality education, health or credit. 

Accumulating vulnerabilities ...

Children and adolescents go through the so-called “windows of vulnerability”, periods in which their health can be more affected by exposure to work-related hazards, which can be aggravated by their living conditions, food, education, and also determined by aspects such as gender, ethnicity, family composition, immigration status or conditions of disability. According to a recent ILO study, the type of work or the workplace can configure more risk situations than the nature and characteristics of younger workers.

Addressing hazardous child labor urgently ...

One of the main actions to end hazardous work is to determine the list of prohibited hazardous work for children and adolescents in each country and, where they have already been agreed, keep them updated to reflect the new forms of production and the changing structure. of the labor market that can especially affect minors due to conditions of informality, invisibility, instability and insecurity.

The lists of hazardous work must carry out an assessment of specific risks for the safety and health of younger workers, especially children and adolescents, and must be the result of a process of social dialogue and inter-institutional commitment of key actors, These include employers 'and workers' organizations, civil society institutions, academia and the adolescents and young people who work.

It is also key to improve the capacities of governments, employers and workers, and to strengthen research and data collection on hazardous child labor. With this, the different risk factors and dangers associated with each type of work will be better understood and more focused and specific responses can be generated for those who are harmed by this reality.

For all this, the 2018 global campaign against child labor recognizes the value of the participation of young people as main actors in the construction of a protected, trained and empowered workforce for today, which allows us to achieve a sustainable and just world that we want.

Along these lines, all of us can join the campaign by committing ourselves as young people, employers, workers and civil society, to promote and demand training in occupational safety and health from the school stage and in the workplace to promote a culture of protection for working adolescents.

Download the ILO technical report "Towards the urgent elimination of hazardous child labor" here ,  also available in Spanish and French.

Download the key messages linking the World Day Against Child Labor and World Day for Safety and Health at Work campaign  here .