Working children and youth organisations and movements

Working children and youth organisations and movements

I came across a position paper by Nandana Reddy of Concerned for Working Children, on how young workers see their work. This document is a useful compilation of extracts from several Working Children Declarations, quotes from the documentary film Taking Destiny in their Hands, and answers to a questionnaire that was sent out to the three movements of working children in Africa, Latin America and South Asia.

The compilation is organized region wise, with a common framework of six questions:

1. What is the International movement?
2. Child and work: is work a good place for a child? Does it depend on the age of the child?
3. Good work – Bad work : What kind of work a child can and cannot do?
4. What does work bring to children’s lives?
5. ILO and working children: are the convention 138 and 182 good for them?
6. Movement history: did their positions change with time? Are there differences of opinion between the members?

It starts with explaining the position of the International Movement – as it presents the foundational principles all the movements agree on, and then goes on to describe the regional positions. The document ends with some general observations.

NOTE: Throughout, the document speaks of the "Asian Movement", which is rather unfortunate since Southeast and East Asia region is not represented in this movement. It is not a matter of exclusion - from either side, however, the organisation of working children has developed differently in Southeast and East Asia.

More about the International Movement of Working Children (also referred to as the World Movement of Working Children) in the next post.