child labor opinion essay

Essay on Child Labour for Students and Children

500+ words essay on child labour.

Child labour is a term you might have heard about in news or movies. It refers to a crime where children are forced to work from a very early age. It is like expecting kids to perform responsibilities like working and fending for themselves. There are certain policies which have put restrictions and limitations on children working.

The average age for a child to be appropriate to work is considered fifteen years and more. Children falling below this age limit won’t be allowed to indulge in any type of work forcefully. Why is that so? Because child labour takes away the kids opportunity of having a normal childhood, a proper education , and physical and mental well-being. In some countries, it is illegal but still, it’s a far way from being completely eradicated.

Causes of Child Labour

Child Labour happens due to a number of reasons. While some of the reasons may be common in some countries, there are some reasons which are specific in particular areas and regions. When we look at what is causing child labour, we will be able to fight it better.

Firstly, it happens in countries that have a lot of poverty and unemployment . When the families won’t have enough earning, they put the children of the family to work so they can have enough money to survive. Similarly, if the adults of the family are unemployed, the younger ones have to work in their place.

Moreover, when people do not have access to the education they will ultimately put their children to work. The uneducated only care about a short term result which is why they put children to work so they can survive their present.

Furthermore, the money-saving attitude of various industries is a major cause of child labour. They hire children because they pay them lesser for the same work as an adult. As children work more than adults and also at fewer wages, they prefer children. They can easily influence and manipulate them. They only see their profit and this is why they engage children in factories.

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Eradication of Child Labour

If we wish to eradicate child labour, we need to formulate some very effective solutions which will save our children. It will also enhance the future of any country dealing with these social issues . To begin with, one can create a number of unions that solely work to prevent child labour. It should help the children indulging in this work and punishing those who make them do it.

Furthermore, we need to keep the parents in the loop so as to teach them the importance of education. If we make education free and the people aware, we will be able to educate more and more children who won’t have to do child labour. Moreover, making people aware of the harmful consequences of child labour is a must.

In addition, family control measures must also be taken. This will reduce the family’s burden so when you have lesser mouths to feed, the parents will be enough to work for them, instead of the children. In fact, every family must be promised a minimum income by the government to survive.

In short, the government and people must come together. Employment opportunities must be given to people in abundance so they can earn their livelihood instead of putting their kids to work. The children are the future of our country; we cannot expect them to maintain the economic conditions of their families instead of having a normal childhood.

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• v.27(1); Jan-Jun 2018

Challenges and perspectives of child labor

Amir radfar.

College of Graduate Health Studies, A.T. Still University, Mesa, Arizona, USA

Seyed Ahmad Ahmadi Asgharzadeh

1 Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

Fernando Quesada

2 Department of Medicine, Universidad de El Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador

Irina Filip

3 Department of Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente, Fontana, California, USA

Child labor is one of the oldest problems in our society and still an ongoing issue. During the time, child labor evolved from working in agriculture or small handicraft workshops to being forced into work in factories in the urban setting as a result of the industrial revolution. Children were very profitable assets since their pay was very low, were less likely to strike, and were easy to be manipulated. Socioeconomic disparities and lack of access to education are among others contributing to the child labor. Religious and cultural beliefs can be misguiding and concealing in delineating the limits of child labor. Child labor prevents physical, intellectual, and emotional development of children. To date, there is no international agreement to fully enforced child labor. This public health issue demands a multidisciplinary approach from the education of children and their families to development of comprehensive child labor laws and regulations.

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL FACTS

Child labor is an old problem well rooted in human history. Children were exploited to various extents during different periods of time. The problem was common in poor and developing countries. In the 1800's, child labor was part of economic life and industrial growth. Children less than 14 years old worked in agriculture, factories, mining, and as street vendors.[ 1 ] Children from poor families were expected to participate to the family income, and sometimes they worked in dangerous conditions in 12-hour shifts.[ 1 ]

In the 1900's, in England, more than a quarter of poor families lost their children to diseases and death, endangering their extra financial support.[ 1 ] Boys worked in glass factories in high heat in three shifts because the furnaces were kept fired all the time to increase productivity, while girls were forced into prostitution. In 1910, it was estimated that more than two million children in the United States were working.[ 1 ]

With the increase of education, economy, and the emergence of labor laws, child labor decreased. However, child labor is still a widespread problem in many parts of the world in developed and developing countries. With the development of agriculture, children were again forced to be employed mostly by the families rather than factories. The main cause of child labor is the lack of schools and poverty.[ 2 ]

Per International Labor Organization (ILO, 2002), in the world, there are 211 million children laborers, 73 million under 10 years of age, 126 million children work in the worst forms of child labor, and more than 8 million are kept as slaves for domestic work, in trafficking, armed conflict, prostitution, and pornography. More than 20,000 children die yearly due to work-related accidents. Nearly, one-third of the world's children work in Africa.[ 3 ] Countries such as India have made efforts to tackle the worst forms of child labor. Despite this, 56.4% of children aged 5–14 work in agriculture and 33.1% work in industry.[ 4 ] Indian children are forced into labor to pay family debt. They work sometimes in hazardous environments, being forced into commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, or forcibly recruited or kidnapped to be part of terrorist groups.[ 4 ]

Child labor is morally and ethically unacceptable. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was the first international body that signed in 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Children. It is for the first time in history when children are seen as humans with rights rather than economic assets of their parents. Child labor was defined as labor that harms the health of the children and deprives them of education rights. This law does not exclude children that work for their families.

ETHICAL FACETS OF CHILD LABOR

Child labor has many facets from the ethical point of view. Autonomy, beneficence, justice, nonmaleficence, privacy, and veracity are endangered during child labor.[ 5 ] Utilitarianists would support the idea of child labor as long as they are the sole providers for the family and without their income, the family would not survive and as long as the labor is voluntarily provided. The ends justify the means. Forced child labor is unethical because it is against the autonomy of the children. The consent of the working child is mostly manipulated by the parents. To give consent, a child needs to understand the situation, the consequences, and voluntarily agree to work. Children of young age, who have a less than fully competent capacity, can assent to an action by getting involved in the decision-making process. Children fall easy victims to unfair job conditions, and they do not have the power to stand-up against mistreatments.[ 6 ] The maleficence of this act has long-term physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences. Even if they are lacking the competency of making informed decisions, they are considered individuals with autonomy that should be protected and safeguarded.[ 6 ]

Child labor is more common in developing countries where more than 90% of children live.[ 3 ] Child labor in developing countries affects 211 million children.[ 3 ] The continent with the highest child employment rate is Asia with 61%, followed by Africa and Latin America. Nearly 41% of the children in Africa are below 14 years old, followed by Asia with 22% and Latin America 17%.[ 3 ] India has made progress in reducing the child labor. However, more than 4 million children in India between 5 and 14 years old work more than 6 hours a day, while about 2 million children aged 5–14 work 3–6 months in a year.[ 4 ]

CULTURAL BELIEFS AND CHILD LABOR

Cultural beliefs have an important role in encouraging child labor. In developing countries, people believe that work has a constructive effect on character building and increases skill development in children. There is a tradition in these families, where children follow the parents' footsteps and learn the job from an early age. Some cultural beliefs may contribute to the misguided concept that a girl's education is not as important as a boy's education, and therefore, girls are pushed into child labor as providers of domestic services.[ 7 ] In India, not putting a child to work means the family would not make enough income to sustain their living. Sociocultural aspects such as the cast system, discrimination, and cultural biases against girls contribute to child labor.[ 4 ]

RELIGION AND CHILD LABOR

It is generally accepted that parents have the fundamental right to educate and raise their children. Parents almost always try to act in the child's best interest at the best of their knowledge and beliefs. In doing so, they are reasonably motivated by their intellectual growth, social development, and at times by spiritual salvation. Oftentimes, parents seek guidance in religion to shape the upbringing of their children and to enhance their progress. Hard work is among others, an important religious value to instill from a young age.

Krolikowski found that Christian children were the least likely to work, while Muslim children, children with no religion, and children affiliated with a traditional African religion were more likely to work than Christians.[ 8 ] The 40% higher incidence of child labor among Indian Muslims compared with Indian Hindus is due perhaps to the impoverishment of Muslim community.[ 4 ] Amish people's life is also regulated by religious values. They believe that work and faith bring people closer to God.[ 9 ] Amish children are initiated from childhood into apprenticeship to learn the trade, and beyond eighth grade, they have to provide like an adult for the community. Education of children beyond eighth grade is considered a threat to the community values. The U. S. labor laws forbid children less than 16 years of age to work in hazardous places such as sawmill or woodworking. However, in 2004 an exception was made by the United States Department of Labor, who approved an amendment that allows Amish children between 14 and 18 years old to work.[ 10 ]

POLICIES AND CHILD LABOR

Child labor is rooted in poverty, income insecurity, social injustice, lack of public services, and lack of political will.[ 7 ] Working children are deprived from a proper physical and mental development. The millennium development goals (MDGs), issued in 2001 to implement the Millennium Declaration, set up commitments for poverty reduction, education, and women's empowerment. Persistence of poverty is the major cause of labor. However, child labor also causes poverty because it deprives the children from education and from a normal physical and mental development hampering a prosperous life as adults. The first MDG in addressing poverty is the elimination of child labor.[ 11 ]

The International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) was created by ILO in 1992 to progressively eliminate child labor. The priority addresses the worst forms of child labor such as slavery, prostitution, drug trafficking, and recruitment of children in armed conflicts.[ 12 ] IPEC is working with stakeholders from many countries to increase strengths and promote the fight against child labor. IPEC engage with multiple organizations, international and governmental bodies, community-based organizations, religious groups, private plural form businesses, children and their families.

Policy reform was promoted through country-based programs. The capacity building of institutions has been increased to better understand the obstacles and increase the ability of obtaining sustainable measures. These measures were meant to decrease child labor and bring children back in schools. In all these processes, statistical data were collected at the worldwide level, methodologies were set in place, and guidelines were created.

The Child Labor Platform was created as a business-led initiative by ILO in 2012, to identify the obstacles of the implementation of ILO conventions at the community level and to come up with solutions. This platform is a win-win situation for all parties involved: stakeholders as well children and their families. This platform offers training, research, and specialized tools to member companies, so they can carry out activities against child labor. Eliminating child labor is part of the corporates' social responsibility in line with their values and is what the society expects from them. This platform provides information how to get involved and how to find businesses that work collaboratively with the communities to solve the problem. Training and knowledge is a real value added for companies.[ 12 ] The Indian Government implemented a national project deemed to assist population to eradicate child labor, and set in place enforcements of criminal and labor law.[ 4 ]

ARGUMENTS FAVORING CHILD LABOR

Despite all these international and national measures against child labor, there are arguments in favor of child labor. Some argue that poor families would be even poorer without the supplemental financial contribution of children. Lack of money will deprive them of the basic needs of food and shelter which will decrease their survival rate. In addition, an increase in poverty would make children even more susceptible to exploitation.

The supporters of these ideas argue that the benefit of creating a safe workplace and allowing children to work is helpful in certain situations. They also emphasize that child work is not child labor as long as it does not interfere with schooling and children have safe workplace conditions with a limited number of hours per day.[ 13 ]

STAKEHOLDERS’ ROLE AND CHILD LABOR

The stakeholders most directly affected are the children and their families. Children are working at the expense of their education and normal mental development. Education is important not only for the intellectual development but also for the empowerment and acquisition of new skills for adult life. The health of children is endangered by work in hazardous conditions, abuse, exhaustion, malnutrition, or exposure to toxic materials. The psychological harm leads to behavioral problems later on in life.[ 14 ]

Despite the implementation of laws and measurements at the international level, child labor still persists, and it is caused by the same factors as 100 years ago. There is a need to address poverty and access to education. To date, there is no international agreement to define child labor. Every country has different laws and regulations regarding the minimum age for starting working based on the type of labor. The lack of international consensus on child labor makes the limits of child labor very unclear.[ 15 ]

Therefore, it is mandatory to create international policies that adopt a holistic approach to free quality education for all children, including labor children from poor families. Education should be continued beyond the primary school level and should be done in a formal setting. Studies show that nonformal education is a necessary but not a sufficient prerequisite for permanently withdrawing children from work.[ 15 ] The public educational system should be expanded to accommodate laborer children who still do not have access to school. More schools should be built, more teachers should be trained, and more educational materials should be available. A special attention should be given to children living in exceptional geographical conditions and mobility should be provided at the cost of the community. Children who dropped out of school should receive adequate guidance and support, and a smooth reentry should be facilitated. The development of schools in the rural areas would decrease the load of children in urban schools. This will allow parents to accommodate children's needs without having to migrate in big cities.

