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Monday, March 07, 2005
Child workers shunning aid
* Minors in hotels and restaurants complained of low income, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions
Despite the sorry plight of child workers in Cebu City, a few of them who have claimed they were offered assistance have also refused it.
According to the study “In the Heat of the Night-Combating Child Labor in the Tourism Industry,” only 68 of 237 child workers interviewed claimed they were offered help so they would not have to work.
Of the 68, only 38 percent accepted assistance and most of them said their customers, friends or suitors had offered the help.
“It is sad to note that only three percent of the child workers who were offered help mentioned the government as a source of assistance,” the report read.
No intervention
Social welfare officer Emma Patalinghug of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 admitted they do not have a “surveillance component” since the task is left to the police and nongovernment organizations (NGOs), which are the government’s partners in helping child laborers.
“They (NGOs) are our partners. We don’t want to duplicate what they are doing because we also don’t want to waste government resources. That’s the nature of their work,” she said.
She revealed, though, that in their experience, rescued child laborers, especially sex workers placed under the protective custody of DSWD 7, have refused to undergo psychosocial intervention and rehabilitation-services offered by their agency.
Abuse
The study, commissioned by the National Union of Workers in the Hotel Restaurant and Allied Industries (Nuwhrain) in October 2001, also said the child workers do not want to leave their present work because of the money it provides for them and their families.
“Their lack of education is a major limitation. No other jobs (especially in the case of sex workers) would pay as much considering their level of education and skills,” the report also read.
The study, which explored the impact of work in the tourism industry on children 12 to 17 years old, said child sex workers in the city experience the worst forms of abuse.
While minors in hotels and restaurants complained of low income, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions and of suffering from accidents due to the pressure of working fast, those involved in the sex trade face greater risks of physical and emotional abuse, sexually-transmitted diseases and addiction to drugs and alcohol. (CYR)
(March 7, 2005 issue)
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