Child labour laws are statutes placing restrictions and regulations on the work of minors.
Early history showed children were used to pick berries and do small maintenance in nomadic tribes.
[5] This law set minimum wages to 40 cents per hour (equivalent to $8.66 in 2023), restricted the child work week to 40 hours a week, and restricted children under 16 from working in manufacturing plants and mining.
After World War II, the ILO set out to change the child labour standards not just with the countries in the United Nations, but also expanded around the globe.
Prior to the year 1990, most child labour laws were enacted in what has been termed the Global North.
With the creation of many agencies, the promotion of child labour laws has expanded into what is termed the Global South.
Thailand, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives, India, Kiribati, Mongolia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Fiji, and Cambodia have seen laws passed limited the age of children laborers, increases in schools, and harsher punishments for those caught sexually exploiting children.
Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Chad, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Lesotho, South Africa, Djibouti, Guinea, and Sierra Leone have produced plans to increase child education, set age limits on child labor, and enacted laws to eliminate child trafficking and sexual exploitation.
[9] Since its induction, the International Labour Organization currently has 23 conventions, or laws, within its constitution that regulate the labor of adults and children.
These laws include the minimum age restriction, protection against forced labor, holiday/vacation time granted, conditions of the workforce, safety standards, protections for pregnant women, and night time working conditions.
This convention states that a person under 18 cannot work in a facility that may jeopardize their safety, health, or morals.
[10] The Worst Forms of Child Labor conventions mandates that persons under 18 cannot be used in work as slaves, prostitution, pornography, or drug trafficking.
[14] These conventions and recommendations are in place to provide children with a safe working environment and promote their education.
[15] Sub-Saharan Africa are enslaving child workers and exploiting their labour in the production of cocoa and mining.
The ILO and IPEC are concentrating their efforts in Sub-African to reduce and eliminate child labour in the regions.
The ILO mission is to promote the rights of workers, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and increase awareness of work-related issues.
The IPEC provides job training for the parents to enhance their economic position to reduce the reliance of income from the child.