Last month Human Rights Watch and Anti-Slavery convened a meeting in London between trade union and non governmental organizations to discuss the issue of child domestic workers.
Representatives of ILO-IPEC (International Labour Organisation’s Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour) also participated in the event. Taking place over two days on February 22-23, it specifically addressed the issue of child domestic workers. The main objective was to facilitate information sharing on strategies and approaches to tackle child labour and to identify scope for cooperation. EI was there to make a presentation on its current action plan, focusing on how teachers’ unions can, and are, actively contributing to the fight against child labour. The meeting was an excellent opportunity for EI to reinforce its partnerships fighting against child labour. Future working areas will include information sharing on national laws and policies to improve the protection of child domestic workers, trafficking/migration and child domestic labour, research on the psychosocial impact of child domestic labour and working on global advocacy messages. For more information, please contact us at efaids@ei-ie.org.