|
Short
Biography |
She was born in
İstanbul in 1940. As a result of her father’s occupation she
travelled all around in Turkey. She graduated from Ankara
University Faculty of Language, History and Geography in
1962. She attained her masters degree from Hacettepe
University, Department of Child Development and Psychology.
She produced the ‘child hour’ program for 17 years at
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s Ankara Radio,
where she started working while she was a student. She also
produced youth, woman and literature programs for the radio.
She wrote many fairy tales including ‘The Tale of The
Universe’.
She always assigned an immense importance to the works of
volunteer based organisations. She is among the founders and
directors of Publishers Association, TRT-Der, Contemporary
Journalists Association, Association of Supporting
Contemporary Life Ankara Branch and Republican Women
Association. She was the president of Woman Solidarity
Foundation which is a corner stone for the women’s movement
in Turkey. She is still the the president of nationally and
internationally admired Fişek Institute Science and Action
Foundation for Child Labour which is the leader of studies
and works in the field of action against child labour. |
|
Speech |
HUMAN RIGHTS –
CHILD LABOUR
THE FISEK MODEL FOR SMEs EMPLOYING CHILD & ADOLESCENT
WORKERS : GROUP HEALTH AND SAFETY SERVICES
Oya Fisek*
1.
Introduction
We can neither give up on our children, nor their future. In
countries where children and adolescents are working, we
must take a comprehensive social politics approach besides
occupational health and safety precautions in order to
overcome the problems of children working in hazardous
conditions.
In Turkey, we reached out to worker and employer groups who
had never accessed to occupational health and safety
services before by assembling an organization of 500
enterprises. Based on the employers financing the services
which they believe to be beneficial, 23 years of experience
and a sustainable model has come out.
The studies we started in four cities as an NGO has reached
its aim. Today, the government and many people accept that
this groupstudy can be realized which seemed as an
impossible mission at first. Ministry of Labour and Social
Security is discussing on extending the “Group Health &
Safety Services” country-wide and started to implement into
legislation.
The essential part of the Fisek Model is providing measures
to ease the working life of children and adolescents in the
short term after accepting that working of children is
dependent on economic and social policies. As we frequently
witness evidence of gender inequality during our studies,
the model is also gender sensitive.
2. A Special Approach for
Short Term “Interventions” :
FISEK MODEL
Official statistics of Turkey indicates that 4 million
children work in the country 1 million of whom are employed
full-time by industry. To make workplaces “tolerable” for
there children constituting 1.5% of the total population,
can be achieved by providing health and social services for
them. As a first
step, effect of the working conditions of the health of the
working children must be determined which will give way to
recommending and implementing remedies to the ones having
adverse effects. To meet this requirement Fisek Model offers
health services with its mobile health caravans. Along side
with this health service one separate group offers
occupational health and safety services while another one
offers social services. [i]
The system was initially established with the contribution
from MEAWARDS, WHO and ILO / IPEC which has been
strengthened and sustained with the contribution of the
employers of the small workplaces who benefit from the
services. The
system has been in operation for 17 years in 3 different
centers covering more than 100 small workplaces at each.
From the goals set and the results obtained, the system can
be defined as activities to determine the possible measures
to ease adverse aspects effecting and endangering health,
safety and morale of working children, and to help implement
them. Preparing models, and carrying out various activities
such as symposiums, seminars, publications etc. are also
part of the system to help promote or initiate long term
policies. Multi- disciplinary approach has also been
adopted.
2.1. Social Measures :
Social Measures can be considered in two main categories :
2.1.1.Programmes are implemented to fight discrimination
against girls
à Intensive training programmes are carried out
à Vocational courses are arranged and implemented
2.1.2. Activities are carried out to create more leisure
time during which they can re-gain their child identity
à Children will enjoy their childhood, play and meet with
other children.
• Working hours will be shortened, youth centres and holiday
villages will be built to make them spend their leisure time
together.
à Children will continue their education.
• Training seminars should be organized to give them both
occupational and health-social-cultural information.
2.2. Medical and Technical Measures :
As part of medical and technical measures two main
activities are carried out by a multi-disciplinary team.
2.2.1. Medical examination&biological monitoring of working
children are carried out.
à To prevent children from being employed in jobs
inappropriate for their power and health examinations are
carried out in job entry.
à To prevent their work to harm their health periodical
health checks are performed at least two times a year.
2.2.2. Working environment of their workplaces are tried to
be improved
à Measurements of air, noise, dust etc. and risk analysis
are made in the working environment.
à The relevant consultancy service including training are
provided and if deemed necessary support in also provided
for implementation.
3.
Conclusions
As part of their basic human rights, children must live
their childhood, have proper leisure time and evaluate it
for their good and benefit, must have good education, must
be kept away from the problems of unemployment, low income
or poverty. Humanbeings can survive as they fight for their
basic rights because having these rights written on
documents has not been enough to secure them Therefore,
increasing number of children have been urged to start
working at early ages thus eliminating many of their basic
human rights. In addition globalization and frequent
periodical economical crises also help extension of child
labor via considerable increases in poverty.
As the basic human rights jeopardized, more and more duties
must be met by non-governmental organizations (NGO). They
must inform the society and make it more sensitive to such
issues and by new approaches and experiments them must
survive the ideal of solidarity. As an NGO, Fisek Institute
has developed her own model on working children and has
offered it to the benefit of the society.
By minimizing physical, mental and morale injuries of the
children working at small workplaces via the services
provided by the Fisek Model, workplaces have been made
“tolerable” for temporary employment of children which
proves that improved workplaces for them is not just a dream
but an achievable goal.
[i] Fisek A.G. (1998) :
“Health Services for Working Children in Turkey”,
XXII.International Congress of Pediatrics (9-14 August 1998,
Amsterdam), International
Pediatric Association. |
