Up to 17.3% of domestic helps in Hanoi and HCM City are aged below 18, according to a research conducted by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Society and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Up to 17.3% of domestic helps in Hanoi and HCM City are aged below 18

The Vietnamese Labour Code allows children from 15 years old to work as a domestic help as long as it avoids affecting their studies.

However, ILO Vietnam Country Director Gyorgy Sziraczki said, “Since their work is often hidden from the public eye, child domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation and abuse.”

Deputy Minister Diep said the fight against child labour, particularly in its worst forms, requires the participation of families, communities and society at large.

The ILO estimates that 15.5 million children around the world are engaged in paid or unpaid domestic work in the home of a third party or employer. The vast majority of all child domestic workers are girls and more than half of them are found in hazardous child domestic work.

The organisation called for special attention to the issue of domestic child labour on this year’s World Day Against Child Labour.