Causes & Consequences

Poverty is often cited as the main cause of child labour. It is widely believed that families will not be able to cope if their children do not work. In practice, however, the poverty argument does not hold water. Precisely the opposite is true: child labour maintains poverty.

Experience shows that deeprooted social norms, the violation of workers’ rights, discrimination against certain groups, and a poorly-functioning education system are the main reasons why children aren’t attending school.

Because children are easy to exploit and are cheap labourers, they are hired in preference to adults. Child labour thus leads to lower wages and higher unemployment among adults. Children who work and do not go to school will end up in low paid jobs later, and so will their children – and so the vicious cycle of poverty is perpetuated.

Together we can stop child labour-

By no longer accepting it, not in mines, not on fields, not in factories, not in domestic settings and not in the products we buy.

Child labour is a global problem that requires a global solution.  In India, Africa and Latin America, local authorities, teachers, employers, parents and children in child labour work free zones together to get children out of work and into school. They are all convinced that no child should be working: every child should be in school. These child labour free zones are successful and are continuing to spread to other areas and countries.

LAWS AGAINST CHILD LABOUR-

UNICEF defines child labour differently. A child, suggests UNICEF, is involved in child labour activities if between 5 to 11 years of age, he or she did at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work in a week, and in case of children between 12 to 14 years of age, he or she did at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours of economic activity and domestic work per week. UNICEF in another report suggests, “Children’s work needs to be seen as happening along a continuum, with destructive or exploitative work at one end and beneficial work – promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest – at the other. And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development.”

The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The law also placed rules on who, when and how long can pre-adults aged 15–18 years be employed in any factory.

The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. Mining being one of the most dangerous occuptions, which in the past has led to many major accidents taking life of children is completely banned for them.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law. The list was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous employment or in bondage. This act provides punishment to those who act in contravention to the previous acts by employing children to work.

 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009: The law mandates free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that 25 percent of seats in every private school must be allocated for children from disadvantaged groups and physically challenged children.

Child labour is a social issue in India and abroad where kids are exploited by organized and unorganized sectors of industry. The issue of child labour is quite prominent in dominating countries like India where families belonging to poor or weaker sections push their kids to work to earn instead of educating them. Such kids are easy prey for industries that are always on the look for cheap labour. It is estimated that around 70-90 million children in India are engaged in some sort of industry work. Of the total number of children working in the industry. 15% is approved by the Child Labour Act while 85% of them are illegally employed.

Child Labour Act in India was introduced 10 years back to protect the rights of the children. Unfortunately, even after a recorded number of child labour in various industries, there has not been a single reported case of child exploitation or illegal child labour. There is no forum in place to protect their rights and expose the exploiters. Child labour is a crime to humanity as kids below the age of 18 years are pushed to work in coal industries, construction, fireworks and more. They are forced to work as domestic help, brick kiln workers and bid rollers against their abilities and without seeking their consent.

It is saddening to know that the country where children are regarded as the future are forced to work for money. Another staggering fact is that children belonging to the affluent family takes up job in industries out of excitement and to earn extra money. In short, cultural and economic factors interact in India to encourage kids to work. 

THE CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOR

      The negative impact on the physiological and psychological levels of children includes specific concerns of child labor and its consequences on mental health. It is worth noting that one-third of children of the developing world are failing to complete even 4 years of education. The analysis of factors leading to engagement of children in hazardous factors elucidated socioeconomic factors as one of the important determinants. Poverty is considered as one of the contributory factors in child labor.

Mental well being is less frequently researched in child labor. A retrospective cohort study in Morocco randomly examined 200 children working in the handicraft sector and found a high prevalence of respiratory, digestive and skin conditions, as well as mental health presentations such as migraines, insomnia, irritability, enuresis and asthenia.

In a cross-sectional survey, urban Lebanese children aged 10–17, working full-time in small industrial shops, were compared with non-working matched school children. Majority of them had poor physical health, predominantly marked with skin lesions or ear complaints and social care needs. Similarly, authors aimed to find out consequences in children in Lebanon exposed to solvents, and found significantly higher rates of lightheadedness, fatigue, impaired memory and depression compared with a non-exposed group. A cross-sectional study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, used diagnostic interviews to assess prevalence of mental disorders in 528 child laborers and street workers, child domestics and private enterprise workers aged between 5 and 15 years. The prevalence of mental disorders was noted to be as high as 20.1% compared with 12.5% in the general population. Further study to establish the association between labor-related variables and mental health problems was carried out among 780 children engaged in labor (aged 9–18 years) in the Gaza Strip. Mental health problems of children in labor were likely to be associated with socioeconomic determinants as well as factors related to their underage employment.

The physical and social consequences are deliberated by researchers; however, mental health area has not been explored so much. Studies are lacking even in Indian scenario regarding impact of child labor on mental health.

                                            

                                   


Child labour is a global issue that prevents children from fulfilling their potential. Child labour is a violation of children's rights - the work can harm them mentally or physically, expose them to hazardous situations or stop them from going to school.

Not all work done by children is classed as child labour. There is not an issue when a child is working to progress their life skills without compromising their health, their well-being or their education. Often older children may do chores for their parents or small jobs to earn pocket money or gain work experience. This work prepares them for their adult working life.

But around the world, millions of children do work in child labour. They work in fields, in factories, down mines, as servants or maids, or selling goods in the street or at markets. Girls are more likely than boys to do domestic work, such as cleaning, making food and serving.

The work that children can be forced to do might also be illegal - such as working with drug gangs or in prostitution. Many children may get no money for the work they do but they will get food and a place to sleep. If they become sick or injured, most children will not get any money for missing work.

All these forms of child labour can prevent a child from going to school and limit their opportunity to fulfil their potential. Many child labourers never go to school or drop out.

Education is a proven strategy for reducing child labour. Lack of access to education keeps the cycle of exploitation, illiteracy and poverty going – limiting future options and forcing children to accept low-wage work as adults and to raise their own children in poverty. Children who have access to education can break the cycle of poverty at the root of child labour.