The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has charged Nigeria and other nations to step up the fight against child labour by supporting greater social justice.

Gilbert Houngbo, ILO director-general, made the call on Tuesday at the ongoing 111th session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

“For the first time in 20 years, child labour is on the rise. One hundred sixty million children, almost one-in-10 worldwide, are in child labour. What’s worse, half – 80 million – are in the most hazardous forms of child labour; that’s work with a real threat to their physical and mental health,” stated Mr Houngbo.

He noted, however, that child labour “rarely happens because parents are bad or do not care,” but rather, “it springs from a lack of social justice.”

Mr Houngbo added that the antidote to poverty-driven child labour is decent work for adults, so they can support their families and send their children to school, not to work.

He said decent work means ending forced labour, creating safe and healthy workplaces, and letting workers organise and voice their needs. The ILO chief also mentioned that it means ending discrimination because child labour often affects marginalised groups.

Mr Houngbo stressed the need to “systematically integrate the social agenda into all major international, regional and national” policies and actions to fight growing economic disparities.

(NAN)