Reasons for Child Labour in Egypt - Essay Example

Child Labour in Egypt Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 CHILD LABOUR IN EGYPT 12 2 Child Labour in Egypt 3 Introduction 3 Reasons for child labour in Egypt. 3 Poverty 3 Education levels 4 Low wages 4 Seasonal jobs 5 Lack of adequate law enforcement 5 Work done by children 6 Carpet making 6 Leather industry 6 Textile 7 Laws governing child labour and protection of children 8 Measure taken by Egypt to combat child labour 9 Involving stakeholders 9 Promoting Education 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Child Labour in Egypt Introduction Child labour is a common practice in Egypt, just like in most third world countries. The population of children in Egypt (children below the age of fifteen years) is about 37% of the total population. A large number of these children are usually employed as child labourers in many sectors; the major sector being agriculture where the children are subjected to hard labour with harsh conditions. The children are usually exploited and underpaid compared to adult labourers. According to International Labour Organization (1999), they carry out a variety of work in an extensively divergent conditions and situations. The work takes place in along a continuum, ranging from those that enhance and promote development without necessarily interfering with schooling and recreation to forms of works that are completely disparaging and exploitative. Most children work on farms. The main activities that the children perform in the agricultural sector include harvesting rice. According to the International Labour organization, the employment of children as labourers is not acceptable. Egypt has laws prohibiting child labour. Despite all these laws and regulations the practice still persists and is proving difficult to eliminate. The essay will therefore discuss the causes of child labour, its impacts, possible solutions and the general implications to the country. Reasons for child labour in Egypt. Poverty Poverty has been cited as the main cause of child labour in Egypt. This phenomenon is wide spread in Egypt and forces the children to work so as to earn extra revenue for their families. Studies show that children contribute almost twenty three percent of the total income of their families. According to Azer & Ramzy (1999), the parents from poor families have no choice but to send their children on the streets look for any means for earning money. This situation makes it difficult to stop the vice. This is because the parents are involved and they themselves also benefit from the earning their children contribute. The children from poor families therefore have no choice but to work. Unfortunately the number of poor families is much higher than the richer families. This leads to more children being forced to work. Education levels A large number of children in Egypt do not go to school. This is due to the poverty levels and their parents cannot afford to pay their school fees. This leaves the children with nothing else to do. Since they cannot just stay at home, most of them are forced to look for any work so as to take care of their needs and that of their families. This also contributes to child labour. The number of children who drop out of schools is also high every year. These children are also forced to work due to their situations. Dropping out of school could be as a result of failures due to the education standards or due to lack of school fees (Tobin & Torres, 2003). Low wages Most employers in Egypt are exploitative in nature. They prefer employing children to work for them other than employing adults for the same job. This is because the children will be paid much lower wage compared to adults working on the same job. In most cases the adults are protected from exploitation by the law and thus making it difficult for employers to exploit them when the children are exploited they cannot report the mater anywhere since the law does not recognize them as workers. This has therefore led to the increase of number of children working as labourers in various sectors (Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, 1995). Seasonal jobs Most jobs in Egypt are mostly seasonal especially in the agricultural sector. During the harvesting of rice or cotton is when labourers are required. Most adults could be working on other jobs and therefore sent their children to work in the fields. This according to the parents will be advantageous because the income of the family will increase. The employers also in most cases will want to employ children for seasonal jobs since it is easier to control them compared to adults. The children in this case are more trusted to do the job compared to adults. Some employers also fear that the adults may end up stealing part of their harvest and therefore prefers employing children (Azer & Ramzy, 1999). Lack of adequate law enforcement There are laws in Egypt that protects the children from being exploited through under age employment. The minimum employment age is usually eighteen years. However due to the reluctance of law enforcing agencies to enforce the law, child labour continues. Some state companies are also seen employing children despite being part of the government that should lead in upholding the children’s rights. This is mostly common in the agricultural farms that employ children to do seasonal jobs. This factor has contributed greatly to child labour in Egypt. Work done by children Carpet making This is a practise that most children learn at an early age from home. Most of them are taught by their parent or older siblings. This job is mainly for women and therefore young girls are taught how to weave carpets. Most of them who have attained the age of school going are the ones working in the carpet making industry. Although some of them work on a part time basis, most of them work full time from eight in the morning to five o’clock in the evening. Some of the young girls who attend school work part time mostly in the afternoon after the have attended the morning classes. This greatly affects their education since most of them do not find adequate time to concentrate on their studies thus leading to failures and in the end these children ends up working on full time basis. The carpet business is very lucrative in Egypt. This is because the carpets are usually exported to other countries and they fetch a lot of profits. They are normally exported to America and Germany before they are distributed worldwide. This therefore requires that labour has to be constantly available. This therefore disadvantages the children since they are the majority of employees. However their earnings are quite low which only sixty dollars per month or less is. Leather industry The industry is very large in Egypt. The children according to a report by the international labour organization I 1985 are the majority of employees. The leather products are mainly for domestic use while some are also for export. The children who work on permanent basis in these factories usually work for about twelve hours a day. Those who work on temporary basis usually work for a few hours before school or after school. Most children who are in school work for these industries in order to increase the income for their families or to earn pocket money. The