Child Labour in the Informal Urban Sector in three governorates of Jordan (Amman, Mafraq, and Irbid)

Status:	Published 1 September 2013 - 1 January 2014
Not funded
Methodology:	Data collection started, Published, widgets.needs_assessment.status.5
Methodology description:	The study will be conducted using two complementary approaches, namely a desk review and a field assessment. The field reseach will consist firstly of three quantitative surveys involving i) 45 child labourers, ii) 45 employers of child labourers and iii) 200 households, indirectly reaching 506 children between 5 and 17 years old (not all of whom were working) across the three research areas of Amman, Mafraq and Irbid; secondly, of qualitative interviews with a range of key informants and stakeholders from Jordanian government ministries, international organisations and NGOs.
Sampling:	Random
Sampling size:
Target population:	Urban / Rural Population, Non-Displaced - Host

Child Labour in the Informal Urban Sector in three governorates of Jordan (Amman, Mafraq, and Irbid)

Status:	Published 1 September 2013 - 1 January 2014
Not funded
Methodology:	Focus Group Discussion, Household key informant interviews, Individual key informant interviews
Methodology description:	The study will be conducted using two complementary approaches, namely a desk review and a field assessment. The field reseach will consist firstly of three quantitative surveys involving i) 45 child labourers, ii) 45 employers of child labourers and iii) 200 households, indirectly reaching 506 children between 5 and 17 years old (not all of whom were working) across the three research areas of Amman, Mafraq and Irbid; secondly, of qualitative interviews with a range of key informants and stakeholders from Jordanian government ministries, international organisations and NGOs.
Sampling:	Random
Sampling size:
Target population:	Urban / Rural Population, Non-Displaced - Host

To provide up to date and detailed information on the dynamics and characteristics of child labourers who live in urban environments in Jordan and who work in the informal employment sector. The information is intended to support relevant policy adaptation and implementation for both national and humanitarian responses at national and local levels, and to assist in the design of effective and sustainable interventions that address the root causes and the consequences of child labour.

Needs

Education: Clarify national definition of 'school drop-out'. Continue development of creative education programs for Syrian refugees. Expand extra-curricular activities to keep children occupied in useful learning situations. Cash assistance: Maintain and expand where possible cash assistance to families of child labourers. Awareness Raising and Alternative Support: Improve labour market access, and enable vocational education that is especially focused on youth (although not to the exclusion of others) and income generating activities. Implement national awareness campaigns on child labour, and distribute information targeting Syrians regarding labour laws and child labour via UNHCR registration centres. Improve training for labour inspectors identifying child labour cases. Frameworks and Coordination: Improve and institutionalise the coordination between the Ministries and the service providers that are not currently named in the National Framework for Combating Child Labour (NFCCL) but who are providing services to child labourers and their families. Improve and institutionalise the cooperation between the three Ministries named in the NFCCL with child labour cases - the MoL, the MoE and the MoSD. National Statistics: GOJ should include a specific focus on child labour in existing national surveys.

Main Findings

The urban informal sector employs mainly male children. 66% of working child respondents were between 16 and 17 years old, whilst a further 30% were between 12 and 15 years old. With regards to the type of work undertaken, child labourers were mainly found in streets, shops and restaurants. 38% of working child respondents said they sold food or drinks, 18% worked in the service industry, whilst 16% worked as vendors of non-food goods. Syrian children performed a wider variety of tasks than their Jordanian or Palestinian counterparts. In terms of wages, the majority of child labourers stated that they were paid 3-5JOD per day. 55% said that wages were stable for the period of a whole month, however there was a significant number of child labourers whose work either fluctuates on a daily or weekly basis. 45% of respondents also identified a child as the main or joint-main breadwinner for the household. Children often worked long days and long weeks. 73% of working child respondents stated they worked 6-7 days per week. 64% of respondents said they worked for 4-8 hours per day, however 29% stated that they worked for more than 8 hours per day. Households of working children in Jordan are relying on children’s wages, mainly as a secondary source of income. Only 5% of child labourer respondents stated that their head of household was unemployed. A significant number of children spend their wages on household expenditure and house rent. However, despite this positive economic effect for the family, the other effects of child labour were mainly found to be negative – including negative effects on a child’s rights, a child’s health and safety, and therefore potentially on a child’s future.