Labour Ministry launches ‘I Do not Want to Work, I Want to Learn’ campaign

AMMAN — The Labour Ministry on Saturday launched a campaign titled, “I Do not Want to Work, I Want to Learn”, in observance of the World Day Against Child Labour with the aim of spreading awareness towards eliminating child labour.

Labour Minister Yousef Shamali said on Saturday that Jordan joins the world to shed the light on the serious problem of child labour, calling for undertaking the necessary efforts to eradicate the problem by governments, employers and employees in conjunction with all communities and civil society institutions.

“The Jordanian Labour Law is consistent with the major international conventions on combating child labour, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the UN General Assembly, in addition to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, and ILO’s Convention No. 182, which calls for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour,” the minister said.

In a ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times on Saturday, the minister also said that the Jordanian Labour Law prohibits the employment of minors under 16 years of age in all forms. The Jordanian Labour also bans the employment of minors under the age of 18 in jobs that are hazardous or detrimental to their health or well-being.  It also limits the working hours of minors who are between the ages of 16 and 18 to no longer than six hours, with work barred at night and on public holidays.

Observed annually on June 12, this year’s World Day against Child Labour includes a “Week of Action” that will be launched, starting with the announcement of the new global estimates on child labour.

“Ending child labour requires immediate action, accelerated motivation, and collaborative partnerships at all levels,” the UN website said, noting that the number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide.

Taking place amid a pandemic that threatens to reverse years of progress in addressing the issue, this year’s World Day Against Child Labour is marked by a “high-level virtual side event”, organised by the ILO and UNICEF, during the International Labour Conference.

In 2020, the Labour Ministry conducted almost 11,952 inspection visits, in which 503 child labour cases were discovered, 265 warnings and 79 tickets were issued against employers, in addition to the implementation of four campaigns focusing on inspections aimed to reveal and eliminate child labour.

“This year, around 6,658 inspection visits were conducted until May,” the minister added, noting that 236 child labour cases were discovered, 133 warnings and 45 tickets were issued. 

He said that the Prime Ministry recently approved the formation of a national working group chaired by the Labour Ministry, in order to update Jordan’s National Strategy to combat child labour.