Anti-Child Labour Day marked with intensified inspections

AMMAN — On the occasion of the World Anti-Child Labour Day on Wednesday, the Labour Ministry on Tuesday announced that it has dealt with 197 cases of child labour in the first-half of 2019.

The international community Wednesday observes the World Anti-Child Labour Day celebrated under the motto “Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams.”

The Labour Ministry’s inspection department carried out 2,146 inspection visits focusing on child labour prevention across the Kingdom during the first-half of 2019, the ministry said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The visits during the first six months led to the documentation of 197 cases of child labour, 123 fines and the issuance of 113 warnings against employers of children under the legal age to work.

In 2018, a total of 7,883 field inspections were conducted resulting in 737 cases of child labour, 671 fines and the issuance of 625 warnings against employers of children.

Jordan was among the first countries to endorse international agreements to safeguard children against economic exploitation, the statement added. The ministry established a child labour department in 1999 and, in 2011, Jordan endorsed the national framework to fight child labour.

The Labour Law and other relevant pieces of legislation do not differentiate between guest and national workers in the case of child labour and children over 16 who work legally under special provisions are dealt with as workers regardless of their gender or nationality, Petra said.

In 2019, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) celebrates 100 years of advancing social justice and promoting decent work.

According to the organisation’s latest official figures, some 152 million children are victims of child labour.

Child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture with 71 per cent, which includes fishing, forestry, livestock herding and aquaculture, and comprises of both subsistence and commercial farming; 17 per cent in services; and 12 per cent in the industrial sector, including mining, according to its website.