Skip to page content
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Bookmark and Share
DOL Home > ILAB > Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Combating Child Labor in Hazardous Work in Salt Production, Rubber Plantations and Fish/Shrimp Processing Sectors in Cambodia

Region/Country

ASIA/Cambodia

Project Duration

September 1, 2001 – December 31, 2004 (revised)

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 2001: USD 999,310

Problem to be Addressed

The National Steering Committee on Child Labor in Cambodia has identified hazardous child labor in the salt and fishing/shrimp processing sectors, and on the rubber plantations as priorities for action to eradicate child labor.  Children engaged in work in these sectors experience various physical hazards related to the work environment, and are often unable to attend school.

Results

This project withdrew 917 children and prevented 3,610 children from work in the salt sector of Kampot Province, in the rubber plantations of Kampong Cham Province, and in the fish/shrimp-processing sector of Sihanoukville Province.

Project Objectives

Contribute to the progressive elimination of child labor in the salt, rubber, and fishing sectors in Cambodia by removing children from hazardous employment and working conditions and preventing more children from entering workplaces through direct assistance and capacity-building programs. 

Intermediate objectives included:

  • At the end of the program, the capacity of national and community-level agencies and organizations in Cambodia will have been strengthened to plan, initiate, implement and evaluate action to prevent and progressively eliminate child labor, especially within hazardous work situations; and
  • At the end of the program, an estimated 900 children working in salt production in Kampot Province, rubber plantations in Kampong Cham, and fishing/shrimp processing industry in Sihanoukville Province will have been removed from hazardous employment and working conditions; and 2,600 working children will be prevented from moving into hazardous work considered as the worst forms of child labor in the same locations.

Summary of Activities
  • Supported research on the extent of the problem of child labor in the salt, rubber, and fish/shrimp processing sectors;
  • Removed approximately 900 children from hazardous work, and prevented about 2,600 children from starting work;
  • Provided appropriate alternatives to work for children, including social protection services for former working children and their families;
  • Raised awareness about the hazards of child labor and built the capacity of local and national institutions to combat it; and
  • Developed an effective system for monitoring workplaces.

Grantee

International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)

Implementing partners

Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSALVY); Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS); Labor Advisory Committee (LAC); Provincial and Municipal Departments of MOSALVY; Provincial Departments of MOEYS; Catholic Child Bureau; Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR); Kak Sek Kor Thmey (KTO).

Contact Information

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)

(202) 693-4843