More child labour research from Ontario

Working through some revisions on an article, I ran across this 2010 study from the Canadian journal of public health. “Workplace experiences of young workers in Ontario” documents the hours, duties and supervision/training of workers between 14 and 19.

The crux (lifted from the abstract) is:

…a substantial number of youth are working at least 20 hours per week when school is in session, and many reported having worked after 11 pm on a night before school. Young workers engaged in a variety of hazardous tasks, including heavy lifting, using sharp objects, working with hot equipment, or working around falling objects.

A small subset (7.5%) of teens had suffered an injury at work that was severe enough to cause them to miss a day of school or work or require medical attention. … Although regular check-ins were common, many youth (38%) said they had worked at least part of the day without supervision. Young females were most likely to work without supervision or to work alone. (p.380)

This study adds to the growing body of evidence regarding the prevalence of child labour in Canada and the risks Canadian children are exposed to in the workplace.

-- Bob Barnetson