Child Labor: Violation of Basic Children's Rights

Children remain the most susceptible section of society. They are naïve, comparatively feeble and imbecile, gullible enough to be tamed. They are the base upon which our future depends. Their moulding today will redefine the world tomorrow. The very reason is enough to handle them with care, delicacy, patience. But, it’s a harsh reality that since ages long, we have major examples where children were not only deprived of proper care and attention but was also exposed to strained, toiling and perilous work. They have been engaged in all kinds of work extending up to 12-14 hours a day. One of the major reasons behind employing a child was that it was easy for them to bargain at terms profitable for them and it is comparatively easy to direct children to make them do what they want at lower rates. In children's rights essay the topic it will be considered.

History of Child Labour and Advent of Child Rights

Labour law exists since the pre historic times, even before the 18th century. The laws at that time were part of Holy Scriptures. From code of Hammurabi to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, the act of 1352, all were a part of laws relating to labour at that time. These laws were draconian and merciless to the labourers or slaves at that time in general, be it a child or adult, forget about having a milder regulations for child slaves .

According to the United Nation Convention on the rights of the child, Child labour refers to any form of work that leads to depriving a child of his/her childhood and obtruding his/her opportunities to attend regular schooling and exposes him/her to any mental physical social or moral harm. Such exploitation is restricted by legislation throughout the world.

Although, child labour is condemned worldwide, but not all works come under this domain. Many light works which are not considered hazardous or mentally or physically harrowing for children are allowed if they are not hampering the children’s right to education and sound living . The major conflict herein arises that whether working of child in any form could be brought to an end or should be exempted in certain circumstances.

Pre-adult labour wasn't seen as a drag through the whole of history, only disputed with the start of universal schooling and therefore the concepts of labourers' and children's rights. Use of kid labour was typical, particularly in factories .In 1778, children comprised of about 67% of people employed in hydro-based textile factories in England and Scotland. Children would often do factory work, mining or quarrying, agriculture, helping within the family business, operating a little business (such as selling food), or doing odd jobs. Seldom they work as tourist guides mediating with restaurants and other outlets for attracting in business (where they'll also work). Other children do jobs like assembling boxes or polishing shoes. However, instead of factories and sweatshops, most kid labour within the twenty-first century occurs within the informal sector, 'selling on the road , at add agriculture or hidden away in houses — faraway from the reach of official inspectors and from media scrutiny.

Pre Industrial Period 

Child labour forms an intrinsic a part of pre-industrial economies. In pre-industrial societies, there's barely any contemporary idea of adolescence or juvenility. Children seldom start to engage in occupations like child-rearing hunting and agriculture when they are as young as 13 and are taken as adults capable to have interaction within the same fields as grownups.

Within pre-industrial societies, it was necessary for youngsters to work as they had to supply their workforce for their sustenance which of their group. Since these societies were afflicted with low production yield and poor life expectancy; it would have only degraded their development in the long run if children were to be prevented from participating in productive work. In non-literate communities, there was meager emphasis on the schooling of youngsters. Hence veteran adults would mentor children about pre-industrial skill and knowledge.

Industrial Period 

Child labour was commonplace with the advent of industrialisation. England became the centre of manufacturing. Agricultural practices were almost put to halt and the people suddenly experienced their savings gone, imminent fear of poverty and starvation hit them hard. They started migrating to the towns for jobs and were exposed to poor living standards. The mediocre condition, contaminated air, perilous work environment reduced the life expectancy. The lower wages were not sufficient for their living. This was the major reason which acted as a catalyst for increased pre-adult labour. Children of 9-15 years of age or even younger were exposed to same toiling circumstances as were adults were done. They were forced to work for their living which was only shortened and turned worse. In the Charles Dickens drama, The Hard Times, the poor condition of children has been explicitly discussed during the time of industrialisation. Children were subjected to gruesome, miserable working environments like digging and crawling into the mines, congested harrows, working in chimneys, industries etc. But, from the very beginning of the industrialisation, the advocates of human rights and labour laws have been active enough to seek for justice which has been fruitful enough for nudging the authorities to administer law favouring the rights of children for better work condition, reduced working hours and protection from exploitation in the name of work .

