Running Head: CHILD LABOR PRACTICES OF UNINDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS

Child Labor Practices and Policies: Industrialized Nations versus
Unindustrialized Nations

Abstract
Today we will discuss the child labor of America’s yesterday in comparison with current third world customs: In order to understand the similarities I will first offer a brief overview, then specific examples of each. Next, we will cover the beliefs of Americans followed by the after effects of child labor elimination. I truly hope and believe that my review will enlighten readers to the naked truth; opening minds to certain changes that need to take place. Encouraging at least one person to reach out and make a difference.

Child Labor Practices and Policies: Industrialized Nations versus Unindustrialized Nations 218 Million Children between the ages of five and seventeen are involved in child labor: 8.4 million are forced into slavery, trafficking, armed conflict, prostitution, pornography and other illegal activities (Antislavery International, 2009). In reference to child labor practices of unindustrialized nations: The average individuals of an industrialized nation believe that child labor should end, but many families depend on this income to survive; instead, we should fight for workers rights and rethinking child labor abolition. Today we will discuss child labor practices and policies of such nations versus United States (U.S.) practices of the early 1900’s, the average person’s in-depth belief, and the negative impact of child labor eradication. Imagine the improvement in the lives of the families, if they had workers rights comparable to ours. In order to understand what needs to be done, I will offer you a snap shot of child labor in lesser ripe nations. First, on a positive note most children work for their parents, less than three percent of the 210 Million work outside the home; on the contrary, the second largest employer is agricultural and the home service industries (West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005). Many resources throughout history; such as Thomas Jefferson, poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier as well as the famous painting of the Hudson River School, have depicted agricultural work as “honest and safe labor carried out within the bosom of a loving family, surrounded by generous neighbors” (Davis & Leonard, p. 1); but, this is a definite misconception. The agricultural industry suffers from a serious lack of legislative oversight: it is very dangerous due to pesticides, machinery use, tractor accidents, open irrigation ditches, lack of clean drinking water, insects, and animals; workers often work at varying heights, stooping, and lifting, on top of using ruinous repetitious motions. Obviously these types of conditions, not only endanger the child while on duty, but cause ill heath latent in life. Twenty percent of all agricultural fatalities worldwide are children. Compare that to America, around 1906. Again, worker’s rights in today’s third world countries seem disturbingly similar to worker rights in the American Industrial Age. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, documents the horrendous working conditions that families faced in America during the Industrial Age: “…rivers of hot blood and carloads of moist flesh, and rendering-vats and soup cauldrons…that smelt like the craters of hell-there are also tons of garbage festering in the sun, and the greasy laundry of the workers hung out to dry and dining rooms littered with food black with flies, and toilet rooms that are open sewers" (Sinclair, 1971 p. 328). Human rights activists, such as the famous Mother Jones, leads fiery speeches that rouse even the most indigent and exhausted crowds; midway through she signals to 400 bony and disfigured children, they raise their stumped appendages (Foner, 1983). She rallied for the eight hour work day, occupational safety, and stricter corporate governance. Back then, it was just unrealistic for child labor obliteration. Third, a 2008 International Labor Office report conference voiced the generalized attitude: “The majority view is that extreme forms of child labor should be prohibited to for all persons under age 18” (West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005 p. 1). Most developed countries have imposed strict regulations upon child labor, and some have gone to the extent of outlawing it. U.S. congress has made many attempts to ban the purchase of products that came from the labor of children (West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005). I believe this to be disadvantageous rather than beneficial, due to the necessity of the added income. This type of opinion is fueled by media coverage of heart throbbing stories of child workers who suffer from injury, disease, and even death; but, what happens when they are forced to quit working. Next, I reemphasize that fact that many families depend on their children’s added income to survive: In Yemen, 14 year old Jamal’s father forces him to work in a welding plant in order to make ends meet. Proper protective equipment is unavailable; eventually fumes got into his eyes and blinded him (IRIN, 2007). Nallanayaki had worked, since age 9, in a silk factory-averaging 13 hours a day, from six and a half to seven days a week. She is paying off a debt of 146 dollars, which her parents owe to her employer. At 16 cents a day, her debt will not be paid off until after she is dead (IRIN, 2007). Jamal and Nallanayaki are only two of the 126 Million children working in some of the most unsafe working conditions possible (IRIN, 2007); nevertheless, without their income the families can not survive. Most importantly, in order to guarantee the "health, safety and morals" (Bureau of International Affairs, 2009 p. 1) of adolescent workers, we must make a continuous effort: implement occupational safety programs, provide specialized career training, and enforce school attendance policies. Then audit for compliance and impose strict penalties on offenders. Most agree, that "enforcement of school attendance, particularly for girls, would go a long way towards eliminating child labor" (Bureau of International Affairs, 2009 p. 1). More distinctively, according to the U.S. Department of Labor; “…it is not immediately feasible to fix a minimum age for all employment in agriculture and in related activities in rural areas; a minimum age should be fixed at least for employment on plantations and in the other agricultural undertakings…” (Bureau of International Affairs, 2009 p.1), and I agree. In closing, I hope you understand a little more about foreