Child Labour

Child Labour

There is no universal meaning for Child Labour.It is generally work that children do that exploits or harms them in some way. The definition of a "child" is defined as a person who is 18 years of age or younger. At 18 years old, this child is actually able to work legally in several countries. That being said, not all work is bad for children. For example, a child who would deliver newspapers would actually benefit from this job since they will be gaining responsibility, learning how to work and gaining revenue on the side. Although there are other cases that must be put into consideration such as if the child is paid poorly or not at all. This is an example of exploitative work especially if it interferes with the child's main cognitive development or health.

Other jobs given to children that are harmful are being exposed to dangerous chemicals when spraying pesticides or painting products on an assembly line, continuously lifting heavy loads that can curve the spine. Globally, there are millions of children who work to support themselves and their families. In fact, the ILO (International Labour Organization) had said that "246 million child workers aged 5 and 17 were involved in child labor, of which 171 million were involved in work that by its nature is hazardous to their safety, physical or mental health, and moral development. Moreover, some 8.4 million children were engaged in so-called 'unconditional' worst forms of child labor, which include forced and bonded labor, the use of children in armed conflict, trafficking in children and commercial sexual exploitation." (2000)

Even though the exact number of child labourers will never be known, from the recorded amount, the ILO has found that 61% live in Asia, 32% live in Africa, and 7% live in Latin America, 1% in US, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations. In Asia, 22% of the total workforce is children and in Latin America, 17% of the total workforce is children.

"In Africa, one child in three is at work, and in Latin America, one child in five works. In both these continents, only a tiny proportion of child workers are involved in the formal sector and the vast majority of work is for their families, in homes, in the fields or on the streets." -- Unicef’s 1997 State of the World’s Children Report

Often, a child will have to go to work to support their working parents and other working siblings, or there are cases where children will be the sole providers for their family including their parents. Companies will not hire the parents over the children simply because they are mentally stronger and they cannot be manipulated as easily as a child would. Also they can easily get away with paying much less.

There have been hundreds of thousands of injuries and even deaths to children who are in the workforce because their job is dangerous. Within the next ten years, the majority of new workers, citizens and new consumers will come from developing countries. These people will also be the ones whose needs and their skills will develop the world’s economy and society. Although what will happen with the amount of people in that group who had to work at an early age causing either health implications or delays on their education? How will this effect the Global community as a whole?

In today's society, people learn about child labour at an early age and grow up knowing about their household brands that take part in it. As time goes on, it simply becomes apart of the norm and there is very little done about it. One large company that takes part in child labour is Nike. Even though it is widely known that they do this - except for products that were manufactured in Canada - there is barely a boycott towards to company. If anything, Nike has been, and seems to continue to be in the spotlight for one of the top brands and brand images to own today.

There are several solutions to child labour, although rarely implemented, a few small steps can go a long way one community at a time. Increased family income, Education for children, Social services to help families through hard times and family control of fertility so that they are not burdened with children. Theses are a few general things that can reduce child labour. Although depending on the country and this economic state, the solution will be different.

-Ilona V-