CHILD LABOR — WHERE’S THE INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION?

By Vincent Lyn

Child labor laws emerged in the late 19th century as a response to industrialization. As the economy became dominated by industrial wage labor, children became perfect candidates for particular roles. For instance, children were used in mines to explore narrow passageways. Poor children in particular were expected to work on behalf of their families, forgoing any educational or social opportunities. While child labor continued throughout agrarian economies, the efficiency and brutality of its industrialization led to a great moral outrage. This led to our modern conception of child labor, a concept that condemns work that deprives young people of a dignified childhood. Since 1918, industrialized countries have begun to combat child labor, making it illegal in most western states. However, child labor remains a common feature of the economy in most parts of the world.

Children who must work in order to support themselves and their families miss out on critical milestones of childhood. Consider the opportunities afforded to most kids in the United States. From library story times to introductory sports camps, there is no shortage of interests and passions for kids to discover — and these interests often turn into long-term hobbies, possibly even resulting in scholarships or career paths. In contrast, kids forced into child labor have no such experiences.

In a report written by Lee Tucker in 2019 a consultant to Human Rights Watch, about the problem of bonded labor in Asia, a young girl shared,

“My sister is 10 years old. Every morning at 7:00 she goes to the bonded-labor man, and every night at 9:00 she comes home. He treats her badly. He hits her if he thinks she is working slowly, or if she talks to the other children, he yells at her. He comes looking for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this is very difficult for her.

“I don’t care about school or playing. I don’t care about any of that. All I want is to bring my sister home from the bonded-labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home. That is our only chance to get her back.

“We don’t have 600 rupees … we will never have 600 rupees the equivalent of U.S. $17.”

It is unthinkable that a child would be subject to such mistreatment. It is deplorable that stories like this are all too common among the most poverty-stricken portions of the world. It is beyond despicable that an estimated 218 million children as young as 5 years old are employed, and that at least 152 million are in forced child labor, according to basic facts about child labor published by the Child labor Coalition.

The facts also reveal several other startling realities about child labor. Among them:

• Children under the age of 12 perform up to a fourth of all hazardous child labor.
• Almost half of all forced child laborers are between the ages of 5 and 11.
• More than 134 million children in forced labor are in Africa and the region of Asia and the Pacific.

If the 218 million child laborers constituted a country of their own, it would be the fifth largest country in the world, exceeded in population only by China, India, the United States and Indonesia.

The worst forms of child labor

Slavery and similar issues such as the trafficking of children, debt bondage, serfdom, children in armed conflict:

Slavery is where one person is owned by and made to work for another person without having any say over what happens to them. Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are not allowed to leave or to refuse to work.

Child trafficking is the illegal trading (buying, selling and movement) of children for labour or sexual exploitation. Children are trafficked for many reasons, including forced labour, prostitution and recruitment as child soldiers and beggars.

Debt bondage is forced labour, where work is exchanged to pay off loans that people cannot pay off with money or goods. For example, a poor family may hand over their child to someone to pay off their debt, and that child will have to work for years until the debt is cleared.

Serfdom is when a person is forced to live and work on land belonging to another person, often with little or no pay.

Forced labor is when someone is made to work against their wishes. For example, Children in armed conflict are forced to fight or to work as cooks, porters and messengers. These children are abused and exploited, often being forced to kill or maim other human beings.

Child labor is a problem worldwide, but it particularly affects children in developing countries. Child labor is characterized by full-time work at too early of an age, and too many hours spent working. The work often exerts undue physical, social, or psychological stress, hampers access to education, and may be detrimental to social and psychological development. Of the 218 million 18 % of children aged 5–14, are economically active worldwide. 60% of these working children live in Asia, and 23% live in sub-Saharan Africa. Most economically active children are employed in agriculture. For example, in Nepal, 85% of economically active children are in agriculture. In Cambodia, the rate is 73% while in Morocco it is 84%.

The type of child labor is the most important determinant of the incidence of work-related injuries. An estimated 6 million work-related injuries occur among children annually, which results in 2.5 million disabilities and 32,000 fatalities every year. In developing countries, children often work under hazardous conditions in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. For these children, crushing accidents, amputations, and fractures account for 10% of all work-related injuries. Working children are not only at risk of physical injury, but are vulnerable to workplace toxins and chemical hazards as well. Specific hazards vary according to the industry type. Child workers may be exposed to high temperatures, and a high risk of accidents caused by cuts and burns if they work in the brassware and glass-bangle industry. Children who work in matches and firebox shops may be exposed to chemical hazards and a risk of fire and explosion. Children who work in the carpet industry are exposed to repetitive movements, chemical hazards, inhalation of wool dust contaminated with biological agents, and inadequate working postures. Lastly, children who work in the shoe industry are often exposed to glue.

Using data derived from the Global Burden of Diseases Study (GBDS), estimates of child occupational mortality rates by region were found to be comparable with adult mortality rates, indicating that the conditions in which children work are as dangerous as, or more dangerous then, those in which adults work.

Child labor not only negatively affects a child’s health, but it also negatively impacts his/her ability to receive schooling and perform academically. When children are forced by their families to work, they no longer have the time to attend school. Though there are a significant number of children who go to school and work, the work may negatively impact their studies. Data from 12 Latin American countries find that third and fourth graders who attend school and never conduct market or domestic work perform 28% better on mathematics tests and 19% better on language tests than children who both attend school and work. Child labor is also problematic because it creates a vicious cycle. A study conducted in Egypt found that many fathers couldn’t find work or were unemployed for health reasons that were a result of them having worked too long hours, in conditions that negatively impacted their health as children. For example, one man had worked in pottery factories since childhood and was blinded as a result. Thus, one of his sons was then forced at the age of 8 to provide for the family and engage in full-time work.

Low income, poverty, and poor educational institutions are the driving forces behind the prevalence of child labor worldwide. Child labor exists because education systems and labor markets do not function properly, because poor households cannot insure themselves against income fluctuations, and because perverse incentives exist that create a demand for child labor. Thus, many families, especially those in developing countries, need extra income or can’t afford to send their children to school, so they send them to work.

Historical growth rates suggest that reducing child labor through improvements in living standards alone will take time. If a more rapid reduction in the general incidence of child labor is a policy goal, improving educational systems and providing financial incentives to poor families to send children to school may be more useful solutions to the child labor problem than punitive measures designed to prevent children from earning income.

Vincent Lyn

CEO/Founder at We Can Save Children

Director of Creative Development at African Views Organization

Economic & Social Council at United Nations

Middle East Correspondent at Wall Street News Agency

Rescue & Recovery Specialist at International Confederation of Police & Security Experts