What is child labour?

A child is defined as anyone under the age of 18 under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most ratified convention in the world detailing 54 provisions of international standards of child care (UNCRC, 1989). Child labour can be when children are forced to work for people who they sometimes call their masters, they are taken advantage of by the people who keep them, to work long hours, with no breaks or very few. It can be them being held and treated like a prisoner by being locked to their working station and not given privacy, anywhere to wash, or even go to the bathroom. It can involve children becoming malnourished by their masters giving them insufficient amounts of food so that they stay small to get more work out of them (D’Adamo, 2003). It also involves children not getting paid a fair amount or anything at all, the work that is done by children is also sometimes some of the most dangerous where they are in severe risk of injury and physical harm (Kielburger, 2008).

The State of the World’s Children document states that 150 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour around the world (UNICEF, 2009). The children that are involved in the labour are boys and girls of all ages, some children begin working alongside their parents as soon as they can walk, and others are loaned, kidnapped, or sold for little money. The children that are involved are those who are usually extremely poor and whose families cannot afford to do anything to help them or take care of them. Child labour tends to be more prevalent in developing countries where although there may still be laws against it, they are not always as readily enforced (UNICEF, 2009). Some places where child labour is more known for happening is places in Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, and India,  but it happens in many other countries all around the world and even in parts of North America, as child labour can incorporate such a wide variety of things. Children can also get involved in the labour because they think that they are gaining skills that it will help them in their future, or that they are helping support their family and that that is part of their responsibility within their household (Kielburger, 2008).

Child labour is an ongoing issue as children everywhere need to be seen as citizens with equal human rights no matter where they live or who they are, all children deserve to have the same things in life such as going to school and having time to rest (Kielburger, 2008). Child labour does go against many laws and provisions in many countries but it tends to be overlooked by people involved in flawed justice systems. We also believe that in Westernized societies we have nothing to do with child labour as we don’t have a large number of incidences of it, yet it exists around the globe and is influenced by globalization, as the trafficking of cheap goods around the world is what drives cheap child labour.

What labour do children do?

Children coerced into labour have a variety of jobs that they are often used for which varies from country and region. Some tasks can be things like fetching food or water and carrying packages places. Others work as scavengers searching dumps and streets for items to sell like rags and metal, or containers to recycle. Carpet making is mostly done by children as well, as their small hands and fingers allow them to be able to tie lots of little fast knots and work the looms (D’Adamo, 2003). Children can also work at metal factories, firework factories, brick factories, and sweat shops among other places. Much of this work can also be extremely harmful to children’s health as they are exposed to awful fumes and dyes, harmful wires and sharp objects such as needles and glass. Some of the work even puts children in risk of being severely burned, cut, and infected with germs and diseases, as they are not provided with any ways of protecting themselves. Many children do not even have shoes for their feet. Some masters will even go as far to deprive children of food so that they will stay tiny so that they can get more work from them. These conditions are extremely dangerous to children’s health and even hinder their growth and development (D’Adamo, 2003; Kielburger, 2008).

Sometimes it can seem as though child labour isn’t so bad, or that it does not really happen all over the world, however, it can simply be a misconception that child labour is not prevalent. The media chooses what it wants to show the public so countries are not obligated to openly show these conditions (Bugeja, 2007). There is also an interesting dynamic that goes on as many adults in developing countries do not share the view that child labour is harmful, yet they try to hide the children and the situations as if they know that it is wrong (D’Adamo, 2003; Kielburger, 2008). Still the media is biased and countries will not show these situations so they do not look bad to other nations. This follows the same idea with ratifying the UNCRC with no real intention on implementing it in local communities, but to look favourable in the eyes of other nations (Twum-Danso, 2008). The media can also influence our views of child labour in thinking that it only happens in developing countries but that is not the case as it can happen in North America as well. The media can also produce stereotypes of child labourers and people may become desensitized to this image although it is not always an accurate representation of their reality or the underlying causes of it (Bugeja, 2007).