Another phenomenon that should be addressed is the social exclusion. Children engaged in the worst forms of child labor come from the lowest strata of the society. International Labor Organization launched a project on Indigen and tribal people, who are the most targeted by social exclusion. This project promotes their rights and encourages building capacity among their community.[ 15 ] Proper enforcement of child labor policies and the focus on education can break the cycle of poverty that drives the children into labor.

Child labor is a public health issue with negative outcomes that demands special attention. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to tackle child labor issues. Per ILO, poverty is a major single cause behind child labor. Lack of affordable schools and affordable education is another major factor to force children to work. Certain cultural beliefs rationalize this practice and encourage child labor as character building and skill development for children. Some cultural traditions encourage child labor as footsteps to their parents' jobs. Socioeconomic disparities, poor governance, and poor implementation of international agreements are among major causes of child labor. Macroeconomic factors also encourage child labor by the growth of low pay informal economy. Child labor prevents the normal well-being including physical, intellectual, and emotional psychosocial development of children. This public health issue cannot be eliminated by only enforcement of child labor laws and regulations. Any comprehensive policies should engulf a holistic approach on the education of children and their families, investment in early childhood development programs, establishing public education task forces in rural areas, implementing policies with focus on increasing adult wages, and discouraging consumers to buy products made by forced child labor. As such, ethical practice requires protection of all rights of children and protective policies and procedures which support the provisions of ILO's standards.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank the University Writing Center at A.T. Still University for assistance with this manuscript.

• Made by History

America Has Been Having the Same Debate About Child Labor for 100 Years

S ince 2021, many states have been considering or have passed legislation to weaken child labor laws, while a smaller number have considered or have been strengthening and updating the laws on their books. The legislative debates come amid reporting about the dangers and even deadly conditions that many children—particularly immigrants in undocumented families—face in their workplaces.

Calls for forceful labor protections are rooted in arguments about the government’s responsibility to protect vulnerable young people from dangers and to limit their work hours and exposures on the job. Calls to roll back labor laws focus on the economic and career-education benefits for young people whose hours, opportunities, and incomes would be enhanced by the lifting of restrictions.

So, which is it? Do child workers need more protection, or less?

Ironically, this debate is heating up as we approach the June 2024 centennial of the passage of the failed Child Labor Amendment. The arguments voiced in the halls of Congress and in state legislatures a century ago are the ones being shouted across the aisles today. The subject at hand may be existing state laws, but the arguments turn on larger issues of states’ rights versus federalism, the role of paid labor in young people’s lives, classroom vs. vocational education, the economy, and parental authority versus governmental power.

Read More: Over 100 Kids Were Illegally Employed in Dangerous Meat-Packing Plant Jobs

Efforts to protect child workers started in the early 20th century, with exposés of youngsters laboring in mines, factories, and canneries and performing long hours of field labor. Progressive advocates, led by the National Child Labor Committee, pushed Congress to enact two successive federal child labor laws.

The Keating-Owen Act of 1916 limited children’s work hours and forbade interstate sale of goods produced by child labor. The Revenue Act of 1919 (sometimes called the Child Labor Tax Law) imposed a 10% tax on the net profit of companies that employed children in certain industries such as mining and manufacturing. An activist, pro-business U.S. Supreme Court overturned both laws.

Frustrated opponents of child labor then moved to amend the U.S. Constitution, seeing it is at the only way to remove children from dangerous and sometimes deadly workplaces and to ensure they received an education. In 1924, Grace Abbott, Chief of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, an agency within the Department of Labor, described the Child Labor Amendment as a way to protect children from “premature employment, excessive hours, and hazardous occupations.”

Senators and Congresspeople heard from a variety of professional groups supporting or opposing the proposed Amendment. Opponents argued that the Amendment constituted a massive attack on states’ rights and, ultimately, U.S. democracy. Business groups, led by the National Association of Manufacturers, deemed it an assault on the free market.

In defending the status quo, opponents pointed out that nearly all states already had child labor laws on the books and claimed sufficient protections were in place. Furthermore, they argued most child workers were engaged in agricultural work, helping out on family farms to sustain their households. Moreover, the 1920 census, opponents observed, showed a decline in child labor from a decade earlier, suggesting that the problem was resolving without the need for legislative action.

Amendment supporters responded that the census figures did not account for an overall decline in the labor force due to a recent industrial depression, nor did their figures acknowledge the effects of the previous short-lived 1919 Revenue Act, had still been on the books during the census. The data offered by Amendment opponents, they argued, did not reflect the actual situation.

One in 12 children between the ages of 10 and 16 remained in the labor force and despite the overall decline in their numbers, they continued to labor in textile mills, iron and steel mills, lumber mills, and coal mines. In these workplaces their health was compromised, they experienced accidents, and some died on the job.

Supporters of the Amendment also argued that hard labor and a lack of schooling imperiled not just child workers, but the nation. They pointed to the poor health and high illiteracy rates found among World War I recruits and argued that the nation’s military might and future economic prowess would be at risk if children grew up without strong minds and bodies.

Then, as now, debates about child labor laws elicited vastly different ideas about what work did for and to children.

Amendment opponents claimed giving work to children prevented them from becoming shiftless adults when they grew up, further noting that many families depended on their children’s wages. In highlighting the benefits of work, they foreshadowed current assertions about the value of inculcating a work ethic in young people and steering them away from screen time and criminal mischief. According to a petition from the Woman Patriot Publishing Company, President Calvin Coolidge’s 14-year-old son had done light work for wages during a vacation, reaping the benefits of healthy outdoor work. (President Coolidge, nonetheless, supported the Amendment.)

Read More: The Forgotten History of the Child Labor Amendment

Some opposed the Amendment on economic grounds. Congressman Edward William Pou of North Carolina argued that, if passed, the Amendment would prevent Black children from picking cotton and deworming tobacco, highlighting the industry’s dependence on low-cost labor. It was a pointed reminder of how race and region shaped the nation’s workforce. As Abbott reported, other than Rhode Island, the Southern states had the largest proportion of young laborers. Unsurprisingly, the American Federation of Labor supported the Amendment, viewing low-wage child labor as a threat to the employment of unionized and adult workers.

The simple language of the Amendment contrasted with the heated rhetoric of the congressional debate. It read, simply, “The Congress shall have the power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons under eighteen years of age,” and said states could pass laws stricter than ones that might be enacted by Congress. Notably, the Amendment said nothing about what measures might be passed if states failed to enact adequate protections.

Amendment opponents seized on the absence of specifics to claim it threatened far-reaching consequences for families. They imagined federal agents preventing mothers from requesting their daughters’ help in the kitchen and stopping fathers from asking their sons’ for assistance on the family farm. Congressman Fritz G. Lanham told his fellow Representatives to envision the arrival of a federal office at a home where he would be housed and fed and, in the evening, would read verses to the assembled household members, not from the Bible, but from some government volume.

The reference to government texts replacing the Bible was, undoubtedly, a way of reinforcing the idea that, as some argued, the Amendment was a Bolshevik scheme. In the wake of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the Red Scare that followed, opponents saw the proposed Amendment as leading Americans down a slippery slope to communist dictatorship. The Woman Patriot Publishing Company labeled the Amendment the “spearhead of the Communist campaign in the United States.” In their view, parental authority would be replaced by a centralized, communist-run government.

Claims about a federal takeover of parental authority appeared frequently in letters to editors of local papers and in public addresses as states debated ratification. Columbia University President D. Nicholas Murray Butler, speaking to the Sentinels of the Republic, a states’ rights group, warned that the Amendment would make possible the “substitution of Congressional control of childhood and youth for the natural relationship of parent and guardian.”

Despite these arguments, large majorities in both Houses of Congress passed the Amendment, which was then ratified by 28 states over the next 15 years. Nevertheless, the Amendment languished.

Federal protection of some child workers finally arrived with passage of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act as part of the New Deal. Unlike earlier legislation, it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Act, since amended many times, removed many youngsters from hazardous workplaces and curtailed night work and long workdays, but it did permit children to continue with farm labor. Enforcement of the new law was not robust and many youngsters continued to labor without protection.

In the 100 years since the passage of the Child Labor Amendment enormous changes occurred in the U.S. economy, in society, and in the educational and work lives of children. Yet, the debate about child worker protections continues, often echoing the previous deliberations. The failed Child Labor Amendment of 1924—it still awaits ratification—may be forgotten, but the arguments it provoked are alive and well.

Janet Golden’s latest book is Babies Made Us Modern: How Infants Brought Americans into the Twentieth Century.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here . Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.

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Write to Janet Golden / Made by History at [email protected]

Child Labor Essay: Thesis, Examples, & Writing Guide [2024]

Children have always been apprentices and servants all over human history. However, the Industrial Revolution increased the use of child labor in the world. It became a global problem that is relevant even today when such employment is illegal.

The principal causes of child labor are as follows:

• Poverty, as kids have to work to support their families.
• Lack of access to education or its low quality.
• Culture, as some countries encourage kids to earn their pocket money.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy.

The information you will find in this article can help you write a good child labor essay without any problems. Our professional writers gathered facts and tips that can help you with a paper on this topic. Nail your essay writing about child labor: thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion.

• 📜 How to Write
• ❓ Brief History
• ⚖️ Laws Today

🔗 References

📜 child labor argument essay: how to write & example.

Let’s start with tips on writing a child labor essay. Its structure depends on the type of your assignment : argumentative, persuasive, for and against child labor essay.

There’s nothing new in the essay structure: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, you should pay close attention to your thesis statement about child labor as the subject is quite delicate.

Below you’ll find the essential information on what to write in your assignment:

• The introduction may present the general meaning of the term “child labor.” In this part of your child labor essay, you may say that child labor means the work of children that aims at exploiting and harming them.
• The thesis statement should reveal your position on the issue. It’s the central idea of the paper. It may sound like “Not every kind of child labor is supposed to be exploitive.” Think about the phrasing of your child labor thesis statement.
• What are the reasons for the issue today? In this part of your essay, you have to present why child labor is widely-spread nowadays. Are there some positive factors for it?
• What jobs can be done by children? Give a list of possible careers, and present short descriptions of the duties children have to fulfill. Explain your job choice.
• How can we reduce child labor? Elaborate on why taking care of our young generation is crucial. What would you offer to reduce child labor?
• The conclusion of child labor essays should summarize everything that was said in the body. It should present the final idea that you have come up with while conducting your research. Make a point by approving or disapproving your thesis statement about child labor. Don’t repeat the central idea, but rather restate it and develop. If you’re not sure about what to write, you can use a summary machine to help you out.

We hope that now you have some ideas on what to write about. Nevertheless, if you still need some help with writing , you can check the child labor essay example:

For more facts to use in your essay, see the following sections.

❓ Brief History of Child Labor

The involvement of child labor became increasingly popular during the Industrial revolution . The factories ensured the growth in the overall standard of living, a sharp drop in the mortality rate in cities, including children. It caused unprecedented population growth. And with the help of machines, even physically weak people could work.

Operating power-driven machines did not require high qualification, but the child’s small height often was a better option. They could be installed quite closely to save the factory space. Some children worked in coal mines, where adults couldn’t fit.

Thus, child labor has become an indispensable and integral part of the economy.

Even special children’s professions were formed. For example, there were scavengers and scribes in the cotton factories:

• Scavengers had to be small and fast. They crawled all day under the spinning looms, collected the fallen pieces of cotton, inhaled cotton dust, and dodged the working mechanisms.
• Scribes walked around the shop and sorted the threads that ran along with the machine. It was estimated that the child was passing about 24 miles during the working day.

Needless to say, that child labor conditions were far from perfect. The situation began to change in the early 1900s during social reform in the United States. The restricting child labor laws were passed as part of the progressive movement.

During the Great Depression , child labor issues raised again because of lacking open jobs to adults. The National Industrial Recovery Act codes significantly reduced child labor in America.

What about today?

Child labor today in wealthy countries accounts for 1% of the workforce. At the same time, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) , the highest ranges of working children are in Africa (32%), Asia (22%), and Latin America (17%).

