• Burmese
Thursday, July 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

More than 600,000 Children Doing Hazardous Work in Myanmar: ILO

Zue Zue by Zue Zue
June 13, 2019
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Children work at a brick kiln in Mandalay. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Children work at a brick kiln in Mandalay. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

10.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON—Over 600,000 child laborers in Myanmar are engaged in hazardous work, according to a workforce survey conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The ILO released the figures at a press conference on Tuesday in Yangon held in advance of the World Day against Child Labor, which was marked worldwide the following day.

According to the survey report, 1.13 million children aged 5 to 17 years, or 9.3 percent of Myanmar’s child population, are involved in labor. Around half of them—616,815, or 5.1 percent of the child population—are trapped in hazardous work likely to harm their physical, mental or moral development.

RelatedPosts

Int’l Labor Watchdog to Take Action Against Myanmar Junta

Int’l Labor Watchdog to Take Action Against Myanmar Junta

November 11, 2024
2.4k
ILO Urges Myanmar Junta to Free Union Leader Rearrested Weeks After Release From Prison

ILO Urges Myanmar Junta to Free Union Leader Rearrested Weeks After Release From Prison

July 14, 2023
3.1k
Zara Factory Staff Face Prison in Myanmar After Protest For Wage Rise

Zara Factory Staff Face Prison in Myanmar After Protest For Wage Rise

June 28, 2023
3.7k

Of the children doing hazardous work, 24.1 percent are 12-14 years old, while 74.6 percent are 15-17 years old. The 12-14 age group tends to work very long hours, the report noted.

The major sectors in which child labor occurs are agriculture (60.5 percent); manufacturing (12 percent); and another broad category that includes wholesale/retail businesses, auto repair shops and other commercial enterprises (11 percent).

“The elimination of child labor is related to economic development, improved social standards and educational development,” said U Nyunt Win, director general of the Factories and General Labor Laws Inspection Department.

“Internal conflict, poverty, migration, disasters, food insecurity and socioeconomic hardships caused by climate change force children to quit school and become laborers. Long-term efforts are needed to address this in developing countries,” he said.

Many child laborers in Myanmar have to work more than 44 hours per week, he said.

Child labor, according to the ILO’s definition, is work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.

According to the ILO, there are 152 million child laborers worldwide, 73 million of whom are trapped in hazardous work.

Naw Se Se, general secretary of the Women’s League of Burma, said, “There are many child laborers working at worksites that are not suitable for long-term employment. And the jobs they are doing are really dangerous. For example, children have to carry iron nails, screws and so on at scrap-iron foundries. It is a challenge to them to carry heavy loads.”

Child labor is common in conflict areas, said U Nyunt Win. “In some areas, schools are closed and fathers are conscripted. As the families are displaced, children have to do such things as farming, collecting firewood and fishing in order to support their families.”

Myanmar signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2012, according to the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population.

Myanmar ratified ILO’s Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in 2013, and is implementing in partnership with the ILO a national plan for the eradication of child labor in dangerous workplaces. The plan aims to end the worst forms of child labor by 2030.

The World Day against Child Labor is commemorated on June 12 across the globe; its motto this year is, “Children shouldn’t work on fields but on dreams.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Child LaborILO
Zue Zue

Zue Zue

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Int’l Labor Watchdog to Take Action Against Myanmar Junta
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Int’l Labor Watchdog to Take Action Against Myanmar Junta

by The Irrawaddy
November 11, 2024
2.4k

The regime’s labor rights violations including forced recruitment could lead to loss of diplomatic recognition, prosecution of junta leaders, and...

Read moreDetails
Zara Factory Staff Face Prison in Myanmar After Protest For Wage Rise
Burma

Zara Factory Staff Face Prison in Myanmar After Protest For Wage Rise

by The Irrawaddy
June 28, 2023
3.7k

Five union leaders at a garment factory and three supporters face up to eight years in prison after protest for...

Read moreDetails
ILO Urges Myanmar Junta to Free Union Leader Rearrested Weeks After Release From Prison
Burma

ILO Urges Myanmar Junta to Free Union Leader Rearrested Weeks After Release From Prison

by The Irrawaddy
July 14, 2023
3.1k

Crackdown on labor unions continues as federation leader is rearrested and other leaders face sedition charges after calling for a...

Read moreDetails
More Labor Union Leaders Arrested at Zara Factory in Myanmar
Burma

More Labor Union Leaders Arrested at Zara Factory in Myanmar

by The Irrawaddy
June 20, 2023
4.2k

At least five leaders of the union at the Yangon factory supplying Zara have been arrested and detained after calling...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Cracking Down on Trade Unions and Violating Workers Rights
Burma

Myanmar Junta Cracking Down on Trade Unions and Violating Workers Rights

by Hein Htoo Zan
September 9, 2022
4.6k

A report by the International Labour Organization highlights how the regime and factory owners are conspiring to prevent unions operating.

Read moreDetails
A garment factory worker in Yangon. / The Irrawaddy
Burma

Heavy Job Losses in Myanmar Since Coup: ILO Report

by The Irrawaddy
July 21, 2021
7.4k

The country lost about 1.2 million jobs in Q2 following the February military coup, which has crippled an economy already...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Minn Latt Yekhaun photographed in Czechoslavakia. / Burma Center Prague / Dagmar Bečková

FBR’s ‘Help, Hope and Love’ Not Wanted in Rakhine, Military Says

--

Yangon Timeout

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

5 days ago
704
‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

1 week ago
1.4k

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar and Russian Regimes Push Indian Trade Corridor to Bypass Western Sanctions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.