Hundreds of thousands Italian children in the labour force
Workers refill canisters with oxygen for medical use at a facility in Banda Aceh. Child labour does not only occur in Africa and Asia, but also in Italy, a survey shows. Photo AFP, Chaideer Mahyuddin
Southern Europe
Child labour is not something that only occurs in Asia and Africa. In Italy, hundreds of thousands of children are also set to work.
The organisation “Save the Children” estimates that about 336,000 children in Italy have work experience. Between the ages of 7 and 15, that is almost 1 in 15, the organisation writes in a press release. “Save the children” carried out a survey on the topic on Tuesday.
The main sectors where children work include catering, retail sales in shops and businesses, work in the countryside and taking care of siblings and other relatives.
Boys and girls who work primarily indicate they want extra spending money for themselves (56.3 per cent). About 32.6 per cent says they want or need some budget to help their parents. At the same time, 38.5 per cent indicates that they enjoy their job.
Risk
The research also shows a relationship between child labour and early school leaving. According to “Save the Children”, children who work at an early age have a high risk of ending up in a vicious circle of poverty and exclusion. Especially children with parents who have not had higher education are more likely to end up working during their childhood.
Avennire even writes that this path can lead to crime. Minors who end up in the juvenile system very often left school early.
“Save the Children” points out that more than a quarter of 14- and 15-year-olds work in jobs that harm their educational paths and psychophysical well-being. About 27.8 per cent said during the survey that they worked at night or during school time. Almost 5 per cent skips classes to work. That means that their education is most likely affected by their job.
Italian law does not allow minors under 16 to work. At that age, children have completed their mandatory schooling. At the same time, it is difficult to find out the extent of the problem of child labour, “Save the Children” reports. “The lack of a systematic statistical survey on child labour in our country does not allow us to define its boundaries and undertake effective actions to combat the phenomenon”, the organisation writes.
Investigation
Raffaela Milano, director of the Italian branch of “Save the Children”, requests a “coordinated institutional action” which should map out the problem and find effective counter-measures. In addition, she asks the “Parliamentary Commission for childhood and adolescence, which has yet to be reconstituted, to promote a fact-finding investigation into child labour and early school leaving.”
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