🧒 Causes of Child Labor

Speaking about child labor, you should understand the factors that lead to children employment:

• Poverty . According to ILO, it is one of the significant causes of child labor. Children have to work to support their families. Sometimes up to 40% of a household income is the child’s salary.
• Lack of access to education . An absence of school or its distant location and low quality of education affect children around the globe. Unaffordable tuition in local schools drives children to harmful labor.
• Culture . In some developing countries, it is common for children and adolescents to help their parents in a family business. They earn their pocket money because people believe such work allows children to develop skills and build character. Other cultures value girls’ education less than boys, so girls are pushed to provide domestic services.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy. This macroeconomic factor explains acceptability and demand for child labor.

⚖️ Child Labor Laws Today

Don’t forget to mention current labor laws and regulations in your child labor assignment. You can mention slavery and human trafficking linked to the issue even today. You may refer to international laws or analyze legislative acts in different countries.

For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act determines age restrictions, jobs allowed for teenagers, and necessary paperwork.

Other acts, programs, and initiatives you should mention are:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
• Minimum Age Convention
• Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention
• Australia’s and UK’s Modern Slavery Acts
• National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020
• International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
• Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1993

When writing about child laws against child labor, you may also explore the best and worst countries for children’s work conditions.

You may also mention child labor incidents:

• UNICEF’s report on using enslaved children in cocoa production.
• Child labor in Africa’s cobalt, copper, and gold mines.
• GAP, Zara, Primark, H&M’s products made with cotton, which may have been picked by children. You can also find extra information on companies that use child labor.
• Child labor in silk weaving factories.

Child Labor Essay Examples

• Child labor’s negative impact on human development . 
• Child labor and social worker interventions . 
• Child labor in the fashion industry . 
• Child labor, its forms, and disputable issues . 
• Ethics in business: child labor in the chocolate industry.  
• Samsung and child labor: business ethics case . 
• Child labor’s role in westernization and globalization . 

Child Labor Essay Topics

• Analyze the connection between poverty and child labor. 
• Discuss the reasons for the high trafficking of children rates.  
• Explain why child labor is among topical issues in the modern world.  
• What can be done to reduce child trafficking rates?  
• Explore the ways labor unions help to fight child labor.   
• Describe the child labor laws around the world and evaluate their effectiveness.  
• Analyze the cases of child exploitation in sweatshops in developing countries. 
• Discuss the social issues connected with child labor.   
• Examine the impact of child labor on children’s physical and mental health.  
• The role of UNICEF in the abolition of child labor and exploitation.  
• Child trafficking as a primary human rights issue.  
• The absence of adequate punishment is the reason for increased child slavery rates.
•  Analyze if current measures to prevent child exploitation are sufficient enough.  
• Discuss how social media platforms facilitate child trafficking.   
• Examine the social impact of child exploitation and trafficking .  
• Describe how the attitude towards child labor depends on the specifics of the country’s culture.  
• Explore how Zara’s use of child labor influenced its public image.  
• What organizations deal with commercial child exploitation prevention?  
• What can a healthcare professional do to help the victims of child exploitation?  
• Analyze the urgency of creating an effective program for the recovery of child trafficking victims .  
• Discuss the laws regulating child labor in different countries.  
• Explain the connection between the level of education in the country and child labor rates.  
• The role of parents in the success of child labor and exploitation prevention.  
• Explore the history of child labor.  
• Can labor be the way to teach children about basic life skills?  
• The disastrous effect of child trafficking on the mental health of its victims.  
• Discuss the problems connected with child trafficking and exploitation investigation.
• Examine the cases of using child soldiers in modern armed conflicts.  
• Analyze the role of international organizations in saving child soldiers.  
• The use of abducted children as frontline soldiers in Uganda.  
• What can be done to overcome the issue of child soldiers in the near future?  
• Discuss what fashion brands can do to prevent the use of child labor in overseas sweatshops.
• Explain why young workers are more vulnerable to exploitation compared to adult workers.
•  Explore the issue of child labor and exploitation in the Industrial Age.  
• Analyze how child labor affects the education of children . 
• Describe the business ethics of child labor.  
• Who is responsible for the use of child labor at tea plantations?  
• Examine the reasons for using child labor in mining in the 19 th century. 
• Employing child labor as one of the most widespread violations of children’s rights .
• Discuss the motives that push children to participate in labor.  

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• Child Labor Issues and Challenges: NIH
• Child Labor: World Vision Australia
• Essay Structure: Harvard University
• Child Labor: Human Rights Watch
• Child Labor: Laws & Definition: History.com
• Child Labor: Our World in Data
• History of Child Labor in the United States, Part 1: Little Children Working: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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• Child Labour Essay

What is Child Labour?

Child Labour means the employment of children in any kind of work that hampers their physical and mental development, deprives them of their basic educational and recreational requirements. A large number of children are compelled to work in various hazardous and non-hazardous activities such as in the agriculture sector, glass factories, carpet industry, brass industries, matchbox factories, and as domestic help. It is a blot on our society and speaks immensely about the inability of our society to provide a congenial environment for the growth and development of children. 

Childhood is considered to be the best time of one’s life but unfortunately, this does not hold true for some children who struggle to make both ends meet during their childhood years. According to the Child Labour project and 2011 census, 10.2 million children are engaged in child labour in India, out of which 4.5 million are girls. 

Earlier, children helped their parents in basic chores in agriculture such as sowing, reaping, harvesting, taking care of the cattle, etc. However, with the growth of the industries and urbanization, the issue of child labour has increased. Children at a very tender age are employed for various inappropriate activities and they are forced to make hazardous stuff using their nimble fingers. They are employed in the garment factories, leather, jewellery, and sericulture industries. 

Contributing Factors of Increasing Child Labour

There are a number of factors that contribute to the rise of this peril. 

Poverty plays a major role in the issues of child labour. In poor families, children are considered to be an extra earning hand. These families believe that every child is a bread-earner and so they have more children. As these children grow up, they are expected to share their parents’ responsibilities. 

Illiteracy is an important factor that contributes to this problem. The illiterate parents think that education is a burden because they need to invest more in comparison to the returns that they get in the form of earnings from their children. Child labourers are exposed to unhygienic conditions, late working hours, and different enormities, which have a direct effect on their cognitive development. The tender and immature minds of the children are not able to cope with such situations leading to emotional and physical distress. 

Unethical employers also prefer child labourers to adults because they canextract more work from them and pay a lesser amount of wage. Bonded child labour is the cruellest act of child labour. In this type of child labour, the children are made to work to pay off a loan or a debt of the family. Bonded labour has also led to the trafficking of these impoverished children from rural to urban areas in order to work as domestic help or in small production houses or just to lead the life of street beggars. 

Role of the Government

The government has a very important role to play in the eradication of child labour. As poverty is the major cause of child labour in our country, the government should give assurance to provide the basic amenities to the lower strata of our society. There should be an equal distribution of wealth. More work opportunities need to be generated to give fair employment to the poor. The various NGOs across the nation should come forward and provide vocational training to these people in order to jobs or to make them self-employed. 

This lower stratum of our society should understand and believe in the importance of education. The government and the NGOs should reach out to such people to raise awareness and initiate free education for all children between the age group of 6-14 years. The parents must be encouraged to send their children to schools instead of work. 

Educated and affluent citizens can come forward and contribute to the upliftment of this class of society. They should spread the message about the harmful effects of child labour. Schools and colleges can come up with innovative teaching programmes for poor children. Offices and private and government institutions should offer free education to the children of their staff. 

Moreover, awareness of family planning needs to be created among these people. The NGOs and the government must educate them about family planning measures. This will help the family to reduce the burden of feeding too many mouths.

Child Labour is a Crime 

Despite the strict law about child labour being a crime, it is still widely prevalent in India and many other countries worldwide. Greedy and crooked employers also lack awareness of human rights and government policies among the people below poverty. 

Children in certain mining operations and industries are a cheap source of labour, and the employers get away with it because of corruption in the bureaucracy. Sometimes low-income families may also ignore basic human rights and send their children to earn extra money. It is a systemic problem that needs to be solved by addressing issues at many levels. 

However, to protect young children from such exploitation, the Indian government has come up with a set of punishments. Any person who hires a child younger than 14, or a child between the ages of 14 and 18 in a dangerous job, they are liable to be imprisoned for a term of 6 months-2 years and/or a monetary penalty ranging between Rs.20,000 and Rs.80,000.

Eradicating Child Labour 

Eradication of child labour will require support from multiple aspects of society. The government programs and government agents can only go so far with their efforts. Sometimes, poor and uneducated families would be reluctant to let go of their familiar ways even when better opportunities are provided.

That’s when normal citizens and volunteers need to step up for support. NGOs supported by well-meaning citizens will have to ensure that the government policies are strictly enforced, and all forms of corruption are brought to light.  

Education drives and workshops for the poor section of the economy need to help raise awareness. Parents need to understand the long-term benefits of education for their children. It can help in developing the quality of life and the potential to rise out of poverty.

The harmful consequences of child labour mentally and physically on the children need to be taught in the workshops. Government petitions can also encourage schooling for younger children by offering nutritious meals and other benefits. 

Education about family planning is also critical in helping to control the population. When low-income families have more children, they are also inclined to send them for work to help float the household. Having fewer children means that they are valued, and parents focus on providing for their nourishment, education, and long-term well-being. 

Having fewer kids also makes them precious, and parents will not send them to hazardous working environments in fear of permanent injury or death. The government should introduce incentives for families with one or two children to encourage poorer families to have fewer children and reap the benefits while providing a good life.

Government Policies

The Indian Government enacted many laws to protect child rights, namely the Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986, the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. 

As per the Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation), 1986, children under the age of fourteen years old could not be employed in hazardous occupations. This act also attempts to regulate working conditions in the jobs that it permits and emphasizes health and safety standards. 

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 mandates free and compulsory education to all children between the age group of 6 to 14 years old. 

A nation full of poverty-ridden children cannot make progress. It should be the collective responsibility of society and the government to provide these impoverished children with a healthy and conducive environment, which will help them to develop their innate capabilities and their skills effectively.

FAQs on Child Labour Essay

Q1. What do you understand by Child Labour?

Child Labour means the employment of children in any kind of work that impedes their physical and mental development, deprives them of their basic educational and recreational requirements.

Q2. What factors lead to Child Labour?

Poverty, illiteracy, no family control lead to Child Labour. Even the growth of industrialization and urbanization play a major role in the Child Labour. The exploitation of poor people by unethical employers on account of failing to pay their loans or debts, lead to child labour.

Q3. What measures should be taken to eradicate Child Labour?

The government, NGOs should raise awareness about family control measures among the weaker section of the society. The government should provide free amenities and education to children between the age group of 6-14 years. The government should generate more employment opportunities for them. The schools and colleges can come up with innovative teaching programs for them.

Q4. Which policy has banned the employment of Children?

 The Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986 has banned the employment of children under the age of 14 years.

Q5. What are the causes of child labour? 

Child labour is mainly caused by poverty in families from the underprivileged section of the economy. Poor and uneducated parents send children to work under unsupervised and often dangerous conditions. They do not realise the damage it causes for children in the long run. Child labour is also caused by the exploitation of poor people by crooked employers. The problem is also fueled by corruption at the bureaucratic level, which ignores worker and human rights violations.

Q6. How to prevent child labour? 

Child labour can be prevented by education programs supported by the government and also NGOs. Volunteers have educated low-income families about the dangers of child labour and the benefits of education. Government laws should be reformed and enforced more rigorously to punish people who employ underage children.

Q7. What are the types of child labour?

There are mainly four types of child labour: 

Domestic child labourers:   These are children (mostly girls) who wealthy families employ to do the household chores.

Industrial child labourers:   Children are made to work in factories, mines, plantations, or small-scale industries. 

Debt Bondage:   Some children are forced to work as debt labourers to clear the inherited debts of their families. 

Child Trafficking:   Child trafficking is when orphaned or kidnapped children are sold for money. They are exploited the most without regard for their well-being. 

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Child Labour — Child Labour Should Be Stopped

Child Labour Should Be Stopped

• Categories: Child Labour

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Published: Nov 5, 2020

Words: 942 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Understanding the complex problem of child labour, strategies for combating child labour, the role of international collaboration.