Contemporary Scenario

In the late 20th century, most young boys as old as eight years of age were working in the glassware industries. It was not only tiresome but also caused major harm to health and eyesight of the children. In the present day, most of the children are employed in cottage and household industries. These household works include making of wax, candles, garments, crackers etc which are both dirty and hazardous even if done at a small scale. With the advent of factories act and other labour legislations, it is now hard to find any child subjected to perilous work but the exceptions and cases are many which exposes the harsh reality of child exploitation till date .

Labour Law and Child Labour

The outbreak of the fever in cotton mills near Manchester back in 1780s was the first time when the security and rights of child labourers came into question. The government intervention at that time could only reduce the hour of working at that time. The rapid industrialisation of manufacturing at the turn of the 19th century led to a sudden upsurge in child employment, and public opinion was steadily made aware of the predicament these children were forced to endure. The Factory Act of 1819 was the outcome of the efforts of the industrialist Robert Owen and restricted child labour under nine years of age and limited the working day to twelve. A great milestone in labour law was reached with the Factory Act of 1833, which limited the employment of children under eighteen years of age, prohibited all night work and, crucially, provided for inspectors to enforce the law. Pivotal in the campaigning for and the securing of this legislation were Michael Sadler and the Earl of Shaftesbury. This act was an important step forward, in that it mandated skilled inspection of workplaces and rigorous enforcement of the law by an independent governmental body.

Factors Resposible for Child Labour

Poverty and economic deprivation: poverty is certainly the sole dominant factor behind children trying earn for their livelihood. Earnings from a child’s work is said to support his/her own sustenance or for that of their family. Experts suggest that a lesser surplus family status and being deprived economically contribute primarily to child labour in urban settings. Households struck by financial problems cannot provide for their children's demands and sometimes fail to endow proper nutrition. Hence children are compelled to earn for their own. Often unhealthy relationship dynamics are combined with financial challenges in socially deprived and alcoholic or morally subdued families

Local customs and traditions: popular perceptions and native contextual variables like customs and traditions (even if they are well-intended) also play a crucial part, such as:

• The belief that working is advantageous for character and skill development of children;
• The tradition that a child needs to inherit his/her parent's trade and become adept in it's practice at a juvenile stage;
• Traditions which render generations of a poor family in debt because of unnecessary expenditure on events: social and religious and later subjugating their children to work in order to settle the debt. Such indebted families pave way for bounded labour which is recognized as one of the worst forms of child labour. They are vulnerable to such a phenomenon because of such pressures ;
• The perception that a girl child is in lesser need of education than a boy child which subsequently has them being taken out of school in their early years and placed to work in-home or sold into domestic employment or sex work.
• Due to the long persistence of child labour in local customs and habits neither parents nor the children themselves understand that it is illegally exploiting the interests of children;
• Children are more prone to work when they belong to large families that cannot attend to their large household due to low income.

Lack of education and proper schooling: the availability and standard of schooling is among the most important factors:

• many communities lack adequate school facilities;
• even where schools are established education is not availed by children or their parents believing it to be a futile alternative to work. Although paid education remains is simply unaffordable, even when it is 'free' it involves a perceived opportunity cost of the income foregone when a child is at school rather than at work;
• education is still downgraded as being unhelpful and irrelevant in improving their social conditions. This is attributed to imparting poor quality education that fails to motivate parents and their children for getting educated. This justifies there bias against attending school;
• traditional views prevail that girls are better prepared for adult life by sending them to work than by investing in their education;
• as a result of the above factors, vast numbers of children enter early into the unskilled labour market. They are frequently illiterate and remain so throughout their lives. They lack the basic educational grounding which could have enhanced their skillset and increased their chances to secure superior adult work prospects. 

Conclusion 

It was very easy in olden times mostly prior to and during the industrialisation period to employ youngsters, be it in strenuous factory works or paid domestic work. The question of child abuse and child rights arose only after the advent of the concept of schooling, labour rights and labour protection of children in the form of labour law that people started putting it as a major concern. Employing children early was not only responsible for their meek build up and illiteracy but was also responsible for the fall of life expectancy to an astonishing rate.