A young boy recycling garbage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2006

Child labor is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially CHILD syndrome (or congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects) is a genetic disorder This practice is considered exploitative by many countries and international organizations. Child labor was utilized to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the beginning of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during industrialization, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers' and children's rights. Public education is education mandated for or offered to the children of the general public by the Government, whether national regional or local provided by an institution Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of Legal rights and claimed Human rights having to do with Labor relations between Workers Children's rights are the Human rights of Children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young including their Child labor is still common in some places.

Overview

Child Labor is very common, and can be factory work, mining^[1], prostitution or quarrying, agriculture, helping in the parents' business, having one's own small business (for example selling food or apparrel), or doing odd jobs. Some children work as guides for tourists, sometimes combined with bringing in business for shops and restaurants (where they may also work as waiters). Other children are forced to do tedious and repetitive jobs such as: assembling boxes, polishing shoes, stocking a store's products, or cleaning. However, rather than in factories and sweatshops, most child labor occurs in the informal sector, "selling many things on the streets, at work in agriculture or hidden away in houses — far from the reach of official labor inspectors and from media scrutiny. A sweatshop is a working environment with very difficult or dangerous conditions usually where the workers have few rights or ways to address their situation " And all the work that they did was done in all types of weather; and was also done for minimal pay. ^[2]

According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 250 million children aged 2 to 17 in child labor worldwide, excluding child domestic labor. The most widely rejected forms of child labor include the military use of children as well as child prostitution. The military use of Children takes three distinct forms children can take direct part in hostilities (child soldiers or they can be used in support roles such as porters spies messengers Prostitution of children refers to the use of children as Prostitutes The definition of a "child prostitute" can vary depending on who is using the term Less controversial, and often legal with some restrictions, are work as child actors and child singers, as well as agricultural work outside of the school year (seasonal work) and owning a business while operating it out of school's hours. The term child actor is generally applied to a Child Acting in motion pictures or Television, but also to an Adult A child singer is a Child who has a career as a Singer. Child singers and people who have been child singers (often still active as singers include

Children's rights

A boy repairing a tire in Gambia

Main article: Children's rights

The United Nations and the International Labor Organization consider child labor exploitative,^[3][4] with the UN stipulating, in article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that:

. Children's rights are the Human rights of Children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young including their The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The International Labour Organization The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil political . . States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. ^[4]

Current situation in wealthy countries

Further information: Child labor in Canada

In many developed countries,^[5] it is considered inappropriate or exploitative if a child below a certain age works, excluding household chores or schoolwork. An employer is often not allowed to hire a child below a certain age. This minimum age depends on the country; child labor laws in the United States set the minimum age to work in an establishment without parents' consent and restrictions at age 16. The Child labor laws in the United States include numerous statutes and rules regulating the employment of minors.

In the Industrial Revolution, children as young as four were employed in production factories with dangerous, and often fatal, working conditions. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the ^[6] Based on this understanding of the use of children as laborers, it is now considered by wealthy countries to be a human rights violation, and is outlawed, while some poorer countries may allow or tolerate it. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled

In the 1990s every country in the world except for Somalia and the United States became a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil political The CRC provides the strongest, most consistent international legal language prohibiting illegal child labor; however it does not make child labor illegal.

Current situation in poor countries

Young girl working on a loom in Aït Benhaddou, Morocco in May 2008

Poor families often rely on the labors of their children for survival, and sometimes it is their only source of income. Aït Benhaddou (آيت بن حدّو is a 'fortified city' or Ksar, along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa This type of work is often hidden away because it is not always in the industrial sector. Child labor is employed in subsistence agriculture and in the urban informal sector; child domestic work is also important. Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficient farming in which farmers grow only enough food to feed the family and to pay taxes or feudal dues In Economics, the term informal economy (or second economy in the South African context refers to all economic activities that fall outside the formal In order to benefit children, child labor prohibition has to address the dual challenge of providing them with both short-term income and long-term prospects. Some youth rights groups, however, feel that prohibiting work below a certain age violates human rights, reducing children's options and leaving them subject to the whims of those with money. Youth rights refers to a set of philosophies intended to enhance Civil rights for young people. The reasons a child would consent or want to work may vary greatly. A child may consent to work if, for example, the earnings are attractive or if the child hates school, but such consent may not be informed consent. Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given Consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of the facts implications The workplace may still be an undesirable situation for a child in the long run.

In an influential paper on "The Economics of Child Labor" in the American Economic Review (1998), Kaushik Basu and Pham Huang Van argue that the primary cause of child labor is parental poverty. The American Economic Review ( AER) is a Peer-reviewed journal of Economics published quarterly by the American Economic Association. That being so, they caution against the use of a legislative ban against child labor, and argue that should be used only when there is reason to believe that a ban on child labor will cause adult wages to rise and so compensate adequately the households of the poor children.