• International Conventions and Agreements play a crucial role in the fight against child labour. Nations should ratify and implement international conventions such as ILO Convention No. 182, which calls for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work. Harmonizing international standards is essential to creating a unified front against child labour.
• Supply Chain Transparency is a responsibility that businesses must embrace. Companies should take proactive measures to ensure that child labour is not a part of their production processes. Transparency and accountability in supply chains can help identify and rectify instances of child labour, ultimately driving positive change in corporate practices.
• Support for Developing Nations is pivotal in the global effort to combat child labour. Wealthier nations should provide financial and technical assistance to developing nations, helping them implement effective strategies to eradicate child labour. This assistance can be channeled into education, healthcare, and poverty reduction programs, addressing the root causes of child labour and fostering sustainable development.
• Cigno, A., & Rosati, F. C. (2002). Child labor, nutrition, and education in rural India: An economic analysis of parental choice and policy options. Oxford Economic Papers, 54(4), 584-618.
• Duflo, E. (2001). Schooling and labor market consequences of school construction in Indonesia: Evidence from an unusual policy experiment. American Economic Review, 91(4), 795-813.
• Edmonds, E. V. (2007). Child labor. In T. P. Schultz & J. Strauss (Eds.), Handbook of Development Economics (Vol. 4, pp. 3607-3709). Elsevier.
• International Labor Organization. (1999). Convention No. 182 - Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312255
• International Labor Organization. (2017). Global estimates of child labor: Results and trends, 2012-2016. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/publications/WCMS_575499/lang--en/index.htm
• International Labor Organization. (2021). Alliance 8.7. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/WCMS_575551/lang--en/index.htm
• United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx

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77 Child Labour Essay Topics & Examples

Researching the subject of child labour for an essay, you will see that it’s quite challenging to write about. That’s why we’ve listed useful topics here.

🏆 Best Child Labour Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

🎓 good child labour project topics, 👍 interesting child labour essay topics, ❓ research questions on child labour.

Even today, in our progressive world, this is a pressing issue that you can discuss in detail, relying on region and global statistics. We would love to facilitate this task for you by providing good child labour essay topics. Our experts have collected this list on the causes, solutions, and other aspects of the issue. So, check our essay ideas and research questions on child labour and start writing!

• Arguments for and Against Banning All Forms of Child Labour It is essential to examine the border between safe and dangerous labor and compare arguments for and against the prohibition of all forms of child labor in manufacturing.
• Nestlé Company and Child Labour Exploitation In the following 15 years, the issue of child labour on African cocoa farms would become a cause celebre and Nestle would struggle to improve its image amid constant child labour scandals.
• Business Ethics and Child Labour According to the case, business ethics is the observance of rules and regulations that have been put in place. Child labour is one of the serious ethical issues that businesses have to deal with in […]
• Child Labour in India and Intervention Measures The Union government of India need to earnestly take the initiative of conducting civic education, particularly for the Indian scheduled castes and Tribes as these categories provide wellspring for the vulnerable and susceptible Gender.
• Problem of Child Labor in Modern Society According to the International Labor Organization, these are the worst forms of child labor. There are emerging cases of child labor in the third world nations.
• Child Labour: Ethical Aspects of Employment In spite of its rich history, the question of child labour cannot be answered in a proper way; a number of issues like personal desire, necessity, and living conditions have to be taken into consideration; […]
• Globalization and the Economics of Child Labor In his article “Globalization and the Economics of Child Labor”, Edmond Eric advances that globalization has resulted in a significant reduction in child labor throughout the world.
• Child Labour in the Late 1800s to the Early 1900s The children of the poor families were forced to find out the livelihood for their families and were deprived of education, his sweet adolescence and other necessities of the world.
• A Review of the Child Labour, Its Perspectives Child labour can be described any form of economic improving activity for children under the age of 12 depending on the individual state that compromises the child’s right to health, quality education and all work […]
• Child Labour and Rights in the United Kingdom From child labor to child abuse, there are certainly different government and non-government agencies all over the world that support and are keenly watching the child’s rights and protection programs of every country. The cases […]
• Businesses Engaging in Child Labour They claimed that child labor practices were against the precepts of their company and international labor laws. Fairtrade International admitted that they were informed of the allegations of child labor in the cotton farms.
• Child Labour: An Illegal Practise This paper seeks to elaborate the reasons behind the use of child labour in some corporations and the general ways child labour affects the conditions of the children involved.
• Child Labour Policies in Business While the US and many other European nations accept that the banning of any illegal form of child labour is vital for enhancing observance of the rights for children, some nations, especially in the developing […]
• Role of Codes of Conduct in Child Labour Practice As it will be observed in the following case, the issue of child labour is among the many challenges that have continued to affect the management of modern global supply chains.
• Labor Economics: Child Labor In another observation, Chau believes that the practice may be developed by the myth that children’s’ way of doing things better than adults would make them the appropriate substitute in the labor market.
• Intermittent Child Employment and Its Implications for Estimates of Child Labour
• Understanding Child Labour Beyond the Standard Economic Assumption of Monetary Poverty
• Climate Vulnerability, Communities’ Resilience and Child Labour
• Child Labour and the Industrial Revolution
• Child Labour Is Not Always Bad for Society
• An Analysis of the Child Labour in the Nineteenth Century England
• Child Labour and Its Effects on Children and Their Families
• An Introduction to the Child Labour in Third World Countries
• Banning Child Labour in Developing Countries
• International Migration and Child labour in Developing Countries
• Child Labour: A Historically Important Role with Future Repercussions
• International Migration and Child Labour in Developing Countries
• The Trade-Off Between Child Labour and Schooling in India
• The Role of Trade and Offshoring in the Determination of Child Labour
• Human Rights for Child Labour
• Mortality Risks, Education and Child Labour
• Child Labour in Developing Countries: The Role of Education, Poverty and Birth Order
• Educational Programme for Child Labour
• Breaking Mainstream Thinking: Legalizing Child Labour
• The Intriguing Relation Between Adult Minimum Wage and Child Labour
• Unintended Effects of Microfinance: An Increase in Child Labour in Some Contexts
• Child Labour, School Attendance and Performance
• Victorian England Child Labour
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• Child Labour and Its Effect on Children Essay
• Agricultural Dualism, Incidence of Child Labour and Subsidy Policies
• Voting with Your Children: A Positive Analysis of Child Labour Laws
• Rescuing Children from the Hands of Child Labour
• An Overview of Child Labour in the 19th Century
• Child Labour and Trade Liberalization in a Developing Economy
• Impact of Trade Vs. Non-trade Policies on the Incidence of Child Labour
• Social Responsibility and Child Labour
• What Are Child Labour and Possible Prevention?
• Does Globalisation Increase Child Labour?
• Why Banning the Worst Forms of Child Labour Would Hurt Poor Countries?
• Was Victorian England Child Labour?
• The Income Elasticity of Child Labour: Do Cash Transfers Impact on the Poorest Children?
• Are Fair Trade Labels Effective Against Child Labour?
• How to Find the Trade-Off Between Child Labour and Human Capital Formation?
• Does Child Labour Still Exist Today?
• Was Child Labour Necessary During the Industrial Revolution?
• Child Labour and How Does It Happen?
• What Is the Connection Between Child Labour and Mothers’ Work?
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• Can the WTO Member States Rely on Citizen Concerns to Prevent Corporations from Importing Goods Made from Child Labour?
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• Is Overpopulation the Main Cause of Child Labour?
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• What Is the Connection Between Child Labour and Trade Liberalization?
• What are the Un’s Preventative Measures Against Child Labour?
• Child Labour: Core Labour Standards and FDI: Friends or Foes?
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Essay on Child Labour

List of essays on child labour in english, essay on child labour – essay 1 (100 words), essay on child labour – essay 2 (250 words), essay on child labour – essay 3 (300 words), essay on child labour – essay 4 (400 words), essay on child labour – essay 5 (450 words), essay on child labour – essay 6 (750 words), essay on child labour – essay 7 (800 words), essay on child labour – essay 8 (1000 words).

Introduction:

Child Labour means indulging the children in arduous labour which affects their physical and mental development and exploiting their potential to grow up with dignity.

UNICEF Facts:

UNICEF shows that about 10.1 million children in India are engaged in Work , thereby constituting 13% of the workforce in India. The age limit of these children ranges between 5 to 14 years.

Challenges & Steps to Be Taken:

Child labour doesn’t follow pattern and happens in all walks from within families to factories. Hence, the mindset of the society should be changed to emphasize that children must go to school and adults should be employed.

Conclusion:

Government should make stricter laws to eradicate child labour. NGOs should pitch in to these avenues and empower these children to a brighter future.

Any work that snatches away the dignity, potential and most importantly the childhood of a child is termed as child labour. Child labour has often been associated with work that is harmful to the physical as well as mental development of the child. Unfortunately, the most number of child labour cases in the world are reported from India every year. But what has eventually led us to adopt this otherwise disrespected practice?

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR:

Lack of social security, hunger and poverty are the fundamental drivers of child labour. The expanding gap between the rich and poor people, privatization of fundamental organisations and the neo-liberal monetary strategies are causes of significant areas of the population remaining out of business and without essential needs. This antagonistically influences kids more than some other age groups. A significant concern is that the real number of child workers goes un-distinguished. Laws that are intended to shield youngsters from unsafe work are ineffectual and not executed accurately.

MEASURES TO STOP CHILD LABOUR:

Elimination of poverty, the abolition of child trafficking and compulsory and free education and training can help diminish the issue of child labour. Strict implementation of work laws is additionally a basic requirement with the end goal to counteract abuse by organisations. Amendments in the present child labour laws are required to actually take control of the situation. The base of the age of fourteen years should be expanded to something like eighteen. Then only we can put an end to the continuous harassment faced by our kids and help them have a bright future not only for themselves for the nation as a whole.

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 issue of child labour can be dealt with only after understanding the real cause behind kids working in the industries. The children should be encouraged to speak up for themselves and say no to child labour.

Child labor is an important topic that is being debated as a serious social issue all around the world. Keeping the society aware of this issue will help to avoid such illegal and inhuman activity from destroying the lives of many children.

Child Labor is something that replaces the normal activities a child, like education, playing, etc., by economic activities. These economic activities may be paid or unpaid work, which benefits the family of the child or the owner the child work’s for. The age limit is restricted to fourteen years or even seventeen years in case of dangerous works.

Reason for Child Labor:

Children may be forced to do child labor because of poverty and financial problems in their family. Many owners accept child labors since they only need a less amount as salary or even some accept non-monetary jobs too.

Children are often made to do such hard jobs by their irresponsible parents. They send their kids for domestic works for the money as well as for food they get through these works. These demanding works often spoil the childhood and give a harder way of living to the kid.

Parents allow their children for such jobs because of lack of awareness too. When they are too poor to take admissions in schools and the lack of good schools in their locality may also lead to such activities.

Types of Child Labor:

Not all form of jobs done by children are considered as child labor, but there are some things to note while categorizing them. Whether the job done mentally, morally, physically and socially affect the child in a dangerous way? Does the job done affect their education and other childhood activities like playing? The job they do shouldn’t be both tiring and excessive that they are forced to avoid other activities they should be doing in their age. These are the characteristics of Child Labor.

In extreme ways, there are owners who treat children like slaves and separate them from their families to do such hard jobs. Whatever be the job done, child labor depends on the age of the kid involved, type of activity and hours of work they do per day.

As a conclusion, children are meant to be enjoying their childhood and should be allowed to educate themselves at early ages. There are many schemes introduced by the government to reduce such child labors like providing free education and taking severe actions against those who promote child labor.

Child labor is illegal exploitation of children below the age 18. It is a cognizable criminal offense. Indian Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and subsequent amendment of CLPR Act1986 prohibits employing children below the age of 14. Children under the age of 14 even should not be employed as domestic help. However, children between 14 and 18 categorized as ‘adolescent’ and can be employed if it does not violate the Factories Act, 1948.

Child labor is a bane to any country. It is a shameful practice and rampant more in developing and underdeveloped countries. Child labor is a hot topic in India among intellectual communities and political circles; still this social evil is seamlessly being practiced in our country, with the blessing of bureaucracy and political patronage. It is high time to eradicate child labor from our society and punish the unscrupulous people who have been continuing the evil practice.

The development of any nation begins with the welfare of children. At an age adorned with colors and pranks, the tiny tots wither away their innocence in hazardous working conditions devoid of any childish fantasies.

At a tender age, the toddlers take up responsibilities to feed their families, and there could be many reasons that might have forced the children to work as a breadwinner. They strive hard day and night to feed their entire family. They sacrifice their lives, for their family even without knowing the personal repercussions in their later life.

This trend must have to stop at any cost. A practical solution to keep this social menace at bay is to organize awareness programs and introduce stringent laws which force children not to work or employ them as child labor. Some unscrupulous and merciless people appoint them because of cheap labor, as they have no bargaining power or no other choice but to succumb to their destiny.

Parents from the vulnerable section required proper advice and counseling to make them understand the importance of education. The government should come forward to identifying such families by offering social security without cast and religion consideration. The government should provide free boarding education for such financially backward communities, irrespective of any consideration. The only consideration must be their financial status.

