Comments on: Will Higher Penalties Stop Child Labor? Guest Post from Kat Sanders http://www.charlesakrugel.com/labor-and-employment-law/will-higher-penalties-stop-child-labor-guest-post-from-kat-sanders.html Labor & Employment Law, Human Resources Law Thu, 10 May 2012 22:09:24 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jason Passarella http://www.charlesakrugel.com/labor-and-employment-law/will-higher-penalties-stop-child-labor-guest-post-from-kat-sanders.html/comment-page-1#comment-3391 Jason Passarella Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:12:08 +0000 http://www.charlesakrugel.com/?p=798#comment-3391 It's great to read post on a blog that are intelligent and well crafted for once. I have spent some time studying the issue of global child labor and the plague that it is upon the world’s youth. The last respondent made some excellent comments that touch on what I have found to be the root causes of child labor. These causes are discussed by John J. Tierney, who is faculty chairman and a professor of international relations at the institute of World Politics. He says that, “Although only recently recognized as a global concern, child labor has become the target of international attention and action… To eliminate child labor, it is necessary to end the conditions that cause it, including poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and low levels of development.” Poverty is the first root cause of child labor and most likely the most influential. UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) reports that child labor occurs most often among the poorest households and in rural areas. Children help support their families, which depend on this income for survival. With the dependence families have on their children working to make ends meet, children must work in the home for long hours or work elsewhere to obtain funds for the family. The second root cause of child labor is a lack of education. Education is the driving force in helping to get children off the streets and give them the means to create a future for themselves. Education allows individuals to get better jobs and provide sufficient for themselves and their families. Low levels of development are intertwined along with poverty and lack of education. When an area is underdeveloped it generally does not have adequate schools as well as a lack of employment. In these situations families are forced to do whatever necessary to survive. Including allowing their children to work in occupations that would be considered child labor. We can make a metaphor about child labor that will help us understand how to fight it. Many of the international policies that are put in place by organizations such as the International Labor Organization seem to barely chop away at the top of the weed that is child labor. To fully exterminate the weed we need to dig deep and eradicate the “roots” that allow child labor to exist. These “root” causes are those mentioned by Tierney. We can fine people and businesses as much as we want to but until the real reasons why children are exploited as a cheap labor force are eliminated the “weed” will continue to grow. Poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and low levels of development are all interrelated in causing child labor. These ideas work very well when viewed in the global environment. I want to know how they will effect individual families and people on a smaller scale. Counteracting these route causes is the solution to eliminate child labor on a global scale but how do we enact these idea’s to help individuals? Jason Passarella It’s great to read post on a blog that are intelligent and well crafted for once. I have spent some time studying the issue of global child labor and the plague that it is upon the world’s youth. The last respondent made some excellent comments that touch on what I have found to be the root causes of child labor. These causes are discussed by John J. Tierney, who is faculty chairman and a professor of international relations at the institute of World Politics. He says that, “Although only recently recognized as a global concern, child labor has become the target of international attention and action… To eliminate child labor, it is necessary to end the conditions that cause it, including poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and low levels of development.”
Poverty is the first root cause of child labor and most likely the most influential. UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) reports that child labor occurs most often among the poorest households and in rural areas. Children help support their families, which depend on this income for survival. With the dependence families have on their children working to make ends meet, children must work in the home for long hours or work elsewhere to obtain funds for the family.
The second root cause of child labor is a lack of education. Education is the driving force in helping to get children off the streets and give them the means to create a future for themselves. Education allows individuals to get better jobs and provide sufficient for themselves and their families.
Low levels of development are intertwined along with poverty and lack of education. When an area is underdeveloped it generally does not have adequate schools as well as a lack of employment. In these situations families are forced to do whatever necessary to survive. Including allowing their children to work in occupations that would be considered child labor.
We can make a metaphor about child labor that will help us understand how to fight it. Many of the international policies that are put in place by organizations such as the International Labor Organization seem to barely chop away at the top of the weed that is child labor. To fully exterminate the weed we need to dig deep and eradicate the “roots” that allow child labor to exist. These “root” causes are those mentioned by Tierney. We can fine people and businesses as much as we want to but until the real reasons why children are exploited as a cheap labor force are eliminated the “weed” will continue to grow.
Poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and low levels of development are all interrelated in causing child labor. These ideas work very well when viewed in the global environment. I want to know how they will effect individual families and people on a smaller scale. Counteracting these route causes is the solution to eliminate child labor on a global scale but how do we enact these idea’s to help individuals?

