Children working in brickyards (Photo: Licadho)07 May 2008
By Ka-Set
Unofficial translation from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the original article in French
Work accomplished by numerous children in Cambodia brickyards bring serious concerns to two NGOs which conducted an investigation among 132 young workers in July 2007, in the province of Battambang, In a public report distributed on Wednesday 07 May, Licadho and World Vision provide a picture of these children, the majority of whom work full time for a daily earning of 5,000 riels ($1.25), whereas the younger ones – between 8 and 10-year-old – earn only 1,000 riels ($0.25) per day, because they work less and do not show up regularly at the brickyards. The first protest made by the young workers surveyed, is the long hours of work in a difficult, dangerous and unhealthy working environment. More than half of the children surveyed called the working condition “bad.” Eyes irritation, backache, chest pain, headache are among the major health problems these children claim they suffer from. Nevertheless, for those who have not completely abandoned school yet, the majority of them do not want to continue their schooling, but they indicated that they wish to find a job “elsewhere.”