main work the children do is cleaning the leather materials and packaging which is quite tedious. This work is mainly done by boys who can handle the heavy work compared to the children. This affects the concentration of the school going children due to the tedious nature of the job. The pay is also very low and most of these employers exploit the children financially and expose them to harsh working conditions. Textile Textile industry is a growing and profitable industry in Egypt. This is due to the availability of textile raw materials. Cotton is grown in most parts of Egypt and thus there are a large number of textile factories. These factories require a lot of labourers and the most immediate are children. In most factories, the percentage of children is usually above twenty five percent. These children work for almost twelve hours daily which is a clear violation of the labour laws. According to Shukla and Ali (2006), their payment is usually very low with about eight dollars per month. Their payment is low compared to the adults working in the same factories. Their major duties usually include moving items around and also packaging. Most of the children who work in these industries do not go to school since their work is quite committing. Most of these industries also employ children to work during the night shifts. This is dangerous for the children as most of their parents do not know their employers. This is also not good for their health (Shukla & Ali, 2006). Laws governing child labour and protection of children Egypt has various laws and regulations that govern child labour. Under labour law 137 no children below the age of twelve years is allowed to work under any condition. However all the children above this age who work should be insured and be physically and medically fit. A ministerial decree number twelve limits employment of all children below the age of fifteen. No child below this age should be employed. However powers are given to provincial governors to amend this law during seasonal agricultural work to allow the children above the age of twelve to be employed. However they should first seek permission from the ministry of education and ensure that the work does not interfere with their education. Article 66 of the labour laws requires that children work for only six hours and the working environment should not be hazardous Working during the night is strictly prohibited. The employer should also issue children with badges bearing a stamp from the ministry of manpower and migration started (Whitman, Megally & Parekh, 2004).. In 2001, the prime minister issued a decree prohibiting employment of children under the age of fourteen in the agricultural sector. Children under the age of eighteen are also considered as juveniles and as such any employer intending to employ a juvenile must first ensure the juvenile has a medical certificate showing the medical fitness. Children under the age of fourteen are prohibited from working in hazardous environment where chemicals are involved to avoid damage to their health while those who are under seventeen are not supposed to work in mining environments. A child labour unit is also present and is working closely with the international labour organization. The unit is also responsible for carrying out inspections to ensure child labour is eliminated. Employers who are found employing children are also liable for heavy fines to discourage the practise. Egypt has also signed a convention with the International Labour Organization to end child labour (Hobbs, McKechnie &Lavalette, 1999). Measure taken by Egypt to combat child labour Involving stakeholders After considering the issue affecting the children, the government made initiative to try and eliminate the vice of child labour. A national children council was formed and it was mandated to work with other stake holders to solve the problem. The stake holders include the law enforcing agencies. This is because the laws governing child labour has been present for a long time but enforcement was not carried out. Non-governmental organizations have also been involved to create awareness about the importance of eliminating child labour. The non- governmental organizations have also been involved in the process of guidance and counselling of children to prevent them from being victims of child labour. Other stake holders include United Nations Children Education Fund which has actively been involved in championing for the rights of children. This measure is facing challenges but improvements are being registered especially in urban areas. Promoting Education Education is an important factor is eliminating the vice of child labour. This is because if the children are in school then it will be difficult for unscrupulous employers to exploit them. This factor made it compulsory for the children under the age of fifteen years to be enrolled in school through a compulsory program. According to DIANE (2001), those who had dropped out were also included in the program. This measure has also seen the government increasing its annual budget on education to fully address the problem of child labour in Egypt. Progress is being made since the introduction of the measures and has seen the number of children going to school increase over the years. Development partners are also working closely with the Ministry of education and are offering support in terms of building more schools. More than eight hundred schools have been built in Egypt since initiative began. This initiative is proving to be successful since the school attendance has increased to more than ninety percent since the initiative was started (Whitman, Megally & Parekh, 2004). Conclusion According to the paper the issue of child labour is a reality in Egypt. Children are involved in working environments that interferes with their health and education. This factor according to the paper destroys the future of these children leaving them vulnerable to poverty. The government of Egypt has however come up with laws and regulations regarding child labour which are being enforced. Solutions for the problem are also being implemented. This is a positive move toward ending child labour in Egypt. These initiatives have seen the number of school going children increase and also a reduction in child labour in both rural and urban areas. References Azer A. & Ramzy N. (1999). Child labour in Egypt. National Centre for Social and Criminological Research. Hobbs S. & McKechnie J. Lavalette M. (1999). Child labour: a world history companion. ABC- CLIO. Whitman L., Megally H. & Parekh V. (2004). Underage and Unprotected: Child Labour in Egypt's Cotton Fields. Human Rights Watch. DIANE (2001). The Department of Labour’s 2001 findings on the worst forms of child labour: Trade and Development Act of 2000. DIANE Publishing International Labour Organization (1999). International Labour Office. Child labour, Volume 2, Part 1. International Labour Organization, 1999. Shukla, C K. Ali S. (2006). Child Labour Socio-Economic Dimensions. Sarup & Sons, 2006 Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (1995). Child labour in the world: report of the Federal Government. Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Tobin, S. & Torres R. (2003). Combating child labour: a review of policies. NY: OECD Publishing. Read More