14 year-old Artak Margaryan started taking out the village herds to pasture singlehandedly at the age of nine.
Sona Margaryan, Artak’s mother says “The boy must get a taste for work starting now, so that down the road he can support a family.” Photos: Nver Zalyan.
Violation of children’s labour rights
In Armenia poor parents sell or hire the children out as workers. Boys and girls at the age of 14, 15 or 16 wash cars, sweep the streets and take similar jobs. Mostly illegal.
Posted on June 21st, 2009
The labor laws of Republic of Armenia are designed to guarantee the rights of working adolescents, but the corresponding state structures are incapable of effectively defending those rights. And all the children are working with the full knowledge and consent of the parents - due to socio-economical reasons.
The parents, the kids and the employers have all come to an arrangement to solve the basic set of social problems. For indigent families not knowing where their next meal will come from, references to the law are met with more than a fair share of derision and mockery.
But the professionals are convinced: either, adolescents shouldn’t be allowed to work or the methods used to monitor the actions of employers must be tightened.
Journalist: Armen Davtyan
Published 04.05.2009 by the newspaper Hraparak and hetq online
To read the story in english, please click here:
Article 1
Article 2
To read the whole story in Armenian, please click here.
To read the whole story in Russian, please click here.
