VietNamNet Bridge - There are 1.75 million children aged 5-17 in Vietnam, equivalent to the population of Binh Duong province, have to work, according to the first survey on child labor in Vietnam, which was released last week.

The national survey of child labor was conducted in three months in 2012 but until now it was completed and officially released.

The survey was performed with over 50,000 households with children of 5-17 years old.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, Director of the Institute of Labor Science of the Ministry of Labor, said the results showed that nearly 3 million children work to support for the family. Of which 1.75 million are classified as child labor, accounting for nearly 10% of the child population.

"This rate is higher in rural than urban areas. Different from the group of children participating in economic activities, the child labor group tends to shift from agriculture to industry and services. Therefore, the protective fences are less and the children are vulnerable," Huong said.

According to the survey, more than half of the children do the housework from 5 to 20 hours a week. Over 1/3 of them have the work time of over 42 hours a week (over 6 hours per day). Prolonged duration of labor affects their learning. Many of these children do not currently attend school. The age of starting work of child labor is earlier than the world - nearly 70% starting to work from the age of 12 and older.

In addition, over 1.3 million children are identified to be at risk of participating in activities that are prohibited from using minor workers or heavy and toxic works. Children work because they are forced to work, work as a necessary choice, work for vocational training or be tempted by high wages.

According to Mr. Gyorgy Sziraczki, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Vietnam, the ILO report on global employment trends in 2012 showed that around the world there were 168 million child laborers, accounting for nearly 11% of the child population.

Thus, this rate in Vietnam is lower than average of the world but it is still a very large number. The forced child labor should be eliminated because it takes away childhood, potential and dignity of children, adversely affecting the physical development and their spirit.

Mr. Nguyen Hai Huu, Director of Child Protection, Care Department of the Ministry of Labor, said the report shows the overall picture of child labor in Vietnam. It also shows a strong impact of the economic downturn in recent years to the life of children. The number of children enrolled in general economic activities and child labor in particular tends to increase compared with 2006. At that time, the number of children participating in economic activities was less than 7%.

According to Mr. Doan Mau Diep, Deputy Minister of Labor, this is the first report of child labor in Vietnam. Children participating in a number of economic activities to support their parents is normal in a number of countries on condition that it does not affect the growth and prevent children to school.

"Not all children participating in economic activities are child labor. The rural areas have higher rate of child labor than the urban. Therefore, the interventions will focus on this area. However, putting an end to child labor is a long-term task," Deputy Minister Diep said.

Children participating in economic activities are classified as child labor if the job takes their childhood, adversely affects the development of children and takes the educational opportunities. Children under the age of 5-11 working over one hour per day; children of 12-14 years old working for more than 4 hours per day; and children of 15-17 years old working for over 7 hours per day shall be considered as child labor.

Cam Quyen