Attitudinal change needed to eradicate child labour: ILO

Bangalore, May 17 (UNI) Asserting that the misconception of helping a poor family by employing a child from the family has to be changed if the objective of eradicating child labour should become a reality, the International Labour Organisation today said it had embarked on 'Down Stream' programme to educate both the employer and the poor parents about the ills of the menace.

''Employers who think that they are doing a favour to a poor man's family by employing his child should change their attitude and adhere to the norms set by ILO to eradicate the social menace,'' ILO National Project Coordinator Sanjiv Kumar said at an interactive session, organised by FKCCI and Social Security Association of India here.

On the contrary, they only denied the child its education and a chance to become more skilled and earn a better wage as a grown up.

Besides, employers should realise that by employing a person under the age of 14, they were denying a job to a major, he added.

ILO was urging the Government to enact strict laws to eradicate the practice, he said.

UNI RS GD GM1542