ILO alliance looks to take on illegal labour practices
The 8.7 Alliance was convened by the ILO in New York during the UN General Assembly with the expressed view of establishing an alliance to tackle child labour, forced labour and slavery.
In response to Sustainable Development Goal 8, “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all,” and its target 8.7, to “Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its form,” the Alliance looks to create rules for its operation, surrounding how members organise, and to discuss how to best monitor progress.
Present at the meeting were representatives of various UN agencies, country missions, CSOs and unions, including Education International (EI).
"The most effective way of tackling child labour is getting kids into school. If they are in school learning, they aren't working," said Angelo Gavrielatos, the Project Director for EI’s Global Response to the Privatisation and Commercialisation in and of Education.
Those present stressed the need to be solutions focused in the efforts aimed at implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, and achieving the related targets and indicators.
“A precondition for getting and keeping kids in school remains a public school, free universally accessible in every community, staffed by qualified teachers delivering an engaging curriculum in a safe environment," said Gavrielatos.