Child labor is still widely used today in many countries,including India and Bangladesh. Even though country law states that no child under the age of 14 may work, this law is ignored. Children as young as 11 go to work for up to 20 hours a day in sweatshops making items for US companies, such as Hanes, Wal-mart, and Target. They get paid as little as 6 and a half cents per item. One of the largest companies in Bangladesh is Harvest Rich, who claim not to use child labor, although the children only got 1d per week. The United Nations and the International Labor Organization consider child labor exploitative,[4][5] with the UN stipulating, in article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that:

. . . States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. [5]

Campaigns against child labor

Two girls wearing banners with slogan "ABOLISH CHILD SLAVERY!!" in English and Yiddish. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Probably taken during May 1, 1909 labor parade in New York City. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The City of New York

Child labor was approached from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the For example, Karl Marx called for "Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form" in his Communist Manifesto. Manifesto of the Communist Party ( often referred to as The Communist Manifesto, was first published on February 21, 1848, and is Concern has also been raised about the buying public's moral complicity in purchasing products assembled or otherwise manufactured in developing countries with child labor. Developing countries are countries that haven't reached Western-style standards of democratic government free market economy industrialization social programs and human rights guaranties Others have raised concerns that boycotting products manufactured through child labor may force these children to turn to more dangerous or strenuous professions, such as prostitution or agriculture. A boycott is a form of Consumer activism involving the act of voluntarily abstaining from using buying or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of For example, a UNICEF study found that 5,000 to 7,000 Nepalese children turned to prostitution after the United States banned that country's carpet exports in the 1990s. The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. Also, after the Child Labor Deterrence Act was introduced in the US, an estimated 50,000 children were dismissed from their garment industry jobs in Bangladesh, leaving many to resort to jobs such as "stone-crushing, street hustling, and prostitution," -- all of them, according to a UNICEF study. The Child Labor Deterrence Act was created by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, and was first proposed in the United States Congress in 1992 with ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially ^[2] "more hazardous and exploitative than garment production". The study says that boycotts are "blunt instruments with long-term consequences, that can actually harm rather than help the children involved. "

Today there are several industries and corporations which are being targeted by activists for their use of child labor.

Recent child labor incidents

The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company operate a rubber plantation in Liberia which is the focus of a global campaign called Stop Firestone. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons buggies and other forms of wheeled transportation Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire Workers on the plantation are expected to fulfill a high production quota or their wages will be halved. As a result, many workers are forced to bring children to work. The International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit against Firestone (The International Labor Fund vs. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company) in November 2005 on behalf of current child laborers and their parents who had also been child laborers on the plantation. The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF is a nonprofit advocacy organization headquartered in Washington DC that describes itself as "an The International Labor Fund vs The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (2005 was a class action law suit filed by The International Labor Rights Fund on November 17 2005 against Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On June 26, 2007, the judge in this lawsuit in Indianapolis, Indiana denied Firestone's motion to dismiss the case and allowed the lawsuit to proceed on child labor claims.

A UK investigative report in October of 2007 found children as young as nine working sixteen to nineteen hours a day without pay in India producing Gap for Kids clothing. The Gap Incorporated ( is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco California, and founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher One child, Jivaj, from West Bengal told The Observer that some of the boys in the sweatshop had been badly beaten. 'Our hours are hard and violence is used against us if we don't work hard enough. This is a big order for abroad, they keep telling us that. 'Last week, we spent four days working from dawn until about one o'clock in the morning the following day. I was so tired I felt sick,' he whispers, tears streaming down his face. 'If any of us cried we were hit with a rubber pipe. Some of the boys had oily cloths stuffed in our mouths as punishment. '^[7]

On October 28, Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, responded, "We strictly prohibit the use of child labor. This is a non-negotiable for us – and we are deeply concerned and upset by this allegation. As we’ve demonstrated in the past, Gap has a history of addressing challenges like this head-on, and our approach to this situation will be no exception. In 2006, Gap Inc. ceased business with 23 factories due to code violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to ensure compliance with our Code of Vendor Conduct. As soon as we were alerted to this situation, we stopped the work order and prevented the product from being sold in stores. While violations of our strict prohibition on child labor in factories that produce product for the company are extremely rare, we have called an urgent meeting with our suppliers in the region to reinforce our policies. "^[8]

Child labor is used in the production of cocoa powder, used to make chocolate. Chocolate ( pronounced or /-ˈələt/ comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical Cacao tree See Economics of cocoa. This article discusses Child labor and Human trafficking related to west African Cocoa production