            Children engaged in labour directly goes against many provisions in the UNCRC including article 19, relating to the right to be free from being mistreated or hurt, and article 32, stating that you have the right to be free from work that can harm you or if you do work that you get treated and paid fair. Child labour goes directly against many other provisions as well such as articles 33 through 39, relating to exploitation of children, neglect, deprivation, torture, identity, and liberty (UNCRC, 1989). These are LARGE violations of children’s rights however, provisions are hard to monitor and for some countries it is in their norms that the practices are not wrong, but as mentioned some people try hard to cover up what they are doing, which all ends up denying children their civil freedoms (UNICEF, 2009). These are the variety of provisions where different types of labour go directly against, nevertheless child labour also indirectly goes against almost every provision in the convention such as being able to go to school for an education, or having your thoughts heard by adults (UNCRC, 1989) . No matter where people are in the world we all have the right to the same quality of life, the right to protection from harm and to be free to have an identity (UNICEF, 2009).

Why does child labour happen?

When we look into why child labour happens we can look into a few areas such as the employers, the family, and also the broader community context. The employers and merchants want children labourers because they are cheap to keep and they do not have to feed them or pay them a fair wage. They also have very tiny hands so they can do some of the repetitive tasks that require precession and dexterity which an adult would have a harder time doing (D’Adamo, 2003). We can also look at the family situation and see that most of the time the family is struggling and has to go in debt for a variety of reasons such as needing medicine for a sick family member or for food.  The family then is forced to pay off their debt so the children are often sent away to work it off or to make more money (D’Adamo, 2003; Kielburger, 2008). When children are in the hands of their masters they sometimes believe that they are there to learn skills that will help them in the future, or that they are helping their family and will return home some day. However there is always extreme interference with adult agendas, as the masters make the daily work expectations so outrageous that their work is often deemed unacceptable or they are unable to make the quota consequently meaning they are not paid for that day. These children have no power making them an easy target to exploit and take advantage of so this is how the cycle continues and the families remain extremely poor. Sometimes children will also inherit their parents’ debt that they themselves were unable to repay (D’Adamo, 2003).

            In many instances child labourers are also orphans who do not have a home to return to which is one reason why some of the children stay and do not try to leave or escape their work. It is reported that there is about 145 million children in the world who have lost one or both of their parents (UNICEF, 2009). These children are often scared and alone and could end up simply dying on the streets so they have no choice but to stay with their masters (D’Adamo, 2003). When we look into greater community issues we can see that there is an immense influence of poverty along with a lack of adequate education and access to resources. Extreme poverty is a very large factor in child labour as it relates to people having to resort to desperate measures to be able to survive, with extreme poverty rising so does the risk for infection and diseases such as HIV AIDS which is also prevalent in some developing countries (Kielburger, 2008; UNICEF, 2009). With all these factors children are afraid to report the abuse and exploitation that they are enduring as they have nowhere to go and no one to talk to even if they do want to escape or leave. These Children are not legitimately recognized as citizens in society and are not considered an important aspect; this is also evident as many children are not even registered at birth (UNICEF, 2009). Not registering a child at birth is one of the most critical ways of denying  a child the ability to be a citizen with rights, making it easier to traffic them wherever they want. This is also reflected in the estimate that about 1.2 million children were trafficked around the world every year before 2000 (UNICEF, 2009).

            For these children who are forced into labour, it is almost impossible for them to get help and get well, for if they escape they could end up dying on the streets, or just get caught and taken back to where they work then punished (Kielburger, 2008). This is due to a severe lack in resources for these children and a lack in knowledge of children’s rights (and even basic human rights) by adults and children (Twum-Danso, 2008). In addition it is not always a dominant discourse in some developing countries to believe that child labour is wrong, this only adds to the fact that children have no one to help them if they do happen to reach out and try to be empowered (D’Adamo, 2003; Kielburger, 2008). In order for children everywhere to get the chance to an equal quality of life the UNCRC needs to be culturally relative to address and respond to the specific root issues embedded in each country. This would help distinguish between where children consent to safe work voluntarily and are recognized by a fair wage, with on the other hand children who are modern day slaves, chained to their work stations, malnourished and mistreated. However this is difficult as the convention also needs to remain broad as to incorporate as much universality as it can to be applicable around the globe to all societies constructions of the child (Twum-Danso, 2008).

