For the first time in the ILO’s history,
an International Labour Convention has been ratified by all member States.
Convention No.182 on The Worst Forms of
Child Labour achieved universal ratification, following ratification by the
Kingdom of Tonga. This Convention is the most rapidly ratified Convention
in the history of the Organization, since its adoption 21 years ago by the
International Labour Conference.
“Universal ratification of Convention 182
is an historic first that means that all children now have legal protection
against the worst forms of child labour,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.
“It reflects a global commitment that the worst forms of child labour, such as
slavery, sexual exploitation, the use of children in armed conflict or other
illicit or hazardous work that compromises children’s health, morals or
psychological wellbeing, have no place in our society.”
Sandvik India's initiative to eradicate Child Labour and support Education:
Going to school is the best start in life.
Sandvik in India, with the help of volunteers and staffers, ensures that more
children are given such a start.
"Every Child Counts" is an umbrella concept used by UNICEF as well as various local organizations around the globe that share the common goal of improving conditions facing the world's children. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, for example, advocates inclusive, free, equitable and good-quality primary education and ILO’s Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
"The goal is to encourage the parents to educate their children and prevent them from falling into the trap of child labour."
In support of this goal, Sandvik in India has launched the initiative "Sandvik Every Child Counts," in cooperation with the NGO Doorstep in the year 2018. It is a project that aims to boost primary school enrolment among underprivileged children and prevent them from being used as child labour.
The initiative involves Sandvik staff as well as external volunteers and reaches out to children of marginalized communities such as rag pickers, roadside sellers, street dwellers and migrant laborers.
A mobile solution
Sandvik's head
office in India is based in Pune, one of the fastest-growing cities in the
country in terms of economic growth, and consequently home to a steady influx
of migrant laborers from across the subcontinent in search of new
opportunities. Since migrant families who live in temporary camps often have to
travel a long way to reach the nearest school facility, the Sandvik initiative
includes a mobile solution.
The Sandvik
School on Wheels program complements the Every Child Counts campaign by
providing education at the doorstep in sites where there is no school. It is a
refurbished bus equipped with classroom supplies and staff who conduct classes
across the different sites.
The Sandvik
initiative puts special emphasis on ensuring that more girls enrol in primary
school. Literacy rates are generally lower among girls than boys in India, and
girls also face the prospect of being married off at an early age, particularly
if they come from a poor background and lack schooling.
Rotary Supports Education
Rotary
International’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support
basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and
increase adult literacy. Rotary supports education for all children and
literacy for children and adults.
In 2009, the
Indian parliament passed a bill to provide universal, free and compulsory
education for all children aged between 6 and 14. Passing a bill is one easy
thing to do. What is important is to make parents, particularly in rural areas,
aware of the benefits of education and to encourage them to send their children
to school. This change has to come at the community level and also make people
at the helm of affairs accountable.
Abhishek Kulkarni
Sandvik Volunteer
Director – CSR & Environment, Rotary Club of Pune Cosmopolitan
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