Child Labor Essay Research Paper S L

Child Labor Essay, Research Paper

S. L. Bachman stated, Children have worked for as long as families have needed all hands to pitch in ( Political 30). Child labor has been a concern since the beginning of the Industrial Age. Child labor had declined in developing countries by the end of World War II. The concern resurfaced in the 1980 s and 1990 s. The plight of working children in the developing world today is not very different, and in some cases even less harsh, than that prevalent in such countries as the United States and England During the 19th and early 20th centuries (Wasserman 105). During the 18th century it was considered to be helpful to a child s character. There was an estimated 1.75 million children between the ages of 10 and 15 that were employed. Most children worked on farms or house chores, but some had jobs in the factories.It was between 1880 and 1910 that 36 states decided to set a minimum age of 14 to be able to work. This was because they thought it to be important for a child to play and relax. Also because when manufacturing started to become big the adults didn t want the children to take jobs away from them (Wasserman 106). In 1910 North Carolina put a bill into effect designed to put an end to the employment of 13-year-old boys and girls in the mills (Gardner 20).Action against child labor had to be put on hold so that the definition of child labor could be established. Most countries define child labor as age. This is difficult to do because many countries don t have the organization to give every child a birth certificate, so it is difficult to determine a child s real age. Even though the definition is stilling being debated, the worst forms of child labor have been determined. They include slave labor, prostitution, forced labor, and work that is physically or mentally hazardous (Bachman, New 546).The following is labor laws set by the U.S. Department of Labor.Federal Labor Laws for Young Workers14 and 15 year olds:· Can work up to 3 hours on a school day, Monday through Friday and 18 hours during a school week.· Can work up to 8 hours a day on a non-school day, or 40 hours in a non-school week.· Cannot work during school hours.· Cannot work before 7:00am or after 7:00pm, except from June 1 through Labor Day when evening hours are extended to 9:00pm.· Cannot work in any manufacturing, processing, mining, construction, warehouse operations, and many restrictions apply in cooking.· Cannot work in any of the 17 Hazardous Occupations listed below, for 16 and 17 year olds .16 and 17 year olds:· Can work in any occupation except for those declared hazardous by the secretary of Labor. The 17 Hazardous Occupations for non-farm work deal with the following:1. Manufacturing or storing explosives.1. Driving a motor vehicle and being an outside helper.1. Coal mining.1. Logging and sawmilling.1. Power driven woodworking machines.1. Exposure to radioactive substances and to ionizing radiations.1. Power-driven hoisting apparatus.1. Power-driven metal forming, punching and shearing machines.1. Mining other than coal mining.1. Meat packing or processing.1. Power-driven bakery machines.1. Power-driven paper products machines.1. Manufacturing brick, tile, and related products.1. Power-driven circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears.1. Wrecking, demolition, and ship-breaking operations.1. Roofing operations.1. Excavating operations.18 years old:· Can work in any job for unlimited hours.Employers who violate the FLSA child labor law provisions are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $10,000 for each child labor violation that causes the death or serious injury of a minor (U.S. SDDO-29).Legislation has been able to control labor in the formal areas. As a result, child labor is most common in the highly unmonitored areas. There are 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen that work. About 120 million of these children work full time, not allowing them to tend school. Of the 250 million working children, sixty-one percent are in Asia, Thirty-two percent in Africa, and Seven percent in Latin America. Fifteen to twenty percent of children in developing countries work for no pay often as domestics or farmworkers. Two-thirds of all child workers live in the countryside: twenty percent of them between 5-9 years old, compared with only 5 percent in this same age bracket in towns and cities (Boukhari 38). The bulk of the working children are in Africa (Buchman, New 545). There is an estimated number between 300,000 and 1 million children that work illegally in the United States ( Peace 633).The lack of enforcement of labor restrictions allows child labor to continue. The number of enforcement officials is very low, especially in developing countries where the immediate priority of surviving is more important than anything else (Bachman, New 545). There are also inconsistencies in legislation, which may cause problems. For example, a difference may exist between the minimum ages required to work and drop out of school. In many countries the minimum working age is lower than the required age of required education, giving children access to employment before they have even completed the minimum amount of schooling. When impoverished children are allowed to work legally, they will often abandon school to better their family s condition. In the opposite situation, you may have the minimum age requirement or work greater than the required schooling age. The