Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s child labour rate is approximately 2percentage points lower than the regional average for Asia and the Pacific,found the second national child labour survey, which was released on December18.

The survey was conducted by the Ministry of Labour, Invalidsand Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the General Statistics Office with technicalsupport from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) from November toDecember 2018.

It identifies an estimated 9.1 percent of children aged 5-17engaged in economic activities, and 5.3 percent (or more than 1 million) in childlabour.

Compared to findings from the first National Child Labour Surveyconducted in 2012, the latest figures point to an encouraging decrease in theprevalence of working children, which dropped from 15.5 percent of children in2012 to 9.1 percent in 2018.

In line with global trends, 84 percent of children in childlabour in Vietnam are concentrated in rural areas and just over half of themwork in the agricultural, forestry and fishery sector. Other sectors wherechild labour is prevalent include the service sector and the industry andconstruction sector. Notably 40.5 percent of children in child labour work asunpaid family workers.

The survey estimates that nearly 520,000 children in Vietnamare engaged in hazardous child labour, or work which poses significant risks toa child’s health, safety or morals. Children in hazardous child labour are morelikely to work in the industry and construction sector, and their hours of worktend to be high, with 40.6 percent of children in this group working for over40 hours per week.

The survey highlights the adverse impacts of economicengagement on children’s school attendance, with the percentage of children inschool decreasing as the intensity of economic engagement rises. Compared tothe national average school attendance of 94.4 percent, only half of Vietnamesechildren in child labour attend school. However, figures indicate a positivetrend in the overall percentage of working children attending school, which hasrisen to 63 percent compared to just 43.6 percent in 2012.

Speaking at the event, MoLISA Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Ha saidthat early engagement in work has left serious consequences on children,affecting their harmonious development, hindering them from approaching andenjoying appropriate education and legitimate rights, and negatively impactingsocio-economic development, especially the quality of human resources in thefuture.

ILO Vietnam Director Chang Hee Lee said that although surveyfindings indicate promising signs of progress between 2012 and 2018, the riskof child labour has now been intensified by the socio-economic impacts of theCOVID-19.

Today, in Vietnam and around the world, more families arebeing forced to resort to child labour as a strategy to cope with loss ofincome and livelihood constraints resulting from disruptions to global supplychains and social distancing measures. In light of the devastating floods thathave affected the central region of Vietnam this year, this risk has furtherintensified for affected families, who face the double burden of the pandemicand climate-related catastrophe, he stated.

Chang urged that actions must be taken to mitigate thedetrimental effects of the pandemic and the increasing threat of naturaldisasters, which risk jeopardizing hard won gains in combatting child labour,and may lead to a rise in new cases. As such, national efforts must be urgentlyaccelerated towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 8.7 to end childlabour in all its forms. As a pathfinder country for Global Alliance 8.7,Vietnam is committed to conducting research, sharing knowledge and drivinginnovation towards this goal./.