The study used the Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (APIS) as basis for establishing the condition of child labour in the country. It also highlighted lessons learned by NGOs that are into child labour and children-related programs.The experiences of the NGOs cited, like the Visayan Forum, Kamalayan Development Foundation, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), Educational Research and Development Assistance, Inc. (ERDA) and World Vision Development Foundation, Inc. (WVDF), have been summarized to come up with elements of a direct action program.
1. Child labourers in different sectors have different needs that require different sets of intervention. In cases where the working conditions are really very harsh, as in bonded labour, the response has to be rescue and rehabilitation. In other sectors, the main problem has to do with work schedules being incompatible with regular school hours. The strategy would therefore require special arrangements for schooling.
2. The major push factor in child labour is poverty. Thus, the strategy should introduce other opportunities for livelihood.
3. Advocacy and community organizing should always be included since these interventions address the non-economic reasons why children join the labour market prematurely. For instance, data show that about 30 percent of families where the child labourer comes from are not really poor even if the earnings of the child are deducted.
4. Another offshoot of advocacy efforts is the mobilization of a large pool of volunteer advocates and workers for anti-child labour interventions.
5. The local government and the community have to be involved in the program to ensure effectiveness and sustainability.
6. Educational assistance has to include a tutorial component that can also double as monitoring component. Dropouts can be given remedial classes so that they are better prepared for reintegration into formal schooling. In some cases, they can be asked to take qualifying examinations after attending remedial classes so that they can skip certain grade levels and not be too overaged when they attend formal school.The study also outlined an action program designed to: (a) reduce the incidence of the worst forms of child labour into half over a period of five years; (b) achieve a complete prevention of these worst forms in the next five years; (c) transfer children from work to education resulting in full primary school enrollment in years 11 to 15; and (d) achieve universal participation of children in education up to lower secondary school, with no work interfering with successful school performance at any level.
