Child labour involves 340,000 in Italy, 168 mn worldwide

(ANSA) - Rome, June 11 - There are at least 340,000 children under age 16 in Italy who work or are forced to work, and 168 million children and adolescents who are forced to work worldwide, according to statistics released by UN agency International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Thursday, on the eve of World Day Against Child Labour. Together with Save the Children, ILO is calling for a national program in Italy on child labour to prevent and combat labour exploitation of children and adolescents in the country. Italy's national child abuse hotline, Telefono Azzurro, on Thursday reported that 84% of child labour exploitation cases reported to the organisation involve begging, 85% of which involve foreign children. Of those cases, 71.4% of children are between the ages of 0-10 years old, with nearly half of all cases, or 41.3%, reported in southern Italy, said Telefono Azzurro.