Child Labour in the 21st Century - Essay Sample

Introduction

Child labor issue has been debated for decades but despite the many efforts to eradicate this scourge, it still is present in many nations. Many children all around the world are again being subjected to hard labor and bad working conditions for various reasons. The issue results from a unique combination of the development rates of economic, social attitudes, diversity in cultures, education levels and the labor laws and their enforcement in different regions of the world. The fight against child labor continues to face daunting challenges even though significant steps have been made. The collective action to end child labor based on the ILO standards have has failed to reach the high point of stopping this menace. Child labor exists in different forms in parts of the world and dates from the ancient times of industrial revolution. Among the earliest known forms of child labor include slavery which was a booming business in the old times. The three articles discussed as case studies include the blood diamonds, lives lost to leather in Bangladesh and the world migrant workers in the US. The concept of child labor varies in many countries in regards to the nation's specific contexts such as culture, enlightenment, laws and the general experience. However, the International Labor Organization defines the concept as any work that denies minors their childhood, their abilities, and dignity and causes damage to the physical and mental health (International Labour Organization, 2).

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Child labor was rampant in the United States of America during the period of industrial evolution. The labor force in the USA was mainly composed of a large number of immigrants that were streaming into the states. Today, there is no doubt of the existence of child labour in many regions of the united states. However, child labour is rampant mostly in the undeveloped Asian and African countries. Child labour in the contemporary world exists with reason slightly different but similar to the same causes in the industrial era. However, the modern world's invention and technological developments have affected the rate of the child labour. Institutions and governments are joining in the fight to eradicate child labour. The efforts to end child labour are still going strong, but then there is a noticeable comeback of this scourge in the modern world. Child labor is a problem that many thinks was solved long ago and is not in existence in the 21st century, however, history is repeating itself in many regions of the world through the reasons that are fueling the rise of child labour.

The industrial exploration of children is reported in many parts of the world including the USA with the highest rate of child labour being counted in the developing countries. In the US as represented in the case study, the labour force comprises of migrant children who travel with their parents thought the US to. work in agricultural lands. Child labour is higher in the African and Asian countries due to the standards of poverty and lower levels of enlightenment among other factors (Shakt, 65). For instance, the leather industries in Bangladesh where children work in the toxic and poorly ventilated rooms for more than 12 hours a day. Sadly, the countries like the USA and Britain that had managed to condense the rates of child labour significantly are again retreating to the practice. The International labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child are actively involved in the campaign and creation of awareness on children rights to help end child labour. Despite the efforts of such like organizations to spread the word, may factor industrial development, increased agricultural practices and values and cultural beliefs still fuel the existence of child labour. Bangladesh is the country leading in child labour according to ILO. African countries such as Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria are among the countries faced with this menace. India is the world's second most populated, also ranks as one where child labor is most practiced. America and the Middle East as many other countries also face problems of child labor.

Today, factors and reasons behind child labour range from industrialization, poverty, increase in demand for labour to the culture and traditions. In the United States, the reasons for child labour currently are not far much different as the causes 100 years ago. The US labour force has a large number of workers below the age of eighteen and the country still finds it hard to offer full protection from physical and social harm. Under the labour Force Standard Act, the minimum age for working during school hours is 16 while 18 years for jobs that are hazardous (International Labour Organization,25). However, in the case of Dora who is a freshman Eagle Pass high school, the law is not important to her as she has to work hard to help pay off their bills. In America, the common forms of child labour are agriculture and domestic employment. Additionally, children are also involved in sex work for earning extra income. In the United Arab Emirates also children are victims of sex trafficking. In most parts of Asia and Africa, agriculture and mining sectors have leading children workers.

In many countries, children are considered to give high productivity results than adults in informal sectors. This is a great myth that some industries use to justify a large number of minor workers in their organization. Moreover, apart from the myth that children work better, inadequate and weak enforcement of laws that protect children from child labour is another reason why underage children are employed. In some countries, laws are vague and unenforced thus giving an escape avenue for the firms and organizations that have used children as workers. Additionally, the rise of many industries today has led to minors being employed. Today in the united states, school going children and young immigrants who come to the country for education are forced to work more extended hours with little pay for a reason of earning a living. A rise I economic standards and the high cost of living is driving minors into working extra hours. Aside from poverty and poor economic conditions, inadequate education is a pushing factor to child labour. When children cannot acquire good knowledge, they are forced to join the informal job sectors to help earn a living.

