In 2011, the World Day against Child Labour (WDACL) will focus on children engaged in hazardous work. The ILO has estimated that there are 215 million children in child labour and, of these, 115 million are directly involved in hazardous work. Hazardous work, which is one of the worst forms of child labour, is defined as work that is likely to harm children’s physical, mental or moral health. In some cases the work may even jeopardise children’s lives.

Hazardous child labour does not remove a child from poverty. A quality education can. Providing access to free, compulsory and quality education for all children until the minimum age for admission to employment is a key strategy. It is the first step in tackling all forms of child labour.  

EI joins the WDACL activities organised by the ILO around 12 June 2011 and invites teacher organisations to also contribute with public activities geared towards the global efforts to end child labour and promote education opportunities for all children.

To mark the World Day, EI releases a new publication in collaboration with the ILO-IPEC. Entitled “Warning! Children in hazardous work - End child labour”, this publication provides a clear picture of what is hazardous work and how to tackle it. It also highlights the key role of education in fighting child labour. 

Depending on the national and local context there are many ways teacher unions can support this year’s World Day against Child Labour. This joint EI/ILO-IPEC publication provides ideas for activities to be carried out by teachers in their union and in their classroom around the 12 June. EI encourages its member organisations and their affiliates to use this publication.

For further information, please visit the websites of EI (go.ei-ie.org/childlabour/) and ILO-IPEC (www.ilo.org/ChildLabourWorldDay). You can also join the ILO Facebook page on WDACL.