Why does child labour involve us?

Child labour is everyone’s problem, as children need to know their rights and adults need to know them as well to help children learn them. They need to actively participate in society in a positive way; however this cannot happen until their voices are being heard and taken seriously (UNCRC, 1989; Kielburger, 2008). Just because child labour may also be more prevalent in another country does not mean that it is not relevant because many things that we buy are either directly or indirectly made by children as globalization has allowed the world to expand their imports and exports beyond borders to anywhere in the world.  In today’s society most of North America’s culture relies so much on material goods that we are now wrapped up in consumerism and commodity culture, as we are trying to form our identities through over consumption and are even being oversaturated in our identities (Gennaro, 2005; Storey, 2003). While we are buying items to create our own identities we are at the same time taking away the identities of the children who are affected by child labour and keeping them enslaved.

Children are used for labour as it is cheaper for the employers to keep them and manipulate them, however the unemployment rates in some of these countries is high and this can also be seen as contributing to the factors that relate to poverty (UNICEF, 2009). This is because if the jobs that children were doing were available to adults then perhaps they would be in a more stable socioeconomic position, instead children are tricked into the cheapest labour and are continued to be sought after by many employers. This same idea could eventually affect us in other countries in the way that large businesses such as department stores get products and merchandise very cheap through importing because they are made by children and their poor enslaved families. This means that everything is produced in other countries and transported to North America to large businesses. Since the corporations and businesses get the merchandise fairly cheap, they are then able to sell their products at a lower price. This can seem good but it can end up taking business away from home owned businesses in the local communities, eventually causing them to shut down, making more North Americans unemployed and then also seeking low paying jobs. This is a bad cycle that could happen anywhere in the world and should not happen anywhere which is also why it is so important to stop child labour before it continues to grow and harm or hinder the lives of more children.

Children need to participate in their rights and have meaningful actions done as a result of it. This is the most important aspect that cannot be stressed enough as when children are educated about their rights and are supported, they are then able to realize their rights to empower themselves and others. They can do this through knowing about the laws and provisions that are set in place to protect them as well as how to help stay away from harmful situations (Kielburger, 2008; UNICEF, 2009). Within the UNCRC there are also specific articles that relate to children’s active participation in society as well as relating to the care and treatment of children regardless of who they are. For example articles 12 through 17 outline rights on children having access to information, right to having privacy, the right to having their own thought and expression, as well as choosing friends . Also articles 20-29 outline provisions of receiving special care if children are unable to be in the family environment, along with health care and help from the government (UNCRC, 1989 ;UNICEF, 2009). Children all over the world need to realize their rights as well as have meaningful active participation within their community. There are many organizations that have been set up to help children know their rights as well as there are programs and lesson plans teachers can implement in the schools, there are child and youth friendly websites to navigate, and there are books on how to know your rights and to participate or advocate (Kielburger, 2008).

Child labour is a bad cycle that will just continue to happen unless we change it and children should be valuable to every society as they are replacing the current population and will be the ones in charge and making changes. This is important to the globe because if the cycle can be stopped then developing countries can start to get rid of poverty and they can progress communities so they are no longer developing and can become economically lucrative. This is important to us because as the world continues to change and become more accessible through globalization, if we continue to look away and buy things that are produced by children then the countries in power are contributing to this process of slavery and oppressing countries even more by taking advantage of them. Every child has rights and one most important is article 42 stating that you have the right to know your rights! (UNCRC,1989).