Report finds progress but child labour still a massive issue

摘要

The latest report from Tulane University on the West African chocolate industry estimates that 2.12 million children worked in cocoa production in the 2013/2014 cocoa harvest season in Cote d'lvoire and Ghana.The study, commissioned by the US Department of Labor, found evidence of important progress - including significant improvements in access to education for child workers in both countries - but also found that nearly 96 per cent of the 2.12 million children working in cocoa production in the two countries were involved in hazardous work in the 2013/14 harvest season, a 13 per cent increase from the 2008/2009 season. The report also shows an increasing number of children carrying heavy loads and using sharp tools, with a high rate of work hazards and injuries reported in both countries.