Topic B: Child Labor

    
Photograph by Claudio Edinger / Source: United Nations Photo
Seven-year-old picking garbage in a dump near Sao Paulo, Brazil

Alejandra, a 12-year old girl from El Salvador, wakes up every morning at four o’clock to go to work. She skips breakfast and rushes to her menial job of collecting shells and mollusks, spending 14 hours in the mud daily. On a good day, Alejandra earns $1.40, ultimately spent feeding her seven younger siblings and purchasing pills and cigars to help her get through the long work day. Alejandra does not live the life of a typical adolescent. She is instead separated from society and other children her age and, as a result, her self-confidence, happiness, and even health suffer due to the huge responsibility placed on her shoulders. Alejandra and millions of other children like her share this experience of child labor.

The term “child labor” is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as  “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development” (International Labour Organization 2011). More specifically, this rather open-ended definition refers to work that is any way harmful – physically, mentally, socially, or morally – to children, interferes with their schooling, deprives them of the opportunity to attend school, forces them to leave school prematurely, or requires that they combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. 

In regard to child labor, two types of labor have been distinguished: bonded and non-bonded (Winded flowers 2009). Bonded labor, also known as “debt bondage,” is the practice of “pledging labor as payment or collateral on a debt” (Genicot 2009). More specifically, bonded child labor entails “a child (below 18 years of age as defined in the UNCRC) working against debt taken by himself/herself or his/her family members… without or with the child's consent, under conditions that restrain his/her freedom and development, making him/her vulnerable to physical and other forms of abuse and deprives him/her of his/her basic rights.” For example, indebted parents might sell a child into slavery in order to pay off a family debt or as a security for a loan. Child labor is considered non-bonded when a child is not working to pay off any debts, but may still need to work for shelter, food, and other necessities of survival. The case of Alejandra falls under this categorization. In either case, both types of child labor are characterized by children entering the workforce out of necessity.

Sadly, the institution of child labor is a widespread phenomenon. Recent studies estimate that there are approximately 215 million children engaging in child labor worldwide with roughly 115 million of that total working “hazardous” jobs (CNN Wire Staff 2011). This hazardous work includes exposure to hazardous environments including, though not limited to, slavery, drug trafficking, mining and quarrying, armed conflict, and industrial work with heavy machinery or toxic chemicals. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, the largest number of children engaged in child labor is in Asia and the Pacific, though the largest proportion of child laborers relative to the total number of children in the region is sub-Saharan Africa where approximately one in three are engaged in child labor (UNICEF 2011). Though there is a higher prevalence of child labor in developing countries, studies show that there are still cases of child labor in the developed world (Elliot 2011).

While the ubiquity and sheer scale of child labor is daunting, efforts have nevertheless been made to curb the institution. In recent decades, worldwide discussion of and collaborative efforts against child labor have increased significantly among international organizations, governments, and advocacy groups. The UN and ILO – forums for international debate – have been essential for the legislation of international child labor laws. In 1989 the UN passed the Convention on the Rights of the Child resolution, arguably the most comprehensive and authoritative piece of international legislation that lays out the legality of child labor, though it does not establish the practice of child labor as legally punishable (Winded flowers 2009).

Yet, despite international efforts against child labor, the institution remains firmly entrenched worldwide, especially in less developed regions such as Asia, Central America, and sub-Saharan Africa. It has fallen to international organizations like the UN to combat child labor through collaborative international efforts. Indeed, the widespread  and transnational nature of this problem necessitates international, multilateral cooperation. To be sure, international organizations remain the best medium through which the well-being of children may be increased worldwide.

Works Cited

CNN Wire Staff. 2011. “More than 100 million kids worldwide work in hazardous jobs.” June 10, 2011. CNNWorld.com. Accessed 19 September 2011 from: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-10/world/ilo.child.labor_1_child-labor-hazardous-jobs-international-labor-organization?_s=PM:WORLD.

Elliot, Robert. 2011. “115 Million Children in Hazardous Work Environments.” August 28, 2011. Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. Accessed 19 September 2011 from: http://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/2011/08/115-million-children-in-hazardous-work-environments/#axzz1YPiUyQlq.

Genicot, Garance. 2009. “Child Bonded Labor.”  Accessed 19 September 2011 from: http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/gg58/CBL.pdf.

International Labour Organization. 2011. “About child labour.” Accessed 14 September 2011 from: http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.html.

United Nations Children’s Fund. 2011. “Child labor.” Accessed 19 September 2011 from: http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html.

Winded flowers. 2009. “Bonded Child Labor.” Accessed 14 September 2011 from: http://windedflowers.com/bondedchildlb.php.

                                                                   Questions

1. In addition to the harmful effects on the individual child, what effects does the widespread practice of child labor have on a society as a whole?
2.  Why might parents agree to their children doing labor?
3. What are some of the obstacles in the way of underdeveloped or developing countries enforcing child labor laws or conventions?