Persuasive Essay On Illegal Child Labor

It is estimated that one in six of the world’s children are working in unacceptable conditions and that's about 180 million children worldwide (Kilcullen 218). That is a great deal of children that are exposed to harm or exploitation. The opposing side believes that these poor countries need child labor to survive, that it is alright to pay children low wages for the work they do, and do not believe that schooling is as important as work. By regulating child labor laws, governments would be able to enforce safer working conditions, increase wages to meet the cost of living, and mandate education for better opportunities even though the opposing side disputes these reasons and stance.

Child labor is very demanding throughout many countries around the world, especially those were the economic status is not doing so well at the time. As in the United States there are some very strict laws and guidelines that the employers has to follow or they will get fined. The fines that the company may get are not cheap and increase each time they violate the law. As in fines, if the employers violates these laws that are put into place to protect children then can either get fined or even imprisonment if the Justice Department sees fit to do so. These laws and guidelines will help the individual child themselves, the economy and society down the road later on. In this paper we will see what child labor is, some laws that protect the

There are million of working children all around the world, for example, “Asia has the highest incidence of child labor (152.5 million), followed by Africa (80 million) and Latin America (17.5 million). Measured in proportional terms approximately 40 percent of African children work, while 20 percent of children work in Asia and Latin America respectively.” (Palley) ”The worldwide population of children under fourteen who work full-time is thought to exceed 200 million”. Obviously if most children participate in child labor, then there needs to be more laws regulating it and a better way of enforcing the laws. “The general minimum age was at the first 14 years, later raised to 15, and 16 for specific dangerous environments and night work”(. There are laws on the general age someone can be to work, but there are still many children who work.

In New York City, employers sometimes rely on the children of illegal immigrants. Despite all the labor laws, some children still work over the maximum hours set by those laws or do work that had been prohibited by the government. (Yellowitz) During economic crises of the developing world’s today, there are demands for more adult laborers with sufficient wages increased global poverty. To avoid starvation, many people go around looking for jobs to supply them with money they need. The employers hire them because they can pay those people less money. A lot of the time, parents may send their children to work along with them to earn the necessary money to live. (Addressing Root Causes) Also, part of the reason why child labor still exists is because of the ineffectiveness of laws to regulate child labor. Although laws have been set to prevent children of a certain age to work in certain jobs, some employers still employ young children for the accessibility to cheap labor. Relating to this issue, children’s rights are not as respected as they should be. Children, therefore, are not able to get the free and accessible education they should be entitled to, since the education systems do not accommodate poor children. In addition, since children’s rights are not taken into account very frequently,

There are innumerable propositions projected to improve the conditions that children have to tolerate while working in sweatshops. Ethically it can be said that society is thoughtless, because it tolerates child labor (Enderle 274). Child labor is not wrong from every direction; child labor is understandable in moderation. Hartman states, “The recommendation is not to ban all workers under the age of 18 from the workplace, but instead to investigate ways in which child workers can meet their family’s needs, while also endeavoring to better themselves through a complete education” (Hartman). The proposal is to balance the schedule for a child under the

However, addressing the problem of child labor will require more than recognizing its connection to poverty. Governments, human rights organizations, labor leaders, corporations, and health professionals must all work together to find effective ways to ensure that the world's children are educated and not exploited in jobs in multinational or illegal industries. By proposing this act, it would prohibit U.S. imports of goods produced by children laborer. Such legislation would help third world countries enforce laws against child labor; ultimately, it would protect the world's youngsters from the abusive and hazardous conditions often found in factories that rely on low-wage labor. It would curb poverty by getting these kids out of hazardous, abusive working conditions and into school where they may receive an education and contribute productively to their economy. We look out for animals and prisoners, but fail to protect youngsters from exploitive and abusive labor.

Children in India are being forced to work many hours a day for very little pay. More than 20 % of India’s economy are child workers under the age of 14. This is a problem they operate on deadly machines and they can be harmed. They also are exposed to bad working environments and can be injured or killed. If the refuse to work they are threatened or beaten. This a problem and this needs to stop because children have the right to a child hood. (Dougall,

“Each year, as many as 2.7 million healthy years of life are lost due to child labor.” Imagine that you are being held as a slave and forced to do dangerous labor as a child. Countless people are being held captive and are being forced to do perilous things, sweating their lives away, not taking breaks, and being put in adult like situations. In fact right now there are “15-20 million children working as slaves.” Although it provides the youth and families with money, and possibly something to learn from, adolescents should not be enslaved or forced to do labor because it is very dangerous and can damage a minor for the rest of their life.

