CLC-CIDA Project Targets Child Labour in India

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 4, 2012) - A Canadian Labour Congress project targeting child labour in India has diverted thousands of children away from work sites and into primary school. The project is supported by funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

"As a result of this project,14 villages and 249 work sites have been declared child- labour free, and more than 12,000 children have received the necessary primary education to be moved into the national education system," says CLC President Ken Georgetti.

The five year CLC project has focused on organizing informal sector workers in the stone quarry and brick-kiln industries, and providing primary schooling to their children. Georgetti says, "Unions have the capacity to address and help remedy the economic conditions which lead to child labour. Negotiating better wages for their parents means children can be at school rather than working."

Georgetti says that the project also included a campaign to create awareness about children's rights through street-plays, video-films and other engaging techniques.

"This project has seen 26,030 workers including 15,100 women join unions meaning they have access to better paying jobs and social security," Georgetti says. "That made it possible to provide children with enough primary education to get them into the national education system. We can make a positive difference when we work together and we thank the government of Canada for their financial support of this important project to help end child labour."

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Website: www.canadianlabour.ca. Follow us on Twitter: @CanadianLabour