Child labour is no accident : Experience of BC's working children

Now, in place of having an Employment Standards In changing the Employment Standards officer determine the suitability of a workplace Act the provincial government eroded the for a 12- to 14-year old, a letter from a parent mechanisms that protect children. [...] First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition will recommend specific improvements to the Employment Standards Act and regulations to bring BC’s law into compliance with the commitments Canada and BC have made as signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, with the International Labour Organization Convention 138 standards, and with best practices in other jurisdictions. [...] The variations in the estimates about the numbers of children working in BC points to the need for government to use its resources and regulatory authority to step up and monitor this most vulnerable population, as advised by local children’s advocates and international observers. [...] The goal of the session was to “collect opinions and ideas on current and required young worker resource materials aimed at parents.” In their report on the session, the Ipsos Reid facilitators noted “Parents first need to understand and take ownership of the young worker safety issues before they will offer to help promote prevention initiatives. [...] While greater education and awareness is always helpful, it remains the case that within the context of a virtually unregulated environment for child workers education does not change the fact that once a child is on the worksite, parents are powerless to ensure that the child is safe and that tasks are age appropriate.