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GWU encouraged by child labour campaign response

The GWU is encouraged by the response it has received from the Maltese public for the petition against child labour and will shortly participate in a number of meetings with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions over the development of the campaign.

GWU secretary general Tony Zarb told MaltaToday that child labour is not a major issue in Malta, however there are isolated cases of children that are employed in family businesses.

Mr Zarb said, "There have been instances where children were injured in the work place."

Only last week the courts awarded damages to the parents of a boy who died while working at a mobile food kiosk in 1987. The boy, who was 14 at the time, died of an electric shock caused by faulty wiring in the kiosk.

Asked to comment on the case Mr Zarb said that children were more vulnerable to injury because they have little or no knowledge of safety.

Turning to the international scene, Mr Zarb said that in some countries there are whole factories employing children as young as five. Some of these factories manufacture goods for reputed multi-national corporations.

Mr Zarb expressed his satisfaction that the Maltese Government signed the International Labour Organisation’s convention against child labour.

The ICFTU estimates that there are over 250 million child labourers in the world. These children are exploited for profit or are forced to work in order to survive. The global campaign aims to put a stop to child labour by pressuring governments to sign the ILO convention. The ICFTU wants to ensure that children get a decent education rather than be forced to work abysmal hours.

Anyone interested in signing the child labour petition may do so via the GWU’s web site: www.gwu.org.mt