On this day, it is important not to forget the children around the world who are being robbed of their childhoods as a result of imperialist interventions and wars. Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression in Gaza, more than 16,000 children have lost their lives, while hundreds of thousands will carry the fear, trauma, and physical and emotional wounds of war for the rest of their lives.

Today, over 160 million children are still trapped in labor, many subjected to hazardous, degrading, and exhausting conditions. These children are denied their right to education, to leisure, to a healthy life, and to a dignified childhood. This is not an unfortunate accident or the result of isolated failures—it is the direct outcome of the exploitative nature of capitalism, which thrives on inequality, poverty, and imperialist domination.

Child labor worldwide has risen to alarming levels in recent years. Between 2016 and 2024—for the first time in over two decades—the number of working children globally has increased. The unprecedented economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the deepening capitalist crisis and wars, continues to push children into ever more exploitative and dangerous labor conditions.

Meanwhile, the same forces that liberalize markets, dismantle public services, and suppress workers’ rights are the ones that drive families into despair and force children into labor. Multinational corporations, complicit governments, and international institutions may present themselves as champions of children’s rights, but in reality, they advance policies that entrench exploitation and strip working people of their dignity and protections.

For the WFTU, it is clear: the eradication of child labor can never be achieved under a system that sees human beings as tools for profit. What is needed is a radical transformation—one that guarantees free, quality public education for all children, ensures decent wages and secure employment for all adults, and strengthens public services and social protection systems. No parent should ever be forced to choose between hunger and sending their child to work.

We reaffirm our militant commitment to this struggle, and we stand in solidarity with workers across the globe who resist exploitation and fight for their rights. The battle against child labor is inseparable from the broader struggle against capitalist injustice and imperialist aggression. It is part of our vision for a society where the needs of the people—not the profits of the few—come first.

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