Moreover, the existing laws pertaining to child labor must have, and if required, a proper amendment should be made to the Child Labor Act to stop the social evil system. Then only our dreams of a child labor free India, come true.

Greedy employees, poverty, poor financial background, lack of education are the main reason for child labor. It is the responsibility of government, social organization and society to address the issue for finding a permanent solution. Children are the asset of the nation. When they fail, the country fails, period.

One of the cruelest crimes that are done to the children is the child labor in which the kids are forced to do work at a tiny age. They are compelled to earn like adults for supporting their families economically. As per the International Labour Organization, the children who have not attained the age of 15 should not get forcefully involved in any kind of work.

Employing children in work at an early age make their childhood deprived of the right to education along with the lack of mental, physical and social welfare. Child labor is prohibited in certain nations, but still, it is a global concern in maximum countries for rescinding the kid’s future predominantly.

As per the Indian law, the children under the 14 years of age should not be hired to any work at the workshops, organizations or restaurants. Their parents cannot also force them to do any job.

Different Causes of Child Labour:

There are numerous causes of child labor like repression of child rights, poverty, improper education, limited rules and laws on child labor, etc. The reasons for the child labor are almost the same in different nations.

The following are the various causes of child labor:

i. The high level of unemployment and the problem of poverty in developing countries are the primary cause of child labor. As per the statistics of U.N. in the year 2005, over 1/4 th of the people globally are living below the poverty line.

ii. The lack of right to regular education is one of the reasons for child labor in numerous nations. According to the research done in the year, 2006, nearly 76 million kids have not seen the face of the school.

iii. Violating the regulations about the child labor has also provided the way to enlarge this problem in developing nations.

iv. Insufficient social control has resulted in an increasing percentage of child labor in the region of domestic work or agriculture.

v. Small kids have to get involved in the child labor to add up in the income of their family so that they can eat food for at least two times a day.

vi. They are employed by the industries at the decreased labor expenses to get extra work done.

Probable Solutions to the Child Labour

With the purpose to eradicate the problem of: child labor from society, there is the necessity to follow certain effective way out on a serious basis to protect the future of an emerging nation.

Below are some probable solutions to avoid the issue of child labor:

i. Constructing new unions might benefit in stopping child labor since it will inspire more people to support against the point of child labor.

ii. The parents should consider the education of their children as the priority from their childhood. In this movement, the schools should also cooperate by providing free education to the children without any obstruction.

iii. There should be a high level of social awareness regarding child labor with the accurate statistics of enormous damage in the future for any emerging nation.

iv. Every single family should earn their minimum earnings with the purpose of surviving and preventing the problem of child labor. It will also decrease the number of people living below the poverty line in the country which ultimately reduces the child labor cause.

v. There is the requirement of more strict and effective government rules against the child employment with the aim of preventing the kids from working at their early age.

vi. The issue of child trafficking must be abolished by the different nation’s governments.

vii. The child laborers must be substituted by the adult labors so that the adult can get the job and kids get free from the child labor.

viii. The opportunities for employment for the adults must be increased for adults to decrease the issue of poverty as well as child labor.

ix. Trade proprietors of manufacturing work, businesses, mines, etc., must have the pledge of not employing any kid in any labor.

Child labor is one of the broad social issues that require getting resolved on an urgent basis. This step is incomplete without the support of parents as well as the government. Kids carry a flourishing prospect of any developing nation. Thus, they should be a considerable concern of all the citizens.

Children should get appropriate chance to grow and develop inside the contented surroundings of school and family. People should not use them for their earnings or for-profit motive. Children have full right to live their personal life with proper education.

Children are a gift and blessing to a family. They deserve the unconditional love and care of the parents. It is inhuman to take advantage of their innocence and helplessness. However in India, a lot of children are being subjected to child labour, probably due to lack of awareness. They are deprived of a happy and normal childhood.

Meaning of Child Labour:

Child Labour involves engaging children to produce goods or services for financial gain. It denies their right to attend regular school and enjoy a happy childhood. It rips their capacity in the bud to have a good future. It affects the overall development of their physical and mental faculties.

When children are involved in full or part time work, it affects their schooling, recreation and rest. However, any work to promote and develop the child’s capability without affecting these three components is encouraged positively.

Causes of Child Labour:

Poverty is the foremost cause of child labour in India. Indian children have the history of labouring with their parents in their professional activities. It may seem right for the poverty-stricken parents to involve their children in labour for the sake of their family’s welfare. However, the right of that child for education and normal childhood is denied in the process.

Some illiterate parents often subject their children to bonded labour. Unaware of the exorbitant interest rates, they exploit their children by allowing to labour against their debt. Sometimes, the non-availability of affordable education in the villages are a cause of child labour.

When parents are sick or disabled, the need to earn the living falls squarely on the children’s shoulders. In such cases, they are not in a position to abide by the law. Rather than stealing and begging, they tend to allow their children to labour at a young age.

Sometimes, greediness of men play a part in child labour. The parents, who wish to increase the economic status of the family subject their children to labour. The employers, on their part, prefer child labourers against adults, taking advantage of the low labour cost.

Some families traditionally believe that the next generation should continue their family business. The children of these families are restricted to pursue their own goals in terms of education and career. In the Indian Society, there are still people who believe that girl children are fit only for domestic chores. So, girls often lose their right for education and normal childhood.

Child Labour Laws in India:

Child labour laws were formulated to prevent child labour, monitor and punish violators, and rehabilitate the victims.

They were laid down as early as 1938 during the colonial rule. But, year after year, during the various Government regimes, several amendments were made.

In the 1974 policy, children were declared as “nation’s supremely important asset.” The need to prioritize their welfare in national plans was recognised. The overall development of their sound spirit, soul and body was emphasized.

The 2003 policy underlined the right of the child to enjoy a happy childhood, to clear the causes that dampen their development, to educate the society to strengthen family ties and to protect them from all kinds of mistreatment.

In the 2013 policy, the rights of the child to survive, to enjoy good health, to be nourished with nutritious food, to have overall development of their personality, their opportunity for good education, their protection from abuse and participation in decision-making of their future life were the key priorities. This policy is due for review every five years.

Solutions to Child Labour:

The Government is working close with social agencies and common public to solve the issues of child labour.

Online Portal:

Since 1988, National Child Labour Project Scheme (NCLPS) started to reinstate the rescued child labourers working in hazardous occupations. When children are rescued, they are enrolled in Special Training Centres and given education, meals, stipend, health care and recreation. Eventually, they are directed towards mainstream education. Adolescents rescued are given skilled trainings and suitable jobs.

The present Government has revived this scheme in 2017 with the latest use of technology to register child labour complaints online. With aims to eradicate child labour, the PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) Portal serves to receive complaints, rescues the child with the help of local police and tracks the progress until he/she is successfully enrolled in a school or vocational training.

Sensitization:

Since the community and local governance have definite roles in the welfare of a child, many programmes are being conducted to create awareness and sensitize the common people. Several coordination and action groups have been formed at State and District levels to monitor. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is the nodal Ministry that oversees and coordinates the implementation of the current policy.

Nobel Peace Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi, the Indian Children’s Rights Activist, believes that child labour could be abolished only through collaborative action, dedication at political level, sufficient capital and compassion for the needy children. The Government and the stakeholders like him, with their organisations, are working closely to root out this social evil by 2025.

About Child Labor:

In India, child labor refers to the hiring of any child below the age of 14 for the purpose of any economic benefits. In other words, it is illegal for an organization, including shops and factories to engage a child in their business for physical labor. This especially holds true for employment with occupational hazards, such as coal mines, welding, construction works, and painting, etc.

Though constitution makes employing the kids for laborious works a punishable offense, data says otherwise. Many national and international laws have been created to give these children protection from child labor but ground reality is something else. In India alone, more than 50 million children are forced into child labor for one or the other reasons.

Major Causes of Child Labor:

First of all, poverty strikes a major percentage of the total population of India. Life in rural areas of villages is even more difficult. The poor economic condition and low standard of living pave the way for child labor. To compensate for the daily needs of food and survival, both boys and girls are forced to work beyond their capacities. It is fair to say that they are left with no choice.

Lack of Education:

Lack of education in the rural areas means parents are less educated. Consequently, they also do not value the importance of school and education in the lives of their own children. In the scarcity of contraceptive awareness, couples end up having multiple children. Arranging three meals every day becomes an impossible task and the children learn it the hard way quite soon.

Gender Discrimination:

Girls are often prevented from going to school at a very low age. They are made to help in the fieldwork and the house chores as well. The story is not much different for the boys too. They quit school in order to take up some labor work in factories and farms and help their father in breadwinning.

Cheap Labor:

In big cities and towns, these factors may be absent but that doesn’t immune the urban areas from the child labor cases. Child labors are easy to afford. They can be made to do more tiring jobs at low pays. Often the owners would provide them little food and money for continuous hours of work. As these kids have no family support, they end up giving in to such exploitations.

Child Trafficking:

Child trafficking is also another factor that leads to child labor. Trafficked children have no home. They are sent to faraway place unknown to them. Ultimately, these little souls are pushed into extremely torturing and dangerous work conditions, such as prostitution, domestic helping, transport of drugs, etc.

Impacts of Child Labor:

Poor Physical and Mental Health:

Children at such a young age are gullible and vulnerable. Child labor affects their physical, mental, and emotional health in a severe way. They are deprived of their basic rights to education. Arduous physical strain and the burden of arranging their own food cause malnutrition in them.

Forced Maturity:

In order to survive in this world, they tend to become mature faster than they need to. Their childhood is lost and crushed with the bitter pressure of acting like an adult. The kind of affection and love needed at such a tender age is never available to them. Both parents and the owners are often highly demanding to them.

Physical Abuse:

Such consistent threats keep the children in a frightening state of mind all the time. There are increased chances of physical abuse. To cope up with these pressures, girls and boys fall victims to the drug abuse. Many more dangerous habits become a normal part of their lives.

Addiction and Sexual Abuse:

From taking drugs to selling them, alcohol addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, rape, emotional numbness, violence, are common things that surround their living conditions. Poor kids may also catch up these habits from their own parents or localities, where their parents or friends are showing these behaviors on a regular basis.

The situation becomes worse if these kids are physically handicapped. In villages and low-income groups, the adults struggle to arrange a proper livelihood for themselves. So, they begin to see girls and handicapped children as nothing more than a baggage. As a result, girls are sold off to marry old men and the kids are left to beg on the streets.

Challenges in Controlling Child Labor:

Unclear Laws:

While the laws to diminish the curse of child labor have been made, they are pretty vague in nature. For instance, most of the laws are unable to dictate strict guidelines for the unorganized sectors. Immunity from the dangerous works is not sufficient. Moreover, clear points should be laid out in terms of where and for how many hours can the children work (if they really need to).

Lack of Rehabilitation Plans:

Another issue that the authorities face is the lack of rehabilitation facilities for the children who have been saved from the devil grips of child labor. It becomes an unanswered question as to how these children should regain control of their new lives and start afresh. Proper counseling and nutrition play an indispensable role to help them thrive.

Lack of Awareness:

More awareness needs to be created in rural and urban areas. Adults including the parents should be taught about the negative impacts of child labor on the minds of children. They should also be explained about the power of education and the various schemes which promises a free basic education for kids. It is even more important to emphasize how the education empowers girls and makes their lives better.

Child labor is not just about forcing children to work. Its side effects are quite large and gruesome. It leaves a stain on the child’s mind. It interferes with their mental and emotional health and prevents their proper growth and development. It is a blemish on the face of humanity that must be erased as soon as possible.

After all, what kind of citizens do we expect them to grow into after such kinds of abuse? We need to think about it. Children are the future of our society, our country. We cannot hope for true growth and prosperity until and unless our young generation is safe and healthy in every way.

Child Labour , Child Labour in India , Social Issues

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Child Labor

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 24, 2022 | Original: October 27, 2009

Child labor, or the use of children as workers, servants and apprentices, has been practiced throughout most of human history, but reached its zenith during the Industrial Revolution. Miserable working conditions including crowded and unclean factories, a lack of safety codes and long hours were the norm. Children could be paid less and were less likely to organize into unions. Working children were typically unable to attend school, creating a cycle of poverty that was difficult to break. Nineteenth century reformers and labor organizers sought to restrict child labor and improve working conditions to uplift the masses, but it took the Great Depression—a time when Americans were desperate for employment—to shake long-held practices of child labor in the United States.

