Child labour rate in Vietnam lower than world average
(VOV) - Roughly 9.6% of the Vietnamese labour force is comprised of children aged 5-17, which is significantly less than the global average level.
This is according to the results of a national survey on child labour jointly conducted by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social (MoLISA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which was announced on March 14.
Only those children aged 5-17 and working more than 7 hours a day or more than 42 hours a week are subject to the survey.
Around 1.75 million Vietnamese children fall within the classification of child labour. Most of them live in rural areas and are work in agriculture.
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Approximately one-third of child labour (nearly 569,000 children) work more than 42 hours per week and many of them do not go to school.
Early child labour especially among disadvantaged children, is a big challenge for Vietnam, said MoLISA Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep, adding the country has intensified prevention and intervention measures to protect children and create a comprehensive development environment for them.
Diep said children can do certain limited work within a certain timeframe, without affecting their health, growth and study opportunity.
According to the survey, one fourth of child labour do so in order to survive, one fourth chose working as a way to learn and get more income, while the remainder are from agricultural families.
Child labour needs to be eliminated as it steals their childhood, talents and human dignity, and badly affects children’s physical and spiritual growth, said Gyorgy Sziraczki, ILO country director in Vietnam.
The survey was conducted on 50,640 families which have children aged 5-17 nationwide.