Children's rights advocates warn of a worsening labour shortage as a consequence of the conscription law enforced by the Junta, leading to increased exploitation of under-age children in the workplaces in Mon State.
Following the enactment of the conscription law on February 10 by the Junta, numerous youths from Mon State resorted to any available means to migrate abroad.
As a result, there has been a decline in the labor force within workplaces such as restaurants and tea shops, leading to a troubling trend where underage children, experiencing economic hardships within their families, are increasingly being substituted.
"One of the main reasons for the rise in child labour is the conscription law. Many young adults are eager to leave for foreign countries, leaving behind vacant jobs that are then filled by children from families facing economic hardships”, a person who helps the orphans said.
Child labour is prevalent in Mawlamyine, a major city in Mon State, spanning ages 10 - 17, with an average salary ranging from 100,000 MMK to 180,000 MMK a month. However this is not what these children get as they fall easy prey unscrupulous labour brokers plus employers who will pay them under the going rate..
Besides the shortage of labor resources, another factor driving children into the workforce is the inability of families displaced by war to secure accommodation for their children.
"Some children are forced to work because they are homeless, seeking shelter in workplaces such as restaurants and tea shops, where sleeping arrangements are provided, with about half of these child laborers being of school age”, the aforementioned person said.
Efforts by relevant organizations to curb child labor have been undermined by the aftermath of the coup, resulting in the dismantling of mechanisms aimed at protecting child laborers.
On last year's World Day Against Child Labor, the International Labor Organization (ILO) revealed that the number of child laborers in Myanmar had exceeded 1.1 million by 2023, underscoring the worsening impact of poverty.