Child Labor in the United States

The Puritan work ethic of the 13 colonies and their founders valued hard work over idleness, and this ethos applied to children as well. Through the first half of the 1800s, child labor was an essential part of the agricultural and handicraft economy of the United States. Children worked on family farms and as indentured servants for others. To learn a trade, boys often began their apprenticeships between the ages of ten and fourteen.

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of factories and mines in need of workers. Children were ideal employees because they could be paid less, were often of smaller size so could attend to tasks in tight spaces and were less likely to organize and strike against their pitiable working conditions.

Before the Civil War , women and children played a critical role in American manufacturing, though it was still a relatively small part of the economy. Advances in manufacturing techniques after the war increased the number of jobs—and therefore increased the number of child laborers.

Did you know? In 1900, 18 percent of all American workers were under the age of 16.

Immigration and Child Labor

Immigration to the United States coincidentally peaked during the Industrial Revolution and led to a new source of labor—and child labor. When the Irish Potato Famine struck in the 1840s, Irish immigrants moved to fill lower-level factory jobs.

In the 1880s, groups from southern and eastern Europe arrived, provided a new pool of child workers. The trend continues today, as many immigrant children work in agriculture, which is exempt from certain labor laws.

National Child Labor Committee

Educational reformers of the mid-nineteenth century attempted to convince the public that a primary school education was a necessity if the nation were to advance as a whole. Several states established a minimum wage for labor and requirements for school attendance—though many of these laws were full of loopholes that were readily exploited by employers hungry for cheap labor.

Beginning in 1900, efforts to regulate or eliminate child labor became central to social reform in the United States. The National Child Labor Committee , organized in 1904, and state child labor committees led the charge.

These organizations employed flexible methods in the face of slow progress. They pioneered tactics like investigations by experts; the use of photographs of child laborers to spark outrage at the poor conditions of children at work, and persuasive lobbying efforts. They used written pamphlets, leaflets and mass mailings to reach the public.

From 1902 to 1915, child labor committees emphasized reform through state legislatures. Many laws restricting child labor were passed as part of the Progressive Era reform movement . But many Southern states resisted, leading to the decision to work for a federal child labor law. While Congress passed such laws in 1916 and 1918, the Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional.

The supporters of child labor laws sought a constitutional amendment authorizing federal child labor legislation and it passed in 1924, though states were not keen to ratify it; the conservative political climate of the 1920s, together with opposition from farm and church organizations fearing increased federal power over children, acted as roadblocks.

Depression-Era Child Labor

The Great Depression left thousands of Americans without jobs and led to sweeping reforms under the New Deal programs of Franklin Delano Roosevelt . These focused on increasing federal oversight of the workplace and giving out-of-work adults jobs—thereby creating a powerful motive to remove children from the workforce.

Almost all of the codes developed under the National Industrial Recovery Act served to reduce child labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set a national minimum wage for the first time, a maximum number of hour for workers in interstate commerce—and placed limitations on child labor. In effect, the employment of children under sixteen years of age was prohibited in manufacturing and mining.

‘Orphan Trains’ Brought Homeless NYC Children to Work On Farms Out West

Over a 75‑year period, up to 200,000 indigent children went from city to farm.

Mormons Tried to Stop Native Child Slavery in Utah. They Ended Up Encouraging It

Children were purchased in an attempt to save them from being degraded, but soon became a vital source of labor for early Mormon settlers.

When a Millionaire Married a Teen And Sparked Opposition to U.S. Child Marriage

Before meeting his young wife, 51‑year‑old New York real estate titan Edward Browning had taken out newspaper ads saying he wanted to adopt a 14‑year‑old girl.

Automatization and Education

Changing attitudes toward work and social reform weren’t the only factors reducing child labor; the invention of improved machinery that mechanized many of the repetitive tasks previously given to children led to a decrease of children in the workforce. Semiskilled adults took their place for more complex tasks.

Education underwent reforms, too. Many states increasing the number of years of schooling required to hold certain jobs, lengthened the school year and began to more strictly enforce truancy laws. In 1949, Congress amended the child labor law to include businesses not covered in 1938 like transportation, communications and public utilities.

Does Child Labor Exist Today?

Although child labor has been significantly stalled in the United States, it lingers in certain areas of the economy like agriculture, where migrant workers are more difficult to regulate. Since 1938, federal laws have excluded child farm workers from labor protections provided to other working children. For example, children 12 and younger can legally work in farm fields, despite the risks posed by exposure to pesticides and farm machinery.

Employers in the garment industry have turned to the children of illegal immigrants in an effort to compete with imports from low-wage nations. Despite laws limiting the number of hours of work for children and teens still attending school, the increasing cost of education means many are working longer hours to make ends meet. State-by-state enforcement of child labor laws varies to this day.

Youth Employment Laws. The University of Iowa Center . History of Child Labor in the United States. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . Children in the Fields. National Farm Worker Ministry .

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Child Labour Essays

by Anna Tran

Hi,

It's generally a good essay.

It is particularly strong in that you have some good arguments that are well supported with reasons and examples, and your opinion is clear.

Coherency is also generally quite good.

There are some noticeable grammar issues though so you need to work on this. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to check your grammar or check it as you go along.

Aug 16, 2015

it is a good essay but it needs about - about improvement. In all ways in is better, nice, or good we can say. All the best for improving this essay.

Jun 30, 2017

Child Labour Essay, of children in any work that deprives them of their childhood, impedes their ability to have a proper schooling and that is morally, socially, physically or mentally harmful and dangerous. Many international organisations consider this practice as exploitative. The Legislation prohibits child labour around the world. This child labour essay depicts the causes, effects and solution for the child labour prevention. Visit: https://www.swamirara.com/child-labour-essay/ for more information about Child Labour essay

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Children Engaged in Work

by prithu (london)

In many countries children are engaged in some kind of paid work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others consider it as valuable work experience, important for learning and taking responsibilty. Discuss both views and give your opinion. In the recent times, children are encouraged to work for money in many parts of the world in order to gain experience. This new trend is practiced in many countries especially during summer and winter breaks. Some think it is a bad idea to introduce handling money in young age while others think jobs that pay can help to gain experience and knowledge. Both sides of this argument will be analysed before a reasoned conclusion is drawn. Firstly, paying children at a very young age can be inappropriate as this can eventually encourage them to start leading an independent life allowing them to take their own decisions very early in life. This can also lead them to discontinue their studies. For instance, my brother always worked during his summer break for small scale companies that ultimately led to disinterest in academics and at the age of 18 he dropped out from college and began work. Although he gained experience in his early adult life, it later became difficult to cope up with the real working class life. However, some people think paid jobs for children can fetch experience and improve the learning ability. Although this holds good as the short term benefit, there are big chances for a child being mislead into a wrong direction because money being available at all times. Going through internship programs in school or college life, working for charity programs can also allow one to gain knowledge and understanding about the society in which they live. To sum up, albeit people think paid jobs can teach better values for children, education is the key factor in success. In my opinion, children should be discouraged of the idea of paid jobs and should be encouraged more on education, charity programs and so on which eventually can lead to gaining valuable knowledge and experience. *** Click below to help this student by posting comments on their Child Labour Essay.

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Essay on Children Working

In many countries children are engaged in some kind of paid work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others consider it as valuable work experience, important for learning and taking responsibility. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. Child laboring has become a major threat to humanity around the globe. While many would argue this as illegal, a minor fraction of population defend this on the basis of learning and skill development. I content that by no means children should be encouraged to work and legal institutions should take the responsibility of safeguarding them. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting both sides of argument with relevant examples to support my opinion. Firstly, whether it is paid or unpaid children should be stopped from laboring regardless of social and economical status. In developing countries under aged people are being forced to work due to poverty and lack of social supports. It should be taken into account that these harsh conditions and unpleasant working environment may lead to serious consequences in a child's health and future. For instance a recent report on Bangladesh mining industry revealed that over a half of the children found to have irreversible lung disease which could make them disabled or endanger their life. Furthermore that report suggested that social services and laws should take this as serious as possible and act immediately to prevent any further harms. On the other hand, minority of world's population support hiring children in the name of introducing skills in the early age would benefit one in their career. Also they argue that people exposed to new skills in childhood performs better in work place and encourage more to do so. For example owner of Tata motors in India, once a child labour mechanic and now a world renounced automobile industry magnet. It should be understood, although introducing new skills at early age is extremely beneficial, child labouring should never be promoted. For the betterment of our future generations we should act immediately to prevent this. Moreover governments and law making authorities should take necessary steps to safeguard children and build a better future for them. *** Please correct this essay as I have done it in 34 minutes. Many thanks. Gane B

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13 July 2011

How irreplaceable is child labour?

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Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Minimal Advancement

Note: Due to changes in the trade preferential status of Russia in 2015, ILAB conducted no further reports on the worst forms of child labor in Russia covering years after 2014. 

In 2014, the Russian Federation made a minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Government committed to assessing and improving working conditions in its 2014 Employment Plan. The Government continued the implementation of a social protection mechanism defined by the Social Contract law to financially support vulnerable citizens, including child trafficking victims. The Government also continued support of the Russian Children in Need Fund, which aims to rehabilitate disadvantaged and homeless children. However, children in Russia are engaged in child labor, including in work on the street, and in the worst forms of child labor, including being used in the production of pornography. Laws do not prohibit possession of child pornography or benefiting from its proceeds. In addition, Russia continues to lack a mechanism to coordinate nationwide efforts to combat the worst forms of child labor, and it has no social programs specifically targeting this goal.

Children in Russia are engaged in child labor, including in street work.(1-3) Children are also engaged in the worst forms of child labor, including being used in the production of pornography.(1-4) Table 1 provides key indicators on children's work and education in Russia. Data on some of these indicators are not available from the sources used in this report.

Working children, ages 7 to 14 (% and population):	Unavailable
School attendance, ages 5 to 14 (%):	Unavailable
Children combining work and school, ages 7 to 14 (%):	Unavailable
Primary completion rate (%):	97.1

Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2012, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2015 .(5) Data were unavailable from Understanding Children's Work Project's analysis, 2015 .(6)

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children's work by sector and activity.

Sector/Industry	Activity
Agriculture	Farming,* activities unknown (1, 2, 7)
Industry	Construction,* activities unknown (7, 8)
Services	Street work, including collecting bottles and other waste,* washing cars,* street sweeping,* and vending* (1-3)
	Working at marketplaces,* activities unknown (2, 3)
	Dishwashing* (2, 3)
	Begging* (9, 10)
Categorical Worst Forms of Child Labor‡	Forced labor in the production of pornography sometimes as a result of human trafficking (1-4, 11)
	Commercial sexual exploitation sometimes as a result of human trafficking (1-3, 12-14)

* Evidence of this activity is limited and/or the extent of the problem is unknown. ‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

A source reported that, while child labor in agriculture, industry, and services exists, it is not widespread or common.(15)

Children in Russia, especially orphans, street children, and migrant children, continue to be used in the production of child pornography.(1-4, 11) Commercial sexual exploitation of children, especially in large cities, also remains a concern. Street children and migrant children from Ukraine and Moldova are the primary victims.(2, 3) In addition, children, both boys and girls, are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation internally from rural to urban centers, between regions, and transnationally.(10) Russia is also a destination country for children trafficked from abroad, including from Eastern Europe.(12, 14) Research found that the rates of both child trafficking and the use of children in the production of pornography have increased in recent years.(3, 4)

The Federal Law No. 3266-1 on Education only guarantees free public education for Russian citizens.(16) Migrant children who have entered the country illegally or irregularly lack the registration documents needed to access education and social services and as a result are often denied access to schools by regional authorities.(1, 2) Migrant children who do not attend school constitute the population most vulnerable to labor exploitation, and a study from 2013 estimates that there are currently between 40,000 and 60,000 such children in Russia.(3) Russian citizens who do not have registration documents, such as members of the Roma community, are also sometimes denied access to schools at the regional level, although there is no national law or policy requiring this practice.(1)

Since 2003, asylum-seeking children between ages 6 and 12 have had access to schooling, although there are cases of children being denied access for various reasons, including lacking appropriate documents. Denied access was also reported for children with protective status, which is granted to certain categories of refugees and asylum seekers.(15) In 2014, the Russian Government added a special provision guaranteeing access to education for Ukrainian national minors fleeing the conflict in southeastern Ukraine. However, local NGOs have reported that some schools have denied these minors access to education due to lack of proper documentation and lack of capacity, especially for kindergarten.(15)

During the reporting period, news outlets reported, through a variety of media platforms, over a dozen cases of the use of children by combined Russian-separatist forces in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.(17, 18) One of these children stated that he had received arms in Russian-occupied Crimea before participating in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.(17) An additional two children stated that they had received training at a military base in Russian-occupied South Ossetia.(17) To date, these reports are unconfirmed by UN personnel.

