Kyrgyzstan: Focus on child labour

This piece examines child labour in southern Kyrgyzstan, which is a newly independent nation with high levels of poverty. Here are some figures that illustrate the extent of the practice:

• Up to two-thirds of mud-brick production in the Aravan and Kara-Suu districts of southern Osh province is by children and adolescents, while in Aravan district alone, boys mould up to a million mud-bricks each summer.
• Minors at cafés, diners, and bakeries often work up to 12 hours a day. An adult receives approximately US$35 a month, while a minor working in the same capacity receives a little more than US$10.
• Estimates for the number of children absent from school, according to various members of the Osh provincial education department, range from 180 to close to 500.

Local health workers are concerned about the various physical problems child labourers suffer; union activists point to the vulnerability of these kids to delinquency. Despite these and other warnings, poverty-stricken parents continue to encourage their children to labour in agricultural, retail, and transport spheres - despite the dangerous or harmful tasks associated with those jobs. As one child asked, "Who will feed my family, but me?". Further, entire economic sectors that depend on cheap labour, like the local tobacco industry, would be in danger of collapsing if the system were revamped to recognise children's rights.

Valeri Saliev of the Osh provincial union council advocates the development of a programme to restrict child labour in the country, adding that such a programme should begin by figuring out how to alleviate poverty in the area, and then craft legislation to reduce child labour. One representative from Mehr-Shavkat, a local NGO, added, "There is a need in regular meetings of employers, unions and state bodies. Our media, somehow, neglects the opportunity to draw the community's attention to the problem."

At this time, there are no special programmes or projects in place to monitor and reduce child labour utilisation. But a few NGOs are working to establish more favourable conditions for the working children. For example, Meridian-AtBakht, a local NGO made up of 600 wooden cart pushers, has developed a training programme for its members, half of whom are minors. The programme sends young cart pushers to school in the evenings and provides further education at vocational schools and colleges. In addition, UNICEF is cooperating with the Kyrgyz government to focus on child development and the welfare of adolescents. One emphasis of this "New Generation" programme is moving Kyrgyzstan to adhere to the signed international convention on child rights.

Reflecting on efforts on the part of international and domestic unions to address child labour in Kyrgyzstan, one member of the Osh provincial council of unions laments, "No doubt, these actions uncover the problem, accentuate the attention and have a huge cognitive interest. But then it stops, the rest is the work of our government and the society, however, there is more talk than real action in our country."

Click here for the full article on the IRIN News site.