Child labour has remained a challenge to Nigeria and many other countries.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), child labour has surged, with 160 million children now affected.
This trend is most pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa, with a rising number of children, as young as five, engaged in labour, the UN agency says.
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Vanessa Phala, the Director of ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, is much more worried that the agricultural sector accounts for 70 per cent of child labour cases worldwide.
“In Nigeria, the recent survey by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) echoes this global data, revealing that 39.2 per cent of Nigerian children, aged five to 17, are in child labour, with 22.9 per cent exposed to hazardous conditions.
Phala acknowledges that progress has been made in Nigeria in promoting social justice but regrets that the framework of the country’s labour laws has not kept pace with the evolving dynamics of its economy and workforce.
“For over five decades, Nigeria’s primary labour legislation, the Labour Act of 1971, has remained largely unchanged, aside from modest updates in 2004 and efforts in 2014.
“This Act does not fully account for the contemporary realities of the Nigerian workplace, particularly overlooking the informal sector, where a significant portion of the population is employed.
“Much more is required to adequately secure the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work for Employers and workers.
“Gender equality, workplace safety, and protections for those in the informal economy, all demand urgent legislative attention,” she argued at a recent function in Lagos.
The official says there is a need for a new Labour Standards Bill that will keep pace with the evolving dynamics of Nigeria’s economy and workforce.
She is hopeful that passage of the Labour Standards Bill by the current National Assembly will go a long way in tackling child labour and other forms of unacceptable labour practices in Nigeria.
Phala identifies economic hardship as a major factor pushing families to rely on their children to contribute to household incomes, often in hazardous environments that violate their rights and rob them of a promising future.
She believes that access to quality education and social protection benefits will reduce vulnerability to child labour.
The latest report by the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) on child labour indicates that Nigeria, with a population of 216 million, has 30.3 per cent of the population aged 17 years or less, and 24.5 per cent of its population aged 14 years or less.
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The 2022 NBS report states that 50.5 per cent of Nigerian children are in economic activities while 39.2 (N24.6 million) are in child labour.
It equally states that 22.9 per cent of Nigerian children are in hazardous work.
According to NBS, Lagos and Nasarawa are the states with the longest average working hours of children aged five to 17 years in child labour, averaging 25.6 hours and 24.3 hours per week, respectively.
The report also shows that Ondo State has the highest number of children in child labour in the agriculture sector, with about 33 per cent of children in the state engaged in child labour, particularly in cocoa farming.
Olaolu Olaitan, Director of Labour Inspectorate, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, explains child labour to include forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, use of a child for illicit activities such as the production of pornography and drug trafficking.
According to her, allowing children to work in farms and factories or hawk goods when they are supposed to be in school constitutes child labour.
The director says that any work likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children, by its nature or the circumstances in which the work is carried out, constitutes child labour and is prohibited.
She is confident that the Federal Government is determined to eliminate child labour, forced labour and other unacceptable labour practices.
She regrets that some parents use their children for labour, urging an end to it.
For Mrs Chinyere Emeka-Anuna, Senior Programme Officer at ILO, advancing social justice and promoting decent work, including the elimination of all forms of child labour, will require passage of the new Labour Standards Bill.
Emeka-Anuna emphasises that all human beings irrespective of race, creed or race have the right to pursue both material well-being and spiritual development in conditions of freedom, dignity, economic security and equal opportunities.
She says ILO is committed to promoting social justice and human and labour rights across the world.
She emphasises that productive employment and decent work are key elements to achieving poverty reduction.
She argues that it is not every job that is a job, saying that a job must promote sustainable livelihoods.
She is convinced that decent work provides the tool to advance social justice.
“Decent work is a support tool for action in the areas of protection of workers, employment promotion, skills, migration, working conditions, fight against child labour, equality between men and women, social protection, social dialogue and strengthening tripartite cooperation.
According to her, passing of the Labour Standards Bill will go a long way to promote decent work in Nigeria.
Dr Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer at the UN Information Centre, Abuja, strongly believes that passage of the bill is long overdue.
He argues that legislation is a means to an end, adding that passing of the bill will make Nigeria and ILO to achieve set objectives on labour matters.
He seeks public support for passage of the bill.
The emphasises the need for monitoring of administration of policies to ensure that enacted provisions are applied fairly, consistently and swiftly.
The Lagos State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Funmi Sessi, believes that enforcement of laws against child labour is key.
She urges that all perpetrators of child labour should be brought to book to serve as a deterrent to the act.
Sessi says NLC has made much effort to tackle the crime through advocacy and reporting of the crime to the appropriate quarters.
She called on the executive arm of the Federal Government to transit the Labour Standards Bill to the National Assembly without further delay.
Sessi also urged the National Assembly to be determined to pass the bill into law to enable more actions against child labour.
Analysts urge more actions toward eliminating child labour in Nigeria.
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