Russia has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

Convention	Ratification
ILO C. 138, Minimum Age	✅
ILO C. 182, Worst Forms of Child Labor	✅
UN CRC	✅
UN CRC Optional Protocol on Armed Conflict	✅
UN CRC Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography	✅
Palermo Protocol on Trafficking in Persons	✅

The Government has established laws and regulations related to child labor, including its worst forms (Table 4).

Standard	Yes/No	Age	Related Legislation
Minimum Age for Work	Yes	16	Article 63 of the Labor Code (19)
Minimum Age for Hazardous Work	Yes	18	Article 265 of the Labor Code (19)
Prohibition of Hazardous Occupations or Activities for Children	Yes		Government Decision No. 163; Article 265 of the Labor Code (19, 20)
Prohibition of Forced Labor	Yes		Article 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation; Article 127.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; Article 4 of the Labor Code (19, 21, 22)
Prohibition of Child Trafficking	Yes		Article 127.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (22)
Prohibition of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children	Yes		Articles 134 and 240-242.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (22)
Prohibition of Using Children in Illicit Activities	Yes		Articles 150-151 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (22)
Minimum Age for Compulsory Military Recruitment	Yes	18	Article 22 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ on Military Conscription and Military Service (23)
Minimum Age for Voluntary Military Service	Yes	16	Article 35 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ on Military Conscription and Military Service (2, 23)
Compulsory Education Age	Yes	17	Article 19 of Federal Law No. 3266-1 on Education (16)
Free Public Education	Yes		Article 5 of Federal Law No. 3266-1 on Education (16)

In October 2014, the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared a draft federal law that would introduce criminal responsibility for using minors in begging. Article 151 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation currently assigns criminal responsibility only for involving minors in the act of begging, which in practice does not protect infants or minors with disabilities who are unable to actively beg themselves, but who may be used by adults as passive participants in begging.(24)

Research did not find evidence of laws or regulations to criminalize possessing child pornography or benefiting from its proceeds. In November 2014, the Criminal Law Committee of the State Duma recommended the adoption of a 2012 draft law that would define child pornography and criminalize its possession.(24-26) However, the law was not adopted during the reporting period.(27)

The Government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor, including its worst forms (Table 5).

Organization/Agency	Role
Federal Labor and Employment Service (RosTrud) under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection	Enforce labor laws, including those related to child labor, and conduct labor inspections.(2, 26) Provide employment services and unemployment assistance and services related to labor migration, as well as social assistance for socially vulnerable citizens, and regulate disputes between unions and employers.(28)
Prosecutor General's Office	Oversee the enforcement of laws relating to child labor under the Labor Code.(28) Coordinate joint inspections with RosTrud.(2) Manage the investigation of Trafficking in Persons cases and prosecute associated crimes.(3)
Office of the Children's Rights Ombudsman	Investigate violations of children's rights, monitor offices dealing with minors, and evaluate legislation affecting children.(29, 30)
Ministry of Internal Affairs	Enforce criminal laws against forced child labor, trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, and the use of children in illicit activities.(2, 11) Conduct and provide training to the police on handling human trafficking cases.(3)
Investigative Committee (SledCom)	Investigate cases of forced labor and human trafficking, including cases involving minors and cases involving Russian nationals abroad.(28, 31-33)

Law enforcement agencies in Russia took actions to combat child labor, including its worst forms.

Labor Law Enforcement In 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, RosTrud had a total of 2,909 staff positions, including vacant positions (compared to a total of 3,233 positions in 2012). The number included 1,039 labor inspectors for legal issues and 1,105 labor inspectors for occupational safety.(15) According to RosTrud, the number of labor inspectors was insufficient to effectively enforce labor laws.(2)

In 2013, RosTrud conducted 2,850 inspections that found 1,580 child labor violations. Child labor violations included failing to provide obligatory medical checks (30 percent), employing minors in prohibited jobs (17 percent), engaging minors in overtime and holiday work (14 percent), and denying obligatory annual leave (10 percent).(15) Labor inspectors issued 478 obligatory compliance instructions and brought administrative action against 468 employers and companies, resulting in fines totaling approximately $183,000. In addition, 24 cases were brought to the prosecutor's office.(15) Research did not find information regarding whether inspectors made unannounced visits or on the type or quality of inspections. In addition, although evidence suggests that children who are victims of labor violations were referred to appropriate social care, research did not find the existence of formal referral mechanisms between RosTrud and social service providers.(30)

Criminal Law Enforcement In 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, 146 persons were convicted for crimes against minors under Articles 242.1 and 242.2 of the Criminal Code, which are related to the use of children for the production of pornography.(28, 34) The Government registered five child trafficking offenses for the first 4 months in 2013.(12) Based on unofficial sources, in 2012, the most recent period for which data are available, human trafficking prosecutions under Article 127.1 represented a total of 21 child victims.(35) However, complete data on the number of investigators employed to enforce criminal laws on all forms of child labor were not available. Information on the number and quality of investigations and the number of prosecutions, convictions, and implemented penalties related to criminal laws on all forms of child labor was also unavailable.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs conducts regular training to guide officers in handling human trafficking cases. The Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee also conduct periodic training on this topic.(3)

Although evidence suggests that children who are victims of crimes were referred to appropriate social care, including through informal referral mechanisms for trafficking victims operated by NGOs in Moscow and St. Petersburg, research did not find the existence of formal referral mechanisms between law enforcement agencies and social service providers.(11, 30) In addition, human trafficking cases involving illegal migrants often resulted in the detention, arrest, and deportation of the victims for violation of migration regulations. In cases in which assistance was rendered to victims of human trafficking, there was no formal referral mechanism, and victims were often transferred to homeless shelters or crisis centers for women.(3)

In addition to the enforcement of laws by criminal investigators, the Government has established guidelines for placing domain names, URLs, and network addresses into a register of banned sites if they contain materials with pornographic images of minors or invite minors to perform as actors in pornographic shows.(2) The information on websites with unlawful content is accepted from private persons, government agencies, and local government bodies. After a review, selected websites are entered into the register, which allows for their blocking.(28)

Research found no evidence that the Government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor, including its worst forms.

The Government of Russia has established policies related to child labor, including its worst forms (Table 6).

Policy	Description
National Children's Strategy (2012–2017)*	Covers issues such as child protection, accessibility of quality education, equal opportunities for children in need of special care by the Government, and the development of a child rights protection system.(30)
Concept of Children's Information Security*	Aims to coordinate legislation within the scope of protecting children against harmful information.(2)
Employment Plan 2014*†	Outlines the labor market challenges in Russia and commits Russia to new policies and programs to address these challenges. Includes commitments to assess and improve working conditions in Russia and provide vocational and employment programs targeted at youth.(36)

* Child labor elimination and prevention strategies do not appear to have been integrated into this policy. † Policy was approved during the reporting period.

In 2014, the Government of Russia funded and participated in programs that may have an impact on child labor (Table 7).

Program	Description
Social Contract‡	Social protection mechanism to provide financial support to vulnerable Russian citizens, including victims of child trafficking and low-income families. Established by Federal Law No. 258 FZ of December 25, 2012.(3)
Russian Children in Need Fund*‡	$21 million, Government-run program to rehabilitate orphaned, disadvantaged, and homeless children through the provision of mobile crisis centers, psychological centers, and social and physical rehabilitation services.(2, 30, 37)
Shelters for Victims of Human Trafficking*†‡	IOM-funded shelters in St. Petersburg and Moscow operated in partnership with the Russian Red Cross in St. Petersburg and the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. Provide accommodation and psychological counseling for victims of human trafficking.(3, 11, 38) In St. Petersburg, the municipal government provides the facilities in which the shelter is housed.(11, 38) In Moscow, the IOM has partnered with the municipality to complement the church shelter with designated spaces for adult human trafficking victims at a city-run homeless shelter and for child victims at a municipal youth shelter. Government support of the Moscow shelter began in 2014.(3, 11, 38)

* The impact of this program on child labor does not appear to have been studied. † Program was launched during the reporting period. ‡ Program is funded by the Government of Russia.

Research found no evidence of any programs with the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor, including its worst forms. In particular, the Government has noted that there is a lack of shelters for human trafficking victims, and the provision of assistance to victims is not standardized.(3, 11)

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor, including its worst forms, in Russia (Table 8).

Area	Suggested Action	Year(s) Suggested
Legal Framework	Ensure the law fully prohibits the use of children in illicit activities, including the use of children in begging.	2014
	Ensure that the law provides free public education to all children, regardless of nationality or immigration status.	2014
	Ensure that the law prohibits possessing child pornography and benefiting from its proceeds.	2009–2014
Enforcement	Increase the number of labor inspectors to allow RosTrud to effectively enforce labor laws.	2014
	Establish referral mechanisms among RosTrud, law enforcement agencies, and social service providers to ensure that vulnerable children receive the proper care.	2014
	Gather, report, and make publicly available data on the number of investigators employed to enforce criminal laws on child labor; the number, type, and quality of investigations; and the number of prosecutions, convictions, and implemented penalties related to these investigations.	2009–2014
	Develop formal procedures at the national level to train and guide law enforcement officials, labor inspectors, and other professionals on human trafficking cases, victim identification, assistance, and referrals, including ensuring that foreign victims of trafficking receive proper assistance, regardless of their immigration status.	2011–2014
Coordination	Establish coordinating mechanisms to combat child labor, including its worst forms.	2009–2014
Government Policies	Develop a policy to address the inability of unregistered children, including migrants, asylum seekers, and members of the Roma community, to access education.	2012–2014
	Integrate child labor elimination and prevention strategies into national policies, including the National Children's Strategy, the Concept of Children's Information Security, and the Employment Plan.	2014
Social Programs	Collect and publish data on the nature and prevalence of child labor to guide the design of policy and programming.	2009–2014
	Implement programs to specifically address the worst forms of child labor.	2010–2014
	Assess the impact that existing programs may have on child labor, including its worst forms.	2009–2014
	Fund anti-trafficking programs, including programs to increase the number and capacity of shelters specifically designed for victims of child trafficking.	2011–2014

1. U.S. Department of State. "Russia," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2013 . Washington, DC; February 27, 2014;

2. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. reporting, January 22, 2014 .

3. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. reporting, February 18, 2014 .

4. Russian internet child porn up 12-fold since 2008 , RIA Novosti, [online] January 24, 2013 [cited December 2, 2014];

5. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary. Total . [accessed January 16, 2015]; . Data provided is the gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary school. This measure is a proxy measure for primary completion. For more information, please see the "Children's Work and Education Statistics: Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

6. UCW. Analysis of Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Statistics from National Household or Child Labor Surveys . Original data from Demographic and Health Survey, 2010. Analysis received January 16, 2015. Reliable statistical data on the worst forms of child labor are especially difficult to collect given the often hidden or illegal nature of the worst forms. As a result, statistics on children's work in general are reported in this chart, which may or may not include the worst forms of child labor. For more information on sources used, the definition of working children and other indicators used in this report, please see the "Children's Work and Education Statistics: Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

7. Kozhobaeva, Z. Teenage migrants: a lost generation , RFE/RL Kyrgyzstan (Radio Azattyk), [online] February 5, 2013 [cited December 15, 2014];

8. Maplecroft. South America leads battle against child labour but Russia and China lagging — Maplecroft Child Labour Index 2014 . Bath, UK; October 15, 2013.

9. RT News. "Homeless children still a problem in Russia." [online] June 11, 2010 [cited December 15, 2014];

10. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. reporting, January 20, 2012 .

11. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. reporting, February 26, 2015 .

12. ILO Committe of Experts. Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations: Application of International Labour Standards 2014 (I) Geneva; March 13, 2014.

13. ILO Committee of Experts. Observation concerning Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) Russia (Ratification 2003) Published: 2013 ; accessed March 4, 2013;

14. U.S. Department of State. "Russia," in Trafficking in Persons Report- 2014 . Washington, DC; June 20, 2014;

15. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. E-mail communication to USDOL official. May 8, 2015.

