Written by: Yasser Badri

 The phenomenon of child labor is one of the phenomena that is widely spread in third world countries, especially with the beginning of the summer vacation after our children finish their exams. Some people often wonder whether child labor is completely prohibited or are there controls and standards to allow some of it, and in these lines we will answer everything that is on your minds regarding child labor.

Beginning At what age is a person considered to be in childhood?

According to what is defined by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was signed in 1989, that the child is Everyone who has not reached eighteen years of age.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument that embodies all of the child's full civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and fosters the development of the child's capabilities in an atmosphere of freedom, dignity and justice. This is one of the reasons that prompted many countries of the world to conclude this agreement:

Children do not have the ability to protect themselves from abuse  and exploitation.

Children are the most marginalized group and therefore have specific rights that have been stipulated and protected. Such as education - health - participation..... and other rights.

Children's access to their rights depends on the desire of the parents, caregivers, or the government for their children to obtain these rights  and not the children themselves as rights holders.

Article (19) of the Convention stipulates the following: “States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of violence, harm, physical or mental abuse, neglect, negligent treatment, mistreatment or exploitation, including Sexual abuse, while in the care of the parent(s), legal guardian(s), or any other person whose care the child is entrusted with,”   From any harm. And in 1999, that is, after the conclusion of the international internationalFor the rights of the child by ten years, member states of the United Nations have signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Procedures The International Labor Organization launched a special program to eliminate child labor (IPIC) and began celebrating the World Day against Child Labor on the twelfth of June 2002 with the aim of focusing attention on the extent of the phenomenon of child labor in the world, and working to make the necessary efforts to eliminate this phenomenon. Since then, the whole world has become an annual convener of governments and employers’ institutions on this day. Labor, workers and civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of working children and how to help them.

 The elimination of child labor was one of the most prominent goals set by the Labor Organization. Today, around the world, approximately 218 million children work, many of them full-time, which prevents them from going to school and they do not have any time to play, and many of them do not receive proper food or any type of care, and thus are deprived of the opportunity to be children. More than half of them are exposed to the worst forms of child labour, such as work in hazardous environments, slavery or other forms of forced labour, illicit activities including drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as participation in armed conflict.

 The ILO's adoption of Convention No. 182 has strengthened global consensus on the need to eliminate child labour. The adoption of this Convention also allowed this issue to be highlighted as necessary without losing sight of the comprehensive goal specified in Convention No. 138, which is the effective elimination of child labour. In addition, the concept of the worst forms of child labor contributes to setting priorities and can be used as a starting point in addressing the problem of child labor as a whole. The concept also helps draw attention to the impact of work on children as well as the work they perform.

 Through the previously mentioned agreements signed by Egypt, the Egyptian state established line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> And laws based on these agreements for the purpose of activating the protection of children. With regard to the Egyptian Constitution, the 2014 Constitution guarantees the constitutional and legal protection of children’s rights, as it states in the context of Article (80) that “it is prohibited to employ a child before he reaches the age of completing basic education, and it is also prohibited to employ him in work that exposes him to danger.” The basic education age is the end of the preparatory stage.

The ban on children working at this age comes with the aim of providing them with the full opportunity to enjoy life at such a young age, satisfying their desires for play and fun, and releasing their childish energies

This has been determined by the Egyptian law for children, which is the law 12 of 1996 and amended by Law No. 126 of 2008 And the Executive Regulations20752075 A number ofcontrols and standards for child labor. For example, the law states that :

It is forbidden to employ children before they reach the age of five

It is prohibited to employ a child in any type of work that, by its nature or circumstances, could endanger the child's health, safety, or morals. In all cases, the work must not cause pain or physical or psychological harm to the child, or deprive him of his opportunity to attend regular education, recreation, and develop his abilities and talents.

The law has specified some of the jobs that children are prohibited from working. It is: Children under the age of children may not be employed. For sixteen years in the following businesses, professions and industries: Working in front of the ovens In bakeries -Petroleum refineries- Cement factories - Refrigeration shops - Ice factory- Production of oil juice by mechanical methods- Cylinder filling factor with compressed gases- Textile bleaching, dyeing and printing operations- Carrying, pulling, or pushing weights if their weight exceeds the weights mentioned in the table.