Causes of childhood in the industrial revolution era included poverty, poor access to education, inadequate laws that govern the workers' rights and the high demand for labor. During the industrial revolution that took place in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, child labor was as a result of the minors being forced to work in the agricultural farms and the rapidly developing textile industries. Minors were forced to work in heavy coal industries other manufacturing sectors that used the natural resources as their raw materials. However, in the modern world, child labour is not as a result of forced labour as was the case in the industrial era but rather of free will with a motive to make money. Today, laws that govern child labour are in existence, but poor enforcement and lack of adherence lead to mistreatment of the minor staff. This is contrary to the 18th and the 19th-century era where labor laws did not exist, and child labour was as a result of the employer's mistreatment of the children (Andrees, Beate & Aikman, 359).

The diamond mining companies in the Central Africa has faced allegations that it has employed children as young as 11 years of age to work in harsh conditions in more than 12 hours a day. This is not different from the industrial revolution era when the children below ten years were forced to work in hazardous industries for more extended hours of the day.

Social factors that lead to child labour in the three case studies include education levels. Inadequate education in many regions results in minors joining the hazardous and work intensive industries to make a living. Local customs and different values that parents and children themselves hold support child labour. Children from larger families are forced to go to work as compared with the ones form a smaller business. Poverty levels have caused children to result in providing for themselves since they feel that parents cannot afford as is the case of migrants such as Dora and her family.

Manufacturing agriculture and mining stand as the worst kinds of work for minors in the three case studies. Most of the workers in the agricultural farms face inequalities, discrimination and little pay that come as a result of the high levels of tolerance that they are required to have. The agricultural fields in the US is an example of a sector that subject immigrant minors who have no other option in life to hard labor with little pay that can barely support a family. In the mining sector, children face danger when they are forced to dive into deep contaminated waters to obtain gold and diamond ores. Additionally, the manufacturing industry exposes the workers to harmful hazardous wastes with the dangerous working environment. Also the leather industries in Bangladesh have lead to short term health complications as a result of the minors working in toxic environments.

Technology plays a significant role in ending child labour. Innovation and invention of machines to work in the agricultural mining and manufacturing industries will help reduce the amount of work in these sectors. As in the case of mining in Bangladesh and the African gold mines, machines are needed to pull out the minerals from below the ground and water. Technology, therefore, will reduce the number of workers that are required on site and therefore, children would not be needed on the sites. In the agricultural, for instance, machines for harvesting and tiling of land could help reduce the amount of labour that the poor workers in the US field go through. Technology can also be useful in reporting of child labour instances to relevant authorities. Development of software that helps to report the cases of child mistreatment at work and the working of long hours can help reduce the rate of child labor in the workplace. Aside from the use of technology, specific countries have to reinforce the laws on child labour including enforcement of the international labour laws. Also, reducing poverty and the provision of education are examples of steps that should be taken to reduce child labour.

Although enforcement of laws may help reduce the rate of child labour, the situation could go from bad to worse in some instances. For instances, sanctions and other laws that limit the option of children working in industries and farms can only help limit the number of children being absorbed into employment but further forces the children to engage in much worse alternatives (Nogler, Luca & Pertile, 45). The laws can result in the country having a large number of unemployed children who cannot attend school and in the long run, increase the rate of street crimes. Therefore, it is not only wise to enforce the labour laws that regulate child labour but instead look for better approaches to ending the menace.

The best approach to eradicate the menace of child labour would be to find the root course and end it from the source. The main reason why children in the modern world go into child labour is because of lack of money for education, high levels of poverty and the high rates of dependency on unemployed parents. Therefore, to address this issue, the government and other institutions have to address the issues through initiatives such as the provision of employment to the caregivers and the immigrant workers as they all deserve an equal opportunity. Additionally, the provision of free education at basic l...