All over the world the utilization of child labor robs young children from their desires and aspirations. Meet 12 year old Pakistani Aziz. Instead of living a normal childhood by attending school and playing with others, he is employed at a brick kiln. Each day Aziz works from the first light of day until midnight, while his boss harshly beats him with a cane. Aziz put in these long hours in order to help his impoverished family survive and pay off his dead father’s debts. For example, employers all across the world are hiring children between the ages of 5 and 16 and working them in the same situation as Aziz to work long hours in hazardous conditions. By doing this, employers are depriving children of a healthy childhood stocked with oodles

By definition, child labor is the illegal and/or inhumane use of children in an industry or business. Child labor should not be a controversial issue and people need to open their eyes and see the lives that are being taken from children all around the world. Americans have developed this “not my kid” type of view and blame is put on the parents of the children who are exploited in factories, sweatshops, and on the streets trafficking drugs or being sexually trafficked. The issue of child labor needs to become a priority to all Americans, parents and children alike. There are millions of children forced into child labor today and it is time we agree on fundamentals as a nation and globally. If we address this issue on a global standpoint and all parties step up to take action, millions of children will be freed of the inhumane, youth stealing and life threatening industry of child exploitation.

According to the Child Labor Public Education Project (2004), In 2006, approximately 75 million children were not in school, limiting future opportunities for the children and their communities.” There are many factors that contribute to child labor. Poverty and unemployment levels are undoubtedly a dominant factor in the use of child labor; families below the poverty line are forced to send their children to work in order to be able to supplement their household’s income. Even though, they do not get paid much. I could not imagine myself living on a dollar a day. According to 2005 U.N. statistics, “more than one-fourth of the world’s people live in extreme poverty.” (U.N. Statistics, 2005, pg. 1) Sadly, free education is limited, so children are being forced to work. Codes of conduct are often violated. For example, if a company notifies the building that there will be an inspection, the factories prepare themselves by making the workplace “suitable” for everyone; which is not the case at all. Global demand for cheap goods means that the supplier has to find the cheapest labor force, this means that children are forced to work. Child labor is a particular issue in the fashion industry. For instance, in cotton picking employers hire children because they have small fingers, so they do not damage the crop. Agricultural jobs pay by the amount of produce that is picketed by children. Which encourages more families to send their kids to work. It is also easier for factories to hire children since it is easier to manipulate them. As crucial as it seems, many families do not think that education will help their children survive. Above all, poverty is a big contribution of why child labor is active around the world. (Josephine Moulds,

Worldwide child labor originated during the Industrial Revolution first in England then the U.S.; many families sent their children to work or else they could not survive because they were poor and many hazardous jobs at the time were considered appropriate for children, even though now many people (but not enough) know better. Everyone had the belief that children should be working and no one was concerned if they didn’t get a formal education, an ideology that has somehow become instilled in the minds of many “employers” of these children today without any moral question or concern. Now, children are used as cheap and efficient labor capital by governments and corporations around the world and it is a direct human rights violation that could be easily avoided. Currently, 168 - 215 million children internationally are involved in child labor, and 85 million of those children are in hazardous work. Out of all the children currently working, 98 million of them work in agriculture (59%), 54 million work in services, and 12 million work in industries. Both services and industries are counted in the informal sector of the economy, and child labor plays an extremely large part in the economies of impoverished countries where it is extremely hard to break the poverty cycle because of this particular human rights violation.

Child laborers are employed everywhere in the world, places like Asia and Africa have a high population of juvenile workers. Sadly the number of exploited adolescents continues to grow. In India minor’s labor makes up 3.6% of it’s entire workforce (LaborAwareness). In addition, about 85% of those children are employed in jobs that involve agricultural work. India is one of the worst examples of child labor abusers. India only represents a minute number. However, world-wide 218 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are working today (LaborAwareness). Countries like the United States may seem like they would completely abhor the use of child employment, but they are more commonly associated with it than one may think.

When did you start working? Most likely your late teens or maybe you have never even worked. Well, many people do not know is that children throughout the world are currently working at the age of 5. In fact, there are 152 million victims of child labor today (ILO). Child labor is a prevalent issue globally, which needs more attention as many of us are supporters of it without knowing. We all love chocolate, computers, and most dearly love our clothes. Well, major companies such as Microsoft, Nestle, Tesla, and H&M manufacture products using child labored goods. These labor-ridden children are being held back from achieving their dreams, which clearly are not to work in factories or farms for minimal wages. Thus, to unleash the full potential of these children we as a community must come together and end child labor. As a global citizen I would like to begin this project of ending child labor, by stopping the direct funding of child labor ultimately coming from us. Thus, a boycott of child labored products would be a way to raise attention not just in our communities but also to these corrupt companies. Next, I plan to work with the community and various project organizations to accumulate support and increase education and schooling in rural areas where child labor is predominant. A solution to the lack of education in child labor areas can lead to a permanent fix for generations to come.

With the current child labor issues growing, some governments have begun acting to prevent the increase in cases involving this sickening problem. According to (Duss, 2015), “The Congressional budget package released today continues funding for programs to end child labor after the House and Senate voted to cut funding to the Department of Labor’s impactful and critical program in June 2015. The International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) directs the U.S. Government’s efforts to end forced labor and child labor around the world. Advocates for protecting children from child labor are thankful for Congressional leadership” (par. 1). Child labor is a growing problem and the ones who have the power and the money need to stop it as early as now. If the government does not respond appropriately and rapidly, the ones involved in child labor may think of new ideas and prevent the government from doing action against them. The rights of these innocent children are violated and they will never be able to regain the joy of being a child, but they will continue as how they started their life, being a part of the working