Children under the age of seventeen may not be employed in the following jobs, professions, or industries:

Working underground in mines quarries and all works related to the extraction of minerals and stones- Work in furnaces intended for smelting, refining or producing mineral materials- Silvering of mirrors with mercury - Explosives industry and related works - Melting and curing the glass- Welding With oxygen, acetylene, and electricity- making alcohol, ice cream, and all spirits- Painting with lead ash and extracting silver from lead - Manufacture of tin and metal compounds containing more than (10%) of lead- Manufacture of lead monoxide "golden lead" or lead oxide "salcon", lead carbonate, lead oxide orange, lead sulphates, chromates, and silicate Electric battery repair- Cleaning workshops that carry out works numbered 9, 10, 11, 12. - Managing or monitoring moving machinery - Making asphalt - Working in tanneries - Working in warehouses for fertilizer extracted from fecal matter, animal dung, bones, or blood - Skinning, cutting, scalding animals, and melting their fat- Industry Rubber - Transport of passengers by land, rail or inland water- Loading and unloading goods at docks, docks, ports and warehouses - Stowage of cottonseed in ship holds- Making charcoal from animal bones, except for the process of sorting the bones before burning them. - Working as hosts in amusement parks. - Working in bars that sell or drink alcohol.

** The law was also authorized by the competent minister The workforce may add any other work within the scope of the ban if it deems it inappropriate for children to work in it.

And in the event that the child has joined a job opportunity Far from what has been mentioned regarding actions that violate it, the employer must adhere to the following:

·       An employer who employs children must conduct a primary medical examination on them before they join the job to ensure their safety and health fitness, according to the type of work assigned to them.

·       An employer who employs one or more children is prohibited from employing one or more children for more than six hours a day, with one or more periods for eating and rest not less than one hour in total. The child does not work for more than four consecutive hours.

·       Children may not work overtime or on weekly rest days or official holidays.

·       كما لا يجوز تشغيلهم فيما بين الساعة السابعة مساءً والسابعة صباحاً.

·       يجب على كل صاحب عمل يستخدم طفلا دون السادسة عشرة أن يمنحه بطاقة تثبت أنه يعمل لديه وتلصق عليها صورة الطفل وتعتمد من مكتب القوى العاملة وتختم بخاتمه.

كما ألزم القانون ايضا صاحب العمل بتنفيذ ما يلي من أمور وهي:

·       يلتزم صاحب العمل بالمعاملة الطيبة للأطفال العاملين لديه بما يحقق التكوين السوي لهم وتوطيد العلاقة بينهم وبين أسرهم، وعدم حرمان الطفل من حقوقه وطموحاته المناسبة لمراحله السنية سواء الترفيهية أو المادية وخاصة في الأعياد والمناسبات.

·       كما يلتزم على نفقته بتوفير النظام الطبي الذي يكلف علاج الأطفال العاملين لديه من إصابات العمل وأمراض المهنة.

·       يجب على صاحب العمل الذي يستخدم طفلا أو أكثر أن يقدم لكل طفل يوميا وجبة غذائية

·       يجب أن تتوافر في المنشأة التي يعمل فيها الأطفال الاشتراطات الصحية المقررة قانونا وخاصة التهوية والإضاءة والمياه النقية ودورات المياه

 وعلى الطفل العامل أن يستعمل وسائل الوقاية، وأن ينفذ التعليمات المقررة للمحافظة على صحته ووقايته من حوادث العمل.

 أما في حالة مخالفة أيا مما سبق فهناك ثلاثة جهات معنية بالتدخل في ذلك وهم:

 ·       مكاتب القوى العاملة التي تقوم بإجراء المراقبة الدائمة لصاحب العمل للتأكد من التزامه بتشغيل الأطفال في الأعمال والحرف والصناعات التي يجوز فيها التشغيل دون غيرها وبأحكام القانون وهذه اللائحة لساعات العمل المحددة وحسن معاملته لهم وعدم إيذائهم بدنيا ونفسياً، ومراعاة سائر الأحكام المبينة في هذا الفصل.

·       خط نجدة الطفل التابع للمجلس القومي للطفولة و الأمومة والتواصل على رقمه 16000

·       لجان حماية الطفولة ( العامة و الفرعية ).

وفقني الله و إياكم فيما يحب و يرضى.