FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January, 1999

Contact:   Holly Anderson, 202-835-3323
                

WASHINGTON, D.C. ... In his State of the Union Address, President Clinton stated that the U.S. will take a leadership role with the International Labor Organization on the global problem of child labor. While the national Child Labor Coalition applauds this commitment, we challenge the President to make protecting the working children and youth at home as well as abroad one of his legislative priorities. The Administration and Congress should consider these alarming facts and ensure that illegal child labor is eliminated and working youth are adequately protected under U.S. law:

• Reduce Injuries: The United States is first among affluent countries in the rate of adolescents injured in the workplace. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimate that 200,000 adolescents are injured in the workplace every year and more than 100 are killed on the job.
  
• Address Child Labor in Agriculture: As many as 800,000 children under the age of 16 work as seasonal and migrant farmworkers in the $25 billion agriculture industry. Children work long hours at stoop labor, handle dangerous equipment, and are exposed to pesticides. Agriculture is one of the three most dangerous industries in the United States.
• Increase Enforcement: A 1998 analysis by Doug Kruse, Rutgers University, on illegal child labor in the U.S. estimates there are 148,000 illegally employed minors in an average week.

  State and federal compliance efforts often rely on complaint-driven investigations and employer education. In 1996, at least 26 states had ten or fewer compliance officers, responsible for enforcing labor laws in the state, including child labor laws. Federal wage and hour inspectors which total around 1,000, are responsible for ensuring labor law compliance under the Fair Labor Standards Act in more than 3 million U.S. workplaces.
  

• Strengthen Laws: Some states have not updated their child labor laws since the early 1900s. Most state laws and the federal child labor laws do not adequately reflect today's workplaces and occupational hazards. One area in need of updating is the list of prohibited occupations for minors under the age of 18, which are deficient regarding exposure to chemicals, pesticides, and body fluids; work in heights; working alone in cash-based businesses; and others.

The most antiquated aspect of the federal child labor laws is the division of the employment of youth into two categories: agricultural and non-agricultural labor. The result is that minors working in agriculture are less protected from exploitation and more exposed to hazardous employment than minors in non-agricultural employment. Children working as hired farmworkers may work at younger ages, work in more hazardous occupations at younger ages, and work for more hours than other employed youth.

In President Clinton's remarks on international child labor, he stated, "We will work with the International Labor Organization on a new initiative to lift up labor standards around the world. And this year, we will lead the international community to conclude a treaty to ban abusive child labor everywhere in the world."
President Clinton refers to a new International Labor Organization Convention for the prohibition and immediate elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The Convention text will be finalized in June 1999. The following is included in the Convention draft language under the definition of "worst forms of child labor":

• all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, forced or compulsory labor, debt bondage and serfdom;
  
• the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
  
• the use, procuring or offering of a child for illegal activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; or
  
• any other type of work or activity which is likely to jeopardize the health, safety, or morals of children.
  

Given the favorable response of many members of Congress to the President's remarks on child labor, we hope these members will enthusiastically support ratification of the new Convention when presented before Congress later this year. Congress has a dismal record in supporting international child labor initiatives, such as ILO Convention 138 (which sets a minimum age for employment of minors) and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (which addresses child labor).

Founded in 1899, NCL is the nation's pioneer consumer group which works to bring consumer power to bear on marketplace and workplace issues. NCL worked for child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (passed in 1938) and more recently, has helped organize the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) which is committed to ending child labor exploitation in the U.S. and abroad. The CLC is comprised of more than 50 organizations, reflecting educators, health groups, religious and women's groups, human rights groups, consumer groups, labor unions, and child labor advocates. The Coalition works to end child labor exploitation in the U.S. and abroad and to protect the health, education, and safety of working minors.

For more information, write the National Consumers League at 1701 K Street, N. W., Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20006; 202-835-3323.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer consumer organization. NCL's three-pronged approach of research, education and advocacy has made it an effective representative and source of information for consumers and workers. NCL is a private, nonprofit organization representing the consumer on marketplace and workplace issues.