Even if many countries have laws that don’t allow children to work under a certain age, there are millions of children across the world that do extremely dangerous work in risky conditions.
According to the International Labor Organization there are 215 million child workers all over the world (May 2010 ).
Why do children have to work?
- There are many reasons why factories are using child labour, the main reason is poverty.
- The families often earn so little money that they have to send their children to work in countries without laws against child labour so that they can survive.
- Children are often exploited because they are easier to control and they are unable to fight back.
- Schools in many countries are far away and expensive so the children don’t have the opportunity to go to school. That is the reason why they get caught in poorly paid jobs.
- For example in Africa a lot of children become orphans because their parents especially the mothers died of AIDS and they had nobody who could take care of them.
Where do children have to work?
Most of the children work in agriculture. Others work in households as domestic workers, some on the street where they have to beg for something, in bars or as tourist guides and many are used as sex slaves or soldiers.
Injuries because of unacceptable labour conditions
- broken arm or leg
- stomach ache
- skin disease
- blindness
- burns
- burns
- blindness
- skin disease
- stomach ache
What should be done?
Work that might injure the health, safety and minds of children should be avoided. Unfortunately, there is not given much attention to that issue. The children should get the opportunity to go to school so that the chance of getting a good job increases later. The women need to get better jobs so that they do not have to face poverty and their children would not have to work. The existing child worker should be replaced by adults and consumers should stop buying products made by children.
Sources
http://www.antislavery.org/english/slavery_today/child_labour.aspx
http://morethanshipping.com/child-labor-today-around-the-world/
http://www.preda.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/child-labour.jpg
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAchild3.jpg
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/gender/insight/large_Insight-large.jpg
http://www.planet-wissen.de/politik_geschichte/menschenrechte/kinderarbeit/img/intro_kinderarbeit_muell_g.jpg
http://morethanshipping.com/child-labor-today-around-the-world/
http://www.preda.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/child-labour.jpg
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAchild3.jpg
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/gender/insight/large_Insight-large.jpg
http://www.planet-wissen.de/politik_geschichte/menschenrechte/kinderarbeit/img/intro_kinderarbeit_muell_g.jpg