New Delhi: Poverty is the biggest cause of child labour as children are forced to work as labourers to earn a livelihood. Fully eradicating poverty will take many years and so many organisations have come up to do their bit to slowly work on this social menace. With non-governmental organisations coming to the fore, a gradual change is observed in society. To understand more about World Day against child labour, let us know how and when this day was celebrated.
History of World Anti-Child Labor Day: The International Labor Organization (ILO) was the first to raise the issue of child labour. Then, in 2002, a law was passed unanimously under which it was declared an offence to make children under the age of 14 years work in risky environments. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has 187 member countries.
The ILO has passed many conventions to improve the working conditions in the world. They also provide necessary guidelines on wages, working hours, favourable environment and others. In 1973, ILO Convention no. 138 accepted and focused the attention of the people on the minimum age for employment, which aimed at raising the minimum age of employment for member states, thus eliminating child labour.