CHILD LABOR

The Industrial Revolution (then) and modern times (now)

The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution started in the late 19th century Power-driven machines (water wheels, steam engines, etc.)

replaced hand labour in most businesses and production lines

Because of poverty, poor living conditions, low status of women, unemployment, etc. many families sought after work

Many people, mostly children, worked long hours (12-18 hours a day, six days a week=$1.00) in dangerous work environments for very little pay

Since most of the children came from poor families the parents couldn’t support them, which resulted in them turning over their child/children to the mill or factory owner

Many of the factories were damp, dark, and dirty, causing sickness, death, and disablement to form among the children

See, look how poor some children were. They couldn’t even afford shoes

The Industrial Revolution (Contd) Since the children worked so much they

didn’t have time for schooling or play By 1810, about 2,000, 000 school-age

children were working as child labourers There was one glass factory in

Massachusetts that was fenced with barbed wire "to keep the young imps inside." The "young imps" were boys under 12 who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40 cents to $1.10 per night

The Resolution Labour groups, churches, teachers, and many other

people were outraged by such cruelty. They began to press for reforms

The English writer Charles Dickens helped publicize the evils of child labour with his novel Oliver Twist

Britain was one of the first to pass laws regulating child labour, and from 1802 to 1878, a series of laws gradually shortened the working hours, improved the conditions, and raised the age at which children could work

In the U.S.A. it took many years to outlaw child labour. Connecticut passed a law in 1813 saying that working children must have some schooling. By 1899 a total of 28 states had passed laws regulating child labour

Child Labour Today Today, more than 246 million children worldwide are engaged in some kind of

labour About 180 million of them are in hazardous conditions Children carry out ¼ of the world’s economic activity There are as many as 8.4 million children who are involved in the worst

forms of child labour These children are employed as child soldiers, rug weavers, beedie makers,

domestic workers, agricultural workers, etc. Some of these children are also prostituted, and/or subjected to the sex

trade Many appalling realities like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, low wages,

ignorance, social prejudices, regressive traditions, poor standard of living, backwardness, superstition, and low status of women have combined to give birth to the terrible practice of child labour

Poor children and their family members depend so much on little ones to provide the basic necessities of life in the impoverished areas that it becomes impossible for them to adhere to any laws and regulations regarding child labour. We must also remember, that about one fifth of the world’s six billion humans live in absolute poverty

The Secretariat

What’s Being Done About It In Alabama, The Alabama Child Labour Law was enacted to

protect working minors. The law prohibits youths from working in occupations or places of employment, which could be harmful to their health or moral well being. By regulating the hours during which youths are allowed to work, the law ensures minors sufficient time to take advantage of their educational opportunities

Under the new system, work permits are no longer required for each minor employed. In its place, employers are required to obtain a Child Labour Certificate in order to employ minors

A Class I Certificate is required if employing 14 or 15 year olds and a Class II Certificate is required if employing 16 or 17 year olds

Each location of a business employing minors must obtain the proper certificate(s) in order to employ minors

The costs of the Child Labour Certificates are $15 each and shall be renewed annually

The Alabama Child Labour Law

Gov. Bob Riley signs new child labour reforms into law at the State Capitol following the 2009 Regular Session. From left are Jeff and Debby Miller, Wayne Reeves, former president of the Alabama Retail Assn., Sen. Quinton Ross (sponsor), Gov. Riley, Jim Bennett, Labour Commissioner, Robin Solitro, chief of the Child Labour Division, Brian Gates and Adam Strickland, child labour inspectors

Child Labour Laws

Kenya prohibits children under 16 from going to work in industries but excludes agriculture

Bangladesh also specifies a minimum age to go to work, but excludes agriculture and domestic work

Stop Child Labour Projects related with human resource

development, dedicated to the child welfare issues must be given top priority by the central and state governments to stop child labour

Child labour laws need to be strictly implemented at the central and state levels

Corruption and carelessness in child labour offices and employee circles should be dealt with very strictly by the judiciary and the police force

Similarities and Differences During both the Industrial Revolution and modern

times child labour was and still is present Laws were and are still being made to end child

labour Most children were and are still forced to work

because their families are so poor During the Industrial Revolution most of the

children worked in textile factories or coal mines Nowadays most child labour occurs in third world

countries and the children work as rug weavers, domestic workers, agricultural workers, etc.

Summary

Child labour has existed throughout history, and it needs to come to an end somehow

The magnitude of child labour is quite high in the poverty filled areas of the world

Many countries have made laws against child labour, and have made programs and other organizations to help diminish it

Resources:

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http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/his1005fall2010/files/2010/10/childlabor.gif

http://www.wftucentral.org/n/wp-content/child-labor-is-exploitation.bmp

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wftucentral.org/n/wp-content/child-labor-is-exploitation.bmp&imgrefurl=http://www.wftucentral.org/%3Fp%3D508%26language%3Den&usg=__MojVsjmATYHfiSf9-cV7NS9VY6M=&h=325&w=340&sz=324&hl=en&start=78&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=-UvJT7VLxtBCnM:&tbnh=114&tbnw=119&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchild%2Blabor%26start%3D60%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1

http://industrialchildlabor.wikispaces.com/file/view/child_labor.jpg/33783659/child_labor.jpg

http://www.childlabor.in/child-labour-laws.htm

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=5428