16. Government of Russia. On General Education , No. 3266-1, enacted July 10, 1992.

17. U.S. Department of State. E-mail communication to USDOL official. March 27, 2015.

18. Vitaly Shevchenko. "Ukraine conflict: Child soldiers join the fight." [online] 2014 [cited

19. Government of Russia. Labor Code of the Russian Federation 197-FZ, enacted December 31, 2001.

20. Government of Russia. On the approval of the list of heavy work and work with harmful or dangerous conditions, in which the employment of minors is forbidden , No. 163, enacted February 25, 2000.

21. Government of Russia. The Constitution of the Russian Federation , enacted December 25, 1993.

22. Government of Russia. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation , 63-FZ, enacted June 13, 1996.

23. Government of Russia. On military conscription and military service , No. 53-FZ, enacted March 28, 1998.

24. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. reporting, January 15, 2015 .

25. RAPSI. "Russian lawmakers approve updated punishment for child pornography." [online] September 22, 2014 [cited December 3, 2014];

26. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. E-mail communication to USDOL official. February 12, 2015.

27. Ivan Rodin. Bastrykin looks for a pedophile lobby in the State Duma , Nezavisimaya Gazeta, [online] December 12, 2014 [cited April 2, 2015];

28. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. E-mail communication to USDOL official. April 24, 2014.

29.  Duties , Children's Rights Commissioner under the President of the Russian Federation, [online] [cited December 8, 2014];

30. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. reporting, January 31, 2013 .

31.  In Astrakhan, three local residents have been found guilty of human trafficking , The Investigative Committee, [online] September 18, 2014 [cited December 11, 2014];

32.  In Tver, women suspected of the sale of a newborn child have been arrested , The Investigative Committee, [online] [cited December 11, 2014];

33. U.S. Embassy- Kyiv. reporting, January 30, 2013 .

34. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. E-mail communication to USDOL official. May 21, 2014.

35. U.S. Embassy- Moscow. reporting, March 8, 2013 .

36. Government of Russia. Employment Plan 2014 ; 2014.

37. The Russian Children in Need Fund. Charter of the Russian Children in Need Fund (New Edition) ; March 2, 2012.

38.  The first shelter for victims of human trafficking in St. Petersburg , Consulate General of the United States, St. Petersburg, Russia, [online] 2013 [cited December 12, 2014];

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I Was Adopted From China as a Baby. I’m Still Coming to Terms With That.

By Cindy Zhu Huijgen

Ms. Huijgen, a Dutch journalist based in China and a former adoptee, wrote from Beijing.

As early as I can remember, I wished I hadn’t been Chinese.

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J. V. Stalin

"Factory Legislation" And The Proletarian Struggle

(concerning the two laws of november 15), december 4, 1906.

Source : Works , Vol. 1, November 1901 - April 1907 Publisher : Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1954 Transcription/Markup : Salil Sen for MIA, 2008 Public Domain : Marxists Internet Archive (2008). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit "Marxists Internet Archive" as your source.

There was a time when our labour movement was in its initial stages. At that time the proletariat was split up into separate groups and did not think of waging a common struggle. Railway workers, miners, factory workers, artisans, shop assistants, and clerks — such were the groups into which the Russian proletariat was divided. Moreover, the workers in each group, in their turn, were split up according to the towns, big or small, they lived and worked in, with no link, either party or trade union, between them. Thus, there was no sign of the proletariat as a united and indivisible class. Consequently, there was no sign of the proletarian struggle, as a general class offensive. That is why the tsarist government was able calmly to pursue its "traditional" policy. That is why, when the "Workers' Insurance Bill" was introduced in the State Council in 1893, Pobedonostsev, the inspirer of the reaction, jeered at the sponsors and said with aplomb : "Gentlemen, you have taken all this trouble for nothing; I assure you that there is no labour problem in our country . . . ."

But time passed, the economic crisis drew near, strikes became more frequent, and the disunited proletariat gradually organised itself in a united class. The strikes of 1903 already showed that "there is a labour problem in our country," and that it had existed for a long time. The strikes in January and February 1905 proclaimed to the world for the first time that the proletariat, as a united class, was growing and becoming mature in Russia. Then, the general strikes in October-December 1905, and the "ordinary" strikes in June and July 1906, actually drew together the proletarians in the different towns, actually welded together the shop assistants, clerks, artisans and industrial workers in a united class, and thereby loudly proclaimed to the world that the forces of the once disunited proletariat had now taken the path of union and were organising themselves in a united class. The effect of the general political strike as a method of waging the common proletarian struggle against the present system also made itself felt. . . . Now it was no longer possible to deny the existence of the "labour problem," now the tsarist government was already obliged to reckon with the movement. And so, the reactionaries gathered in their offices and began to set up different commissions and to draft "factory laws": the Shidlovsky Commission, 1 the Kokov-tsev Commission, 2 the Associations Act 3 (see the "Manifesto" of October 17), the Witte-Durnovo circulars, 4 various projects and plans, and lastly the two laws of November 15 applying to artisans and commercial employees.

So long as the movement was weak, so long as it lacked a mass character, the reaction employed only one method against the proletariat — imprisonment, Siberia, the whip and the gallows. Always and everywhere the reaction pursues one object: to split the proletariat into small groups, to smash its vanguard, to intimidate and win over to its side the neutral masses, and thus create confusion in the proletarian camp. We have seen that it achieved this object famously with the aid of whips and prisons.

But things took an entirely different turn when the movement assumed a mass character. Now the reaction had no longer to deal only with "ringleaders" — it was faced by countless masses in all their revolutionary grandeur. And it had to reckon precisely with these masses. But it is impossible to hang the masses; you cannot banish them to Siberia, there are not enough prisons to hold them. As for lashing them with whips, that is not always to the advantage of the reaction now that the ground under its feet has long been shaken. Clearly, in addition to the old methods, a new, "more cultured" method had to be employed, which, in the opinion of the reaction, might aggravate the disagreements in the camp of the proletariat, rouse false hopes among the backward section of the workers, induce them to abandon the struggle and rally around the government.

"Factory legislation" is precisely this new method.

Thus, while still adhering to the old methods, the tsarist government wants, at the same time, to utilise "factory legislation" and, consequently, to solve the "burning labour problem" by means of both the whip and the law. By means of promises of a shorter working day, the protection of child and female labour, improvement in sanitary conditions, workers' insurance, abolition of fines, and other benefits of a similar kind, it seeks to win the confidence of the backward section of the workers and thereby dig the grave of proletarian class unity.

The tsarist government knows very well that it was never so necessary for it to engage in such "activity" as it is now, at this moment when the October general strike has united the proletarians in the different industries and has struck at the roots of reaction, when a future general strike may grow into an armed struggle and overthrow the old system, and when, consequently, the reaction must, for its very life, provoke confusion in the labour camp, win the confidence of the backward workers, and win them over to its side.

In this connection it is extremely interesting to note that, with its laws of November 15, the reaction graciously turned its gaze only upon shop assistants and artisans, whereas it sends the best sons of the industrial proletariat to prison and to the gallows. But this is not surprising when you come to think of it. Firstly, shop assistants, artisans and employees in commercial establishments are not concentrated in big factories and mills as the industrial workers are; they are scattered among small enterprises, they are relatively less class conscious and, consequently, can be more easily deceived than the others. Secondly, shop assistants, office clerks and artisans constitute a large section of the proletariat of present-day Russia and, consequently, their desertion of the militant proletarians would appreciably weaken the forces of the proletariat both in the present elections and in the forthcoming action. Lastly, it is common knowledge that the urban petty bourgeoisie is of great importance in the present revolution; that Social-Democracy must revolutionise it under the hegemony of the proletariat; and that nobody can win over the petty bourgeoisie so well as the artisans, shop assistants and office clerks who stand closer to it than the rest of the proletarians. Clearly, if the shop assistants and artisans desert the proletariat the petty bourgeoisie will turn away from it too, and the proletariat will be doomed to isolation in the towns, which is exactly what the tsarist government wants. In the light of these facts, the reason why the reaction concocted the laws of November 15, which affect only artisans, shop assistants and office clerks, becomes self-evident. The industrial proletariat will not trust the government whatever it may do, so "factory legislation" would be wasted on it. Maybe only bullets can bring the proletariat to its senses. What laws cannot do, bullets must do! . . .

That is what the tsarist government thinks.

And that is the opinion not only of our government, but also of every other anti-proletarian government — irrespective of whether it is feudal-autocratic, bourgeois-monarchist or bourgeois-republican. The fight against the proletariat is waged by means of bullets and laws everywhere, and that will go on until the socialist revolution breaks out, until socialism is established. Recall the years 1824 and 1825 in constitutional England, when the law granting freedom to strike was being drafted, while at the same time the prisons were crammed with workers on strike. Recall republican France in the forties of last century, when there was talk about "factory legislation," while at the same time the streets of Paris ran with workers' blood. Recall all these and numerous other cases of the same kind and you will see that it is precisely as we have said.

That, however, does not mean that the proletariat cannot utilise such laws. True, in passing "factory laws" the reaction has its own plans in view — it wants to curb the proletariat: but step by step life is frustrating the reaction's plans, and under such circumstances clauses beneficial to the proletariat always creep into the laws. This happens because no "factory law" comes into being without a reason, without a struggle; the government does not pass a single "factory law" until the workers come out to fight, until the government is compelled to satisfy the workers' demands. History shows that every "factory law" is preceded by a partial or general strike. The law of June 1882 (concerning the employment of children, the length of the working day for them, and the institution of factory inspection), was preceded by strikes in Narva, Perm, St. Petersburg and Zhirardov in that same year. The laws of June-October 1886 (on fines, pay-books, etc.) were the direct result of the strikes in the central area in 1885-86. The law of June 1897 (shortening the working day) was preceded by the strikes in St. Petersburg in 1895-96. The laws of 1903 (concerning "employers' liability" and "shop stewards") were the direct result of the "strikes in the south" in the same year Lastly, the laws of November 15, 1906 (on a shorter working day and Sunday rest for shop assistants, office clerks and artisans), are the direct result of the strikes that took place all over Russia in June and July this year.

As you see, every "factory law" was preceded by a movement of the masses who in one way or another achieved the satisfaction of their demands, if not in full, then at least in part. It is self-evident, therefore, that however bad a "factory law" may be, it, nevertheless, contains several clauses which the proletariat can utilise for the purpose of intensifying its struggle

Needless to say, it must grasp such clauses and use them as instruments with which still further to strengthen its organisations and to stir up more fiercely the proletarian struggle, the struggle for the socialist revolution. Bebel was right when he said: "The devil's head must be cut off with his own sword". . . .

In this respect, both laws of November 15 are extremely interesting. Of course, they contain numerous bad clauses, but they also contain clauses which the reaction introduced unconsciously, but which the proletariat must utilise consciously.

Thus, for example, although both laws are called laws "for the protection of labour," they contain atrocious clauses which completely nullify all "protection of labour," and which, here and there, even the employers will shrink from utilising. Both laws establish a twelve-hour day in commercial establishments and artisans' workshops, in spite of the fact that in many places the twelve-hour day has already been abolished and a ten- or an eight-hour day has been introduced. Both laws permit two hours overtime per day (making a fourteen-hour day) over a period of forty days in commercial establishments, and sixty days in workshops, in spite of the fact that nearly everywhere all overtime has been abolished. At the same time, the employers are granted the right, "by agreement with the workers," i.e., by coercing the workers, to increase overtime and lengthen the working day to seventeen hours, etc., etc.

The proletariat will not, of course, surrender to the employers a single shred of the rights they have already won, and the fables in the above-mentioned laws will remain the ridiculous fables they really are.

On the other hand, the laws contain clauses which the proletariat can make good use of to strengthen its position. Both laws say that where the working day is not less than eight hours, the workers must be given a two hours' break for dinner. It is well known that at present artisans, shop assistants and office clerks do not everywhere enjoy a two hours' break. Both laws also say that persons under seventeen have the right, in addition to these two hours, to absent themselves from the shop or workshop for another three hours a day to attend school, which of course will be a great relief for our young comrades. . . .

There can be no doubt that the proletariat will make fitting use of such clauses in the laws of November 15, will duly intensify its proletarian struggle, and show the world once again that the devil's head must be cut off with his own sword.

4. After the promulgation of the tsar's Manifesto of October 17, 1905, S. J. Witte, the President of the Council of Ministers, and P. N. Durnovo, the Minister of the Interior, notwithstanding the official proclamation of "freedom," issued a series of circulars and telegrams to provincial governors and city governors, calling upon them to disperse meetings and assemblies by armed force, to suppress newspapers, to take stringent measures against trade unions, and summarily exile all persons suspected of conducting revolutionary activities, etc

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