Child Labor: A Complex Issue.

International and national laws that protect children from being exploited for their labor have been agreed upon throughout the world. It is understood that children deserve to be in school, and that child labor is damaging to the development and well being of youth. However, child labor exists in both developed and developing countries. Laws are ignored because families living in poverty need the income that comes from child labor; developing countries need to meet the export demands coming from developed countries; and the global market is driven by competition to provide the lowest priced product.

It is almost impossible to set a global standard for child labor. The majority of child labor is agricultural. The traditions of rural life often include children in the daily chores of a family farm. In industrial areas children are desired as laborers because they are inexpensive and do not assert their rights in the ways adult workers do. In many accounts children who work in factories are subject to long hours of physical labor without much pay, but full eradication of child labor from these factories may make the lives of the children even more difficult. The fragile economic stability of their household would likely fail, and the child would be forced into alternative labor that may be even more dangerous.

Not all child labor is this debatable. Many children are trafficked as sex workers, or as modern day slaves. Slavery exists for children who are sold to pedophiles or to plantation usually harvesting cash crops such as cotton, cocoa, tobacco, and sugar cane. Child slaves work in very dangerous conditions with little or no regard for their lives or well being, and they do not personally profit from their labor. Children have rights, and to assert these rights children must have agency. Slavery of children is a clear exploitation of the most vulnerable members of society. Neither the children, nor the families are given any agency.

An integrated approach to the issue of child labor will be the most effective. The strongest policies must be used to combat child slavery as sex workers, field workers, and factory workers. When looking at other types of child labor policy makers must take into account the specific circumstances of the region. It is not enough to place harsh fines on those who use child labor. Protection is also needed for children and their families. Educational stipends have been used in some countries, but the countries that need them the most could never afford them. Even with stipends most children would make more money working. Corporations must be held accountable for their treatment of workers, especially children. Consumers should be more aware of the conditions that produced their clothes and their food. There are fair ways to treat workers, but this work is viewed through cultural norms. A shift in child labor policies will be different in every country.

Discussion Questions

• Each Example in Stolen Childhoods is very different. What do you see as common themes in each country shown?
• Is child labor appropriate in some situations?
• What elements of childhood are we attempting to protect when we regulate child labor? How do the rights of a child differ from general human rights?
• Can child labor benefit children?
• Governmental actors often claim to be making strides to end 'the worst forms of child labor.' What jobs would you put into the 'worst forms' category? Are there examples of the 'best forms' of child labor? How do we rank the many positions children take as work?
• Are certain governmental systems better suited in avoiding child labor then others?
• What standards of age and employment should be used to regulate child labor?
• The reading on child labor emphasizes local complexities. What specific regional factors should be considered when creating child labor policies?
• Should international laws regarding child labor be proportional to the level of poverty?
• Does the system of 'volunteer' grocery packers in Tijuana, Mexico work? Does it give earning potential to children without violating their rights?
• How does education effect child labor?
• Why don't consumers choose fair trade products?
• Which approach is better? Stop child labor at its source: reduce poverty, improve access to education, and end gendered oppression. Stop child labor through social action: call attention to companies and countries that exploit children, boycott companies that use child labor, and support legislation that deters the use of child labor.

Child Laborers Are:

Child labor is often characterized as the practice of using under aged factory workers in developing countries to produce goods for Western consumers. This may be an accurate account of the experience of many child workers, but this is not the only way child labor is used. Child laborers are:

- Farmers

- Factory Workers

- Retail Workers

- Weavers 

- Brick Makers

- Tailors

- Soldiers

- Prostitutes

- Trash Collectors 

- Domestic Workers

- Construction Workers

- Drug Traffickers 

- Slaves

- Harvesters

- Servers

- Miners

- Fishermen

- Welders

- Boys

- Girls

- Living in poor communities

- Living in wealthy communities

- Uneducated

- In school

- In every country

above: 10 year old migrant worker cuts onions instead of going to school in Eagle Pass, TX. (Credit: Stolen Childhoods)

Harkin Bill

In 1992 Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the "Child Labor Deterrence Act." In 2007 Harkin introduced an amendment to the Tariff Act of 1930 (S. 1157) to stop the importation into the U.S. of products produced with slave labor and child labor. While Harkin advocates for international workers' rights; laborers in Bangladesh claim the Harkin's bills are insufficient and will add to the level of poverty already experienced. Child laborers are moving from jobs in the garment industry to more exploitive and hazardous jobs such as street hustling (see links under 'additional resources'). Is Harkin acting within his political self-interest to retain support from labor organizations, or are these bills true attempts aimed at the reduction of child labor? Is there a better way to promote laws that reduce child labor?