Indicators point to rise in child labour — report

AMMAN — Although there are no updated figures on child labour among Jordanians, there are indicators that the phenomenon is on the rise, according to a report issued on Wednesday by the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies.

Issued in 2006, the last official figure on the number of Jordanian children in the labour market stood at 33,000, the report said. 

Released on the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour, annually observed on June 12, the report noted that the laws prohibiting the employment of children aged 16 years and younger and hiring teenagers between 16 and 18 in dangerous jobs are violated.

Ahmad Awad, director of the Phenix Centre, said the absence of updated data on child labour in the country makes it difficult to monitor the situation and whether there is an improvement.

He cited the “regression” in social justice due to the implemented economic policies and the high poverty rate as two indicators that child labour in Jordan is on the rise.

Poverty rates have increased from 13.3 per cent in 2008 to 14.4 per cent in 2010, according to official figures.

Low wages is another indicator that pushes children to work, with almost 85 per cent of the local labour force receiving monthly wages of JD500 and less, the report said. 

The rate of school dropouts is also listed as an indicator that children leave school to join the labour market. 

According to the report, the dropout rate stands at 0.5 per cent annually and exceeds 1 per cent in some areas.

Thus and to fight this phenomenon, the Phenix Centre recommended monitoring the institutions that employ children, revising economic policies and coming up with effective measures to eliminate poverty.