Child Labour in the Informal Sector (A Case Study of Child Shoe Polishers in Gulele Keflea Ketma)
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Date
2006-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Child labour is pervasive probl elll throughout the world, especially in developing
countri es. As in Illany developing countries, ch ild labour is a widespread problelll in
Ethiopia . In rural arcas, agricu lture is by far the dOlllinant sector of child clllploYlllent
where as in urban areas ch ild wgrk ers are Illostly engaged ill the informal ScclOr. There
are different lypes of child labour in the info rillal scctor in Ethiopia but the study focus
only on those ch ildren who are engaged in shoe shining activities in Gulele sub city.
The objective of the study was to know the factors that led the chi ldren into shoe
shining work, the types of hazards and ri sks they face, the number of hours they devote to
work, the impact of work on the health and education of the working c hildren, the
physical and verbal abuse they encountered, they work related injuries they experienced,
the type of treatment they recei ved, the evaluation of working chi Idren about their work
place, literacy status, levels of education and training, the attitude and pe rception of the
children of their c urrent and future life and to systematically observe the working
condi tions of the ch ild shoe shiners and finally forward some plausible recommendations
for cons ide rat ion. Both qua ntitative and qualitati ve data were collected by usi ng su rvey
method, focus group discussion and direct observation.
The findings of the study indicate that nearly all the child shoe shiners that participated
in the st udy were with disadvantaged background in vo lving lack of access to ed ucat ion,
cOllli ng from poor fami li es, sOllle being orphaned and having mi grated from other parts
of Ethiop ia to Addis Ababa. According to the study findin gs working children that
partic ipated in the study were forc ed to engage in to shoe sh in ing carrier by so Illany
reasons inc ludin g the socio- economic and cultural factor of their circul11stances.
The study findings showed that child shoe shiners that parti cipated in the study were
lead ing adult leaves, normally worki ng for long hours under conditions daillaging to thei,'
healthy and to their physical development, facing physical and verbal abuse, freq uently
deprived of mean ing ful educational opportunities that could open up for them better
future.
Final ly some important recommendations have been ra ised as a solution to reduce the
problem faced by child shoe shiners in the stud y a rea
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Keywords
Child Labour in the Informal Sector