CHILD LABOR

Child labor

Abstract

Child labor is one of the most contentious debates presented today. It is a problem that is increased throughout the world and has in some way or another been a problem of every country. Child labor cannot be described using one specific definition because it has several meanings and interpretation in almost every country. We cannot just pass laws to eliminate child labor worldwide. However, we can set up parnerships with international organization to place penalities and guidelines for those who go against them. In addition, subsidies to poor families should be required of large corporations employing people in underdeveloped countries.

Child Labor

Introduction

Children in every society do some kind of work. But the nature and extent of their work are influenced largely by the pace and level of development and structure of the economy. Children work on the land and in the village; in and around the home; on the streets; in the crafts and trading; in plantations, in mines and factories. They are found almost everywhere under varying forms and terms of employment. Many work as unpaid family labor, but a growing number are also found working as wage laborer, casually hired, just as casually fired.

They are mostly found nearly everywhere. No one is sure how many children work because of child laborers are largely hidden from the world. According to ILO (2004):

Asia has the highest numbers of child workers- forty-four million in India alone.

Latin America countries have up to twenty-six percent of children at work.

African countries as many as twenty per cent of the children are reported to be working, and child workers make up as much as seventeen per cent of the workforce.

In Europe, high concentrations of children work in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

In the USA hundreds of thousands of children work in agriculture and garment factories.

There are several reasons on why children work. Poverty is widely considered the top reason why children work at inappropriate jobs for their ages. Most children that are forced to work are economically disadvantaged. Either their country as a whole is disadvantaged, or just their family. A child goes out to work to contribute to the family or personal income. Also, they often they work by choice to make extra pocket money for things they want, to help put themselves trough college or to survive. Therefore, the only alternative left for children is work in subsistence farming or fishing and petty commerce in which the family is engaged.

Legislations, is another reason in some exceptional cases. However, in an overwhelming majority of countries law exists concerning minimum age for admission to employment and regulations on the employment of children. Furthermore, the problem is because of the ineffectiveness of enforcing them. For in many countries the inspection system is not adequately developed; legislations often exclude traditional workshops, quasi-family undertakings, petty commerce, street trades and agriculture where the majority of children work and where the enforcement of legislations is difficult.

In some cases, ignorance, negligence or indifference towards the question ...