Milton Friedman's Defense of Child Labor

Child laborer, New Jersey, 1910

According to economist and capitalist Milton Friedman, children's participation in economic activity was commonplace prior to the Industrial Revolution as children performed labor on their farms or for their families. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. Milton Friedman (July 31 1912 November 16 2006 was an American Nobel Laureate Economist and Public intellectual. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the Friedman, the author of the phrase Miracle of Chile and educator of the economists at the University of Chicago, popularly referred to as the Chicago Boys, claimed that the Industrial Revolution saw a net decline in child labor, rather than an increase. The " Miracle of Chile " is a term coined by Milton Friedman to describe the Augusto Pinochet 's support for liberal economic reforms in Chile The Chicago Boys (c 1970s were a group of about 25 young Chilean economists who trained at the University of Chicago under Milton Friedman ^[9] He claimed this to be supported both by economic theory, referred to by some journalists as Market fundamentalism, and empirical evidence. Market fundamentalism (also known as free market fundamentalism) is an expression used by critics of Laissez-faire capitalism, usually by adherents of Interventionist ^[10][11] According to Friedman's theory, before the Industrial Revolution virtually all children worked in agriculture. During the Industrial Revolution many of these children moved from farm work to factory work. Over time, as real wages rose, parents became able to afford to send their children to school instead of work and as a result child labor declined, both before and after legislation.

Yet Friedman's theory posited that the absence of child labor is a luxury that many poor states cannot yet afford, and that to prohibit it is to prevent the overall economic growth necessary to eventually relieve a society of the need for child labor. In poor societies he claimed that children will be put to work by their families by whatever means necessary. Moreover, in addition to possibly increasing family costs on a depleted family income, in the absence of a public school program, parents may have to forego potential labor time and income, to care for their children. ^[9]

However, the British historian and socialist E.P. Thompson in The Making of the English Working Class draws a qualitative distinction between child domestic work and participation in the wider (waged) labor-market. Edward Palmer Thompson ( February 3, 1924, Oxford &ndash August 28, 1993, Worcester) was an English historian The Making of the English Working Class is an influential and pivotal work of English social history written by E ^[6] Further, the usefulness of the experience of the industrial revolution in making predictions about current trends has been disputed. Economic historian Hugh Cunningham, author of Children and Childhood in Western Society Since 1500, notes that:

"Fifty years ago it might have been assumed that, just as child labor had declined in the developed world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, so it would also, in a trickle-down fashion, in the rest of the world. Its failure to do that, and its re-emergence in the developed world, raise questions about its role in any economy, whether national or global. "^[11]

Big Bill Haywood, a leading labor organizer and leader of the Western Federation of Miners and a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World famously claimed "the worst thief is he who steals the playtime of children!" ^[12]

According to Thomas DeGregori, an economics professor at the University of Houston, in an article published by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank operating in Washington D. William Dudley Haywood (February 4 1869&ndashMay 18 1928 better known as Big Bill Haywood, was a prominent figure in the American labor movement. The Western Federation of Miners ( WFM) was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States The Industrial Workers of the World ( IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio, USA The Cato Institute is a Libertarian Think tank headquartered in Washington D C. , "it is clear that technological and economic change are vital ingredients in getting children out of the workplace and into schools. Then they can grow to become productive adults and live longer, healthier lives. However, in poor countries like Bangladesh, working children are essential for survival in many families, as they were in our own heritage until the late 19th century. So, while the struggle to end child labor is necessary, getting there often requires taking different routes -- and, sadly, there are many political obstacles. "^[13].

Austrian school economist Murray Rothbard also defended child labor, stating that British and American children of the pre- and post-Industrial Revolution went "voluntarily and gladly" to work in factories. The Austrian School, also known as the “ Vienna School ” or the “ Psychological School ” is a heterodox school of economics that advocates Murray Newton Rothbard (March 2 1926 – January 7 1995 was an American economist of the Austrian School who helped define modern Libertarianism [1]

See also

• Legal working age
• Children's rights movement
• International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, IPEC
• Child soldiers
• Child prostitution
• IREWOC - Institute for Research on Working Children
• Youth activism
• London matchgirls strike of 1888
• The Newsboys Strike
• Swabian children

International conventions and other instruments:

• Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
• Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation

References

External links

• International Research on Child Labour
• Child labor at the Open Directory Project
• Concerned for Working Children (CWC)
• Teaching about Child Labor and International Human Rights
• Child Labor in USA Agriculture
• History Place Photographs from 1908-1912
• Ethical and economic considerations in child labor
• Lightening the load of child miners - BBC
• Child labour challenge toughens - BBC
• Child Labor or Prostitution?
• Essay from 'The Fraser Institute'
• What Do The World and People Deserve? Len Bernstein on the Life and Work of Jacob Riis
• The State of the World's Children - a UNICEF study
• Child labor and the division of labor in the early English cotton mills
• Ethical Alternatives to Sweatshops
• Visayan Forum - an NGO helping migrant working children in the Philippines
• Lewis Hine Project: Nationally known project to locate and interview descendants of child laborers photographed by Hine
• Documentary about Child miners in Tanzania mining Tanzanite
• Youtube Video: "United States Child Labor, 1908-1920: As Seen Through the Lens of Sociologist and Photographer Lewis W. Hine"