Child Labor?

Ending Child Labor to Expand Education and Reduce Poverty
Xinhua General News Service
June 12, 2006

The Cambodia government over the past 5 years has made extensive efforts to reduce the amount of child labor in Cambodia. Despite those efforts, recent studies have shown nearly 50% of 7-14yr olds are still engaging in economic activity. There are serious concerns that this is preventing a large proportion of the young population from receiving adequate education that could prepare them to enter the labor market.

A huge majority of these children, estimated 90%, are providing unpaid labor to help their families with subsistence farming. Thus, the presence of child labor is not found in a factory setting. Many argue that this form of child labor is an unfortunate necessity to keep food on the table of thousands. Others are quick to point out that the presence of child labor in Cambodia is relatively high in comparison to other countries with similar income levels.

The International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank are putting pressure on the Cambodian government to improve policies and up enforcement of current laws. However, due to the nature of Child Labor that currently exists, it is extremely difficult to enforce and monitor.