The Press and Radio-Canada recently disclosed disturbing findings on the employment situation of young people and their safety at work in Quebec. The situation is all the more worrying in a pandemic context, in the face of a labor shortage. The question I ask myself is this: is this only the tip of the iceberg? How many do not speak?
Posted at 2:00 p.m.
Quebec has no minimum age for employment. Children under 14 can work with the consent of their parents. The employer must not impose on a child work “disproportionate to his abilities or likely to compromise his education or harm his health or physical or moral development”, according to article 84.2 of the Labor Standards Act. The same law will also impose certain restrictions in order to reconcile work with the obligation to attend school.
Although the Youth Protection Act protects against exploitation, a worrying vagueness remains in the application of article 84.2 of the Labor Standards Act. Indeed, the responsibility for protecting children is left to the good judgment of employers, and even children in certain situations. Who can judge the disproportionate nature of a job, the complexity of the equipment to be used to accomplish the tasks or the ease for children to manage situations such as sexism or productivity pressure? Is it conceivable that the answer might differ from person to person and from industry to industry? Moreover, by putting oneself in the place of young people, is there sufficient knowledge of the rights and recourses in a problematic work situation, such as the threat of dismissal? Is there an effective way to report a situation to someone trained in the specific needs and rights of children?
It must be clearly understood that we are not exercising a right that we do not know about, and a right without accessible, effective and appropriate recourse to sanction it is quite simply symbolic for these young people.
An abolitionist approach which would consist in banning everything is not desirable for two reasons. The first is that it encourages the creation of an unchecked parallel system where abuse occurs. The second is that not all types of work are necessarily harmful to the well-being of children and that, let’s not forget, young people want to be able to work and we have to listen to them. Rather, I propose, here, a reflection in favor of a reform that respects the rights of children.
In this context, referring to international standards can be useful. There are the conventions of the International Labor Organization. However, the game-changing instrument for children and young people under the age of 18 is the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which posits him as a holder of rights and not an object of protection. It is a balance between the protection of children and their right to be actors participating in their protection. In other words, young people can enlighten decision-makers on the remedies to be put in place so that they are easily accessible to them.
A reform with young people and children, but what a great step towards a Quebec worthy of them! Utopian, will you tell me? No. The tools exist, you just have to give yourself the means.
It is not possible to pass over in silence, here, a reason why certain young people and children work, in a context of rising cost of living which is not decreasing. Children work to help their families meet such basic needs as housing and food. The answer to the problem, it seems to me, is a societal choice. What society do we want for children? A society that accepts that its children are obliged – and not faced with a real choice – to work to provide for the vital needs of their families, or a society with budgetary policies that take into account their needs and their rights, sensitive to their reality, aimed, above all, at their full development, one of the results of which would make it possible to improve financial assistance for families and children? I sincerely believe in this second choice. I believe in a Quebec truly worthy of its children.
The current system is adult-centred. It is designed by adults for working adults. Can we imagine a line of communication dedicated to working children, specific training for young people and employers, but also even stricter rules for protection and admission to employment according to the types of work? The answer is complex, because the phenomenon is just as complex. This subject also brings forward the establishment of a “children’s advocate” type mechanism with a broad mandate and which can intervene and demand accountability on matters concerning children, and this, with the children.