World Day against Child Labor marked in Moldova

Over 300 cases of child labor were reported in Moldova in 2008. In 50% of the cases, the children were engaged in agricultural works, while in the rest of the cases – in auxiliary and construction works. Four children were injured in accidents at work, one of whom very seriously. The information was provided at a roundtable meeting held on the occasion of the World Day against Child Labor celebrated on June 12, Info-Prim Neo reports. Since the start of this year, the Labor Inspectorate has discovered 22 cases of illegal employment of children, including ten girls at a company in Balti, three minors engaged in transporting and selling alcoholic beverages, two children looking after animals, two auxiliary workers, two children working in the construction sector and a porter. Last year, there were opened 19 legal cases and imposed fines of over 45,000 lei. The fines for seven similar offences identified this year amounted to 15,400 lei. The National Agriculture and Food Industry Employers Federation of Moldova held a workshop dedicated to the World Day against Child Labor on Friday. Anne Knowles, senior specialist at the Bureau for Employers' Activities of the International Labor Organization with the subregional office based in Budapest, said that it is for the first time in the subregion that the employers are directly involved in combating child labor. She stressed that the adoption of the Employers’ Code of Conduct on the elimination of the most serious forms of child labor is the result of an extraordinary work done by the National Agriculture and Food Industry Employers Federation of Moldova “We do not think that the children that help their parents in work are exploited. We are realistic and speak about the most serious forms when the children work for many hours, get overtired, do not go to school, work in the sun or with chemical substances,” she said. On the same day, the parliamentary ombudswoman for children’s rights protection Tamara Plamadeala invited the children to a roundtable meeting, where they could express their opinions about their obligations and rights to work and learn. Under the Moldovan legislation, the children younger than 15 can work only with the parents’ consent and not more than 24 hours a week. The children aged between 16 and 18 can work of their own accord for at most 35 hours a week. If the children work without work contract and are forced to work for more hours than allowed, including at night, the employers are liable to fines and suspension from work for 3 to 12 months. Over 60 countries organized activities to mark the World Day against Child Labor on June 12.