Child Labor

1026 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Consequences of child labour on the children industrial revolution

Child Labor

Child Labor, refers to the economically active population under the age of fifteen years old, who are employed in various industries (Grootaert, 2). Recently, child labor has become a large topic of debate; however, in most cases, it is very unfavorable. The perception that globalization is leading towards the exploitation of children, is becoming an important problem for international business. In my opinion, child labor should be eradicated. It is not only harmful to the health of children, but it takes away their chance for an education, and simply takes away their childhood.
The International Labor Organization estimates that 250 million children around the world, between the ages of five and fourteen, work. Out of the 250 million, 120 million of them work fulltime (ILO, 5). Child labor is common in industries such as agriculture, domestic services, carpet and textile, quarrying and brick making, and also prostitution. Some children work in factories and other workplaces in the “formal economy;” however, many work on farms or in homes. Child labor has many hazardous effects on the health of children. Some children work in areas such as stone quarries, tanning leather, and electroplating metals. All of these working conditions endanger the health of the child. Children in different occupations face different fatal diseases. Silicosis, which is caused from working in stone cutting, brick factories, granite and slate factories is one such disease. Tuberculosis, is also another disease endeared by children in pottery related industries. Another very big problem, because of poor living conditions, is malnutrition.
The lack of education for working children is also another very serious problem. Child laborers work for most of the day, and in some cases 16 hours a day. There is no question, that education is a major contributing factor to the overall development of the child. Yet, because of the long working hours, children are deprived of time for education. Some children are more or less slaves, controlled by their employer to work all the time. In other cases, the parents are even responsible for child labor, because they give priority to labor and making money, over education. Some children must earn the income for the entire household (Grootaert, 3). Asi...

... middle of paper ...

...). However, developing countries including Brazil and India, which have very high rates of child labor, rejected the proposal. But the rate of child labor is still dropping. In 1996, Brazil had 3.3 million child laborers. Soon after, international pressures, forced President Fernando Henrique Cardoso to create an anti-child labor initiative. This program basically paid parents to send their children to school. By the year 2000, the amount of child workers decreased to 2.5 million.
Today, child labor is still decreasing, but it seems almost impossible to eradicate. Child labor is ethically wrong and immoral; and yet, there are still businesses that choose to turn their heads away.

Works Cited:

Bachman, S. L. “The Political Economy of Child Labor and its Impacts on International Business.” Business Economics Jul. 2000: 1-4.

Buckley, Stephen. “The Littlest Laborers: Why does Child Labor Continue to Thrive in the Developing World?” Washington Post 16 Mar. 2000: 1-5.

Grootaert, Christian. “Child Labor: an Economic Perspective.” International Labor Review 136. 1995: 2, 3, 7.

International Labor Organization. 1996. 20 Jun. 2001. <www.ILO.com. >

Show More
Related

  • Ursula Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    The use of child labor across the globe presents one way that the world is similar to, but largely different than Omelas. In the article, “Child Labor: An Overview,” Melanie Barton Zoltan states that, according to UNICEF, “168 million children between the ages of five and seventeen are employed in some form for wages, accounting for one in ten children worldwide. Most of these children are from the world’s bottom 20 percent income bracket.” Child labor is obviously a major

    Read More

  • Human Rights in Ender´s Game by Orson Scott Card

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shah, Anup. "Child Labor." - Global Issues. Anup Shah, 17 July 2005. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. .

    Read More

  • Sweat Shops

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    All of my life I have considered myself as a person who loves children. I enjoy playing with them, helping them, and just being around them. So when I first agreed with corporations who use child labor I shocked myself completely. After examining two articles; one “The Case for Sweatshops”, by David R. Henderson, and two “Sweatshops or a Shot at a Better Life”, by Cathy Young, I came to the conclusion that in some cases when young children work under proper conditions it can keep them out of the streets and be helpful to them and their families.

    Read More

  • Child Labor

    1721 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout time children have worked myriad hours in hazardous workplaces in order to make a few cents to a few dollars. This is known as child labor, where children are risking their lives daily for money. Today child labor continues to exist all over the world and even in the United States where children pick fruits and vegetables in difficult conditions. According to the article, “What is Child Labor”; it states that roughly 215 million children around the world are working between the ages of 5 and 17 in harmful workplaces. Child labor continues to exist because many families live in poverty and with more working hands there is an increase in income. Other families take their children to work in the fields because they have no access to childcare and extra money is beneficial to buy basic needs. Although there are laws and regulations that protect children from child labor, stronger enforcement is required because child labor not only exploits children but also has detrimental effects on a child’s health, education, and the people of the nation.

    Read More

  • Child Labor during the Industrial Revolution

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Basu, Kaushik, and Pham Hoang Van. "The Economics of Child Labor." The Economics of Child Labor (1998): 412-27. Print.

    Read More

  • What Are The Causes Of Child Labor Essay

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Here many uneducated children, who do not have the financial resources to stay in school, migrate into big urban cities in search of jobs to make ends meet. The type of work that these young kids go and find are usually very labor intensive jobs such as textile, clothing, shoe, and toy manufacturing. Where they need little to no prior knowledge of working, and are put in long hours and very repetitive jobs. During my research I found that in China it is more common to see young girls working either in workshops or in the street, than it is for young boys. This is due to the fact that girls in China are not forced by their parents to complete their studies. The government of China does have laws and rules against the use of child labor in factories. There are special agencies that specifically go to each and every workshop or factory every year in search of child labor. The only problem with these laws and agencies is that they are not very enforcing. When an employer is caught using child labor, whether it is forced, excessive, or in hazardous conditions they are simply given a fine that they must pay to the government, and are forced to return the child home immediately. This causes for big private companies to simply keep hiring and hiring cheap child labor and only paying a fine without seriously facing the consequences. Employers usually also close their doors during the day, to not let any

    Read More

  • Child Labor Controversy Essay

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    Child labor laws need to be enforced more because governments are paying little attention to those who abuse the laws; therefore children are being abused physically by long hours and economically by low pay. Farmers and many businesses in third world countries are accused of taking major advantage of these laws. This topic is highlighted as one of the highest controversial issues in labor politics. Child labor is a major issue in countries such as Africa, Argentina, and Bangladesh. For example, in Africa, some children do the work of a grown man for as little as one dollar a day. On the other hand, in the United States some studies show that child labor is a bigger problem in the U.S than some third world countries (Barta and others). Many farmers are facing a huge problem; the government is attempting to keep children from working long hours on their family farms.

    Read More

  • Child Labor

    1869 Words  | 4 Pages

    Child Labour In the past few years, a great deal of attention has been drawn to the global problem of child labour. Virtually everyone is guilty of participating in this abusive practice through the purchase of goods made in across the globe, usually in poor, developing nations. This issue has been around for a great length of time but has come to the forefront recently because of reports that link well known American companies like Wal-Mart and Nike to the exploitation of children. Prior to this media attention, many Americans and other people in developed nation were blind to the reality of the oppressive conditions that are reality to many.

    Read More

  • The Definition Of Child Labor: What Is Child Labor?

    2392 Words  | 5 Pages

    Stalzer, C. (2009). Effect of investment in education on child labor. Journal of Politics &

    Read More

  • Child Labor

    2143 Words  | 5 Pages

    Child Labor is not an isolated problem. The phenomenon of child labor is an effect of economic discrimination. In different parts of the world, at different stages of histories, laboring of child has been a part of economic life. More than 200 million children worldwide, some are as young as 4 and 5 years old, are slaves to the production line. These unfortunate children manufacture shoes, matches, clothing, rugs and countless other products that are flooding the American market and driving hard-working Americans out of jobs. These children worked long hours, were frequently beaten, and were paid a pittance. In 1979, a study shows more than 50 million children below the age of 16 were considered child labor (United Nation labors agency data). In 1998, according to the Campaign for Labor rights that is a NGO and United Nation Labor Agency, 250 million children around the world are working in farms, factories, and household. Some human rights experts indicate that there are as many as 400 million children under the age of 15 are performing forced labor either part or full-time under unsafe work environment. Based upon the needs of the situation, there are specific areas of the world where the practice of child labor is taking place. According to the journal written by Basu, Ashagrie gat...

    Read More

  • Child Labour: NOT Always Wrong

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    If a child has a part-time job, they can learn the value of money. So I believe that the issue of child labour is not simple. As Unicef’s 1997 State of the World’s Children Report argued, children’s work needs to be seen as having two extremes. On one hand, there is the destructive or exploitative work and, on the other hand, there is beneficial work - promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest. ‘And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development.’

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Child Labor

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Millions of children in developing countries all over the world are being exploited daily. “Many have referred to child labor as a triangular circle” (Grimsrud,F. & Stokke, M., 1997), this is because children, who are being forced to work are being deprived of an education

    Read More

  • ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    If we try to solve these problems, the rate of child labour will reduce by 50 percent. With this confidence, for the last three years we are conducting the programmes of educational awareness for eradication of child labour. 4. Causes of Child Labour : Problems faced by parents, social backwardness, illiteracy and dislike for schooling, etc.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Child Labor

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    One point that proponents of Child Labor argue that countries like Bolivia are providing for these poor children safe jobs to work in. However, (ILO) reported that " The rate of injury per hour worked appears to be nearly twice as high for children adolescents as adults"("Child labour in," 2002). Mining, manufacturing, cultivating and constructing are dangerous forms of legalized Child Labor that Latin American working children are involved in. Mining factories are hazardous because Oxygens levels are often low, and sometimes it requires an efficient gear like Oxygen bars to work. Unfortunately, these working children face difficulties in breathing while they are stressed and under the ground in caves. In addition, they face the risk of chocking and die because they are not supplied with the tools and the gear to work in such places. Furthermore, constructing buildings demands high physical power and high levels of concentration and focus especially in heights. Sadly, many children left wooden and ironic parts of construction that double or triple the weight of these working teenagers. Consequently, these weak workers often...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Child Labour

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    Source 17: International Labour Organization, “Effective abolition of child labour”, International Labour Organization, May 22, 2014, http://ilo.org/declaration/principles/abolitionofchildlabour/lang--en/index.htm

    Read More

More about Child Labor

Open Document