One in ten children in the world is forced to work. Nearly half of all child workers are under 12 years old. Most frequently, children have to work in fields and mines. Their parents are too poor to feed their families without help from their children. School attendance is the most effective measure against child labour. Therefore, Solidar Suisse facilitates basic education for child workers.

In total, 160 million children work around the world. They pick cotton, carry sacks full of palm oil fruit, spray pesticides, dig for gold, decorate shirts with sequins or work in hospitality. Children generally have to work because their parents’ incomes are too low to feed their family. Another frequent cause of child labour is the death of a parent. 

Many working children do not go to school, or attend only sporadically. This triggers a vicious circle; without education, when they are older they will have little chance of accessing better employment or a dignified life. The number of child workers has reduced in recent years, yet now the Covid-19 pandemic risks wiping out this progress. 

Child labour cannot be viewed simply as a problem associated with the parents of child workers. Companies operating at an international level source commodities and products from poor countries and often pay very low prices for palm oil, cotton or clothing. This leads to extremely low wages being paid for the production of these products.