Child Labor in the Informal Sector of Pasay City

Abstract

Child labor has been one of the most pervasive problems throughout the world. In the Philippines today, children continue to work for income despite legal safeguards to ensure their protection against the dangers of working at a premature age. In urban centers, the phenomenon most conspicuous in the informal sector. It is in this area where government regulation is absent or, at the very least, minimal. This study aims to describe concretely child labor in the informal sector of Pasay City. ‘Specifically, it aims to determine the characteristics of child workers living in Mahibay, Maricaban, Tramo Riverside and Apelo Cruz, their reasons for working and the conditions that they experience with their kind of work. It is presumed that these child workers are forced to work to augment the income of their families. In addition, these child workers are presumed to be working for long periods with income below the minimum wage and are exposed to a working environment detrimental to their health, safety and normal development. The researcher interviewed 45 respondents randomly sampled from the Child Labor Program (CLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in these areas. The results of the survey are presented and a profile of the typical child worker in Pasay City is obtained from these results. Furthermore, the validity of the presumptions stated above are shown to hold true for the sample that was interviewed.