Jason Passarella

]]> By: Amanda Roundy http://www.charlesakrugel.com/labor-and-employment-law/will-higher-penalties-stop-child-labor-guest-post-from-kat-sanders.html/comment-page-1#comment-3390 Amanda Roundy Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:11:51 +0000 http://www.charlesakrugel.com/?p=798#comment-3390 I read your blog on whether or not higher penalties will stop child labor. I think that is a very good question one that many have tried to address. I would appreciate all those reading my response to understand that I am in no way supporting child labor but I am trying to point out that laws and policies are an insufficient way of dealing with the issue of child labor. Please withhold your judgment until you have read my entire response, thank you. Child labor is a very hard issue to solve and I appreciate all those who try to address it in many different ways. But, the issue of child labor is hard to solve because it is the consequence of many different root causes you may already be aware of. Having harsh penalties for child labor will only punish the violators and cause children to lose work, not help to make these children’s lives better. It is obvious that child labor is a very complex issue. You may know in October 2006 India put in place a law banning children under 14 from working according to BBC News. Prime Minister Singh warned that “the government will take firm action against those violating the law”. Despite this law and promise of strong punishment to violators, we all recognize that child labor still exists in India. I feel this example shows that we must first understand why child labor exists before we can begin to eliminate it. Children involved in child labor must work for a reason. Let me give you an example you may be well acquainted with. India’s social and governmental structure is based on a religious caste system. It has existed for over 1,500 years! People cannot move up or down in this caste system because it is believed that a citizen’s current status is based on their past life’s deeds. The lowest level, called the “Untouchables”, are shunned away from normal society and forced to do the “dirty jobs” such as working with human waste. This system promotes child labor because Untouchable parents have few options for providing for their families. The Untouchable children find themselves in an unsolvable situation. A proper education in India would be between 2,000 and 4,000 American dollars a year according to differencebetween.net. So Untouchable families cannot afford to educate their children and give them the subsequent opportunities that come with an education. These children have few options. If they don’t work they will starve, be forced to beg or become prostitutes just to survive. If you just take away these children’s work it will cause the larger problem of starvation! So it is clear that we cannot just take these children’s work away by punishing all employers. To truly get rid of child labor we must address the root causes. Poverty is the main cause of child labor. Obviously poverty is not a quick fix but we can never eliminate child labor without addressing the poverty that forces these children to work. Lack of education is also a leading cause. With education come so many opportunities. If we work to better educate these children or make education more available to them they can create a brighter future for themselves and their future families, breaking the cycle of child labor. Although I appreciate all those who work on eliminating child labor, I appreciate those people who address the root causes of child labor the most. I feel they are more productive in achieving their goal. We all know these children deserve better and if we wish to truly help these children and future children in the long run we must address the root causes of child labor. We can all work together to create a better place for all to live in. I appreciate your concern in this matter. I hope I have at least started you thinking about what is the best way to deal with child labor. Sincerely, Amanda Roundy I read your blog on whether or not higher penalties will stop child labor. I think that is a very good question one that many have tried to address. I would appreciate all those reading my response to understand that I am in no way supporting child labor but I am trying to point out that laws and policies are an insufficient way of dealing with the issue of child labor. Please withhold your judgment until you have read my entire response, thank you.

Child labor is a very hard issue to solve and I appreciate all those who try to address it in many different ways. But, the issue of child labor is hard to solve because it is the consequence of many different root causes you may already be aware of. Having harsh penalties for child labor will only punish the violators and cause children to lose work, not help to make these children’s lives better. It is obvious that child labor is a very complex issue.

You may know in October 2006 India put in place a law banning children under 14 from working according to BBC News. Prime Minister Singh warned that “the government will take firm action against those violating the law”. Despite this law and promise of strong punishment to violators, we all recognize that child labor still exists in India. I feel this example shows that we must first understand why child labor exists before we can begin to eliminate it.

Children involved in child labor must work for a reason. Let me give you an example you may be well acquainted with. India’s social and governmental structure is based on a religious caste system. It has existed for over 1,500 years! People cannot move up or down in this caste system because it is believed that a citizen’s current status is based on their past life’s deeds. The lowest level, called the “Untouchables”, are shunned away from normal society and forced to do the “dirty jobs” such as working with human waste. This system promotes child labor because Untouchable parents have few options for providing for their families.
The Untouchable children find themselves in an unsolvable situation. A proper education in India would be between 2,000 and 4,000 American dollars a year according to differencebetween.net. So Untouchable families cannot afford to educate their children and give them the subsequent opportunities that come with an education.

These children have few options. If they don’t work they will starve, be forced to beg or become prostitutes just to survive. If you just take away these children’s work it will cause the larger problem of starvation! So it is clear that we cannot just take these children’s work away by punishing all employers. To truly get rid of child labor we must address the root causes.

Poverty is the main cause of child labor. Obviously poverty is not a quick fix but we can never eliminate child labor without addressing the poverty that forces these children to work. Lack of education is also a leading cause. With education come so many opportunities. If we work to better educate these children or make education more available to them they can create a brighter future for themselves and their future families, breaking the cycle of child labor.

Although I appreciate all those who work on eliminating child labor, I appreciate those people who address the root causes of child labor the most. I feel they are more productive in achieving their goal. We all know these children deserve better and if we wish to truly help these children and future children in the long run we must address the root causes of child labor. We can all work together to create a better place for all to live in. I appreciate your concern in this matter. I hope I have at least started you thinking about what is the best way to deal with child labor.

Sincerely,

Amanda Roundy

]]>