Child labor in Ukraine

“The best for our children!” Do you recall this Soviet-era slogan? That era is over, and the new one is bringing forth new phenomena that must be understood and assessed. One of them is Child Protection Day, which is marked on June 1. On the eve of World Day Against Child Labor (June 12), I would like to draw the public’s attention to this type of labor. I am not talking about the kinds of “jobs” we parents try to keep our children busy with, but the kind officially known as the “Worst Forms of Child Labor.”

Although we witness such forms of child labor almost every day, they have become so usual that we cannot even distinguish between “therapy as work” and exploitation, nor do we contemplate its varieties, causes, or complex and unique consequences for childhood. Meanwhile, as recognized by international documents, in every case where work runs counter to a child’s developmental needs, impedes that child’s adequate and comprehensive evolution as an individual, deforms value principles and distorts self-appraisal — in other words, when this ruins his/her childhood and the child’s ego — we are talking about exploitation.

How often do we, adults, react in this familiar situation, when we are confronted by children begging for money in a subway car? Some of us turn away; others voice their indignation, while others hastily dig in their pockets to give them some small change. Very few individuals bother to report to the subway station, militia, or children’s services duty officers (who know what to do) that there is a child out there begging. In fact, you can dial a toll-free number (8-800-500-21-80) and talk to the specialists at the All-Ukraine Children’s Line, who will respond and help this child.

A phenomenon that is less obvious to residents of large cities but nonetheless widespread is children who are “employed” in the agrarian sector or who dig coal, working alongside their parents or in their place.

The living and working conditions of children who have to make a living by begging, prostitution, selling drugs, peddling on the streets, and fencing (often stolen goods) are hair-raising. Needless to say, these “workers,” who are engaged in such illicit activities are deprived of all legal rights. They never sign legitimate employment contracts, among other reasons because their employers are by definition criminals; they do not join (non-existent) trade unions; and they are paid the minimum wage or nothing at all. Their health and life are exposed to great risks.

What drives children into that sector, where they should not be in principle? Every child will give you valid reasons for being exploited this way. Some of them are forced to work, even by their own parents, who say “What will you get out of school?” “Let the child work.” “Better he should work than be an idler.” Other parents say, “What’s so bad about working? After all, he isn’t stealing.” These are the most widespread arguments of those who support child labor. The result is that their children do not know any other kind of life.

Quite often material hardships provoke a desire in children, who are maturing too quickly, to do something to help improve the material conditions of their family.

According to official 2007 sources, which inexplicably cite obsolete data from 2005, the per capita consumption rate of 27.1 percent of Ukrainian families is below the poverty level. In other words, they cannot provide even for their basic needs. Last year, officials at Ukraine’s Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (Minsotspratsi) admitted that in June 2006 a total of 2,076,000 Ukrainians were paid less than the minimum living wage — i.e., less than 496 hryvnias a month. This social group reveals a regular trend of children’s employment dependent on family size: the larger the family, the higher the number of children doing various kinds of jobs.

There is also a diverse group of children who voluntarily (after several successful attempts) choose the path of self-enrichment. Such cases demonstrate that poor material conditions are not the only reasons behind child labor. Almost 20 percent of child workers come from medium-income families, according to an official report from 1997 on the status of children in Ukraine, which indicates that they took on jobs because they wanted to be materially independent of their parents. Obviously, in such cases the key questions are the need to revise the model for raising children within families and find ways of achieving age-appropriate forms and means of involving children in family budgeting.

No one can deny that children must be taught to work at an early age, but there is one caveat, which I mentioned at the beginning of this article. This work must not impede our children’s comprehensive development as full-fledged individuals. Our children must be allowed to enjoy every moment of their childhood; the very concept of childhood must not be destroyed. Meanwhile, nearly a third of Ukraine’s 30,000 children do not attend school precisely because — voluntarily or by force — they are earning a living for their own needs or those of their families.

“Why should I go to school if I’m earning 8,000 hryvnias a month without it?” This statement, made by a boy who appeared recently on a Ukrainian television program, is proof of his refusal to continue his education. Every such case — which should not be happening in the first place — destroys the possibility of adequate socialization. The not-so-distant consequences of this excessively rapid maturation lead to other distorted social relations. These children are putting their future at great risk. In the best-case scenario, they will repeat such behavioral models with their own children; at worst, their lives will be at stake.

What we have is not only the worst forms of child labor: the jobs being performed by minors prevent these children from developing adequately and comprehensively and run counter to their needs as evolving individuals (in contrast with the educational function of work). We also have new forms of concealed child labor. I believe that this topic deserves special consideration, especially now when parents are going out of their way to help their children rise in the world.

Take the modeling business, where even four— or five-year-old girls are being employed, or young actors, singers, musicians, sportsmen, or circus athletes. I would like to ask their parents: who allows a child to act on stage for a long period of time? Is the child paid for work in those cases when s/he takes part in professional (viewer-paid) concerts and other forms of entertainment? What are the payment terms and conditions? Are contracts properly drawn up? If parents receive payment for their child’s performance, who manages this money? If children receive money, this means at least that a number of contractual clauses are misinterpreted — or violated.

The Labor Code of Ukraine states that minors under 16 years of age are forbidden to work. Here we have a serious problem caused partly by the emergence of new social groups and values that are supplanting children’s talents and skills by new forms of exploitation. This topic deserves a separate article.

The diversity and forms of child labor are becoming increasingly intertwined. The efforts of the Ukrainian government and the ILO program to eliminate the worst forms of child labor are obviously inadequate. The Ukrainian government must realize and assess the new social phenomena in conjunction with child labor, and pass adequate decisions. While our statesmen are busy coping with their own affairs, we, adults, should at least display some concern. We should approach such children, take them by the hands, discuss things with them, and try to protect them. We should not take a back-set and just be observers. We must let our children enjoy their childhood.

Tetiana Kondratiuk is the head of the Diia All- Ukrainian Association and deputy head of the Zhytomyr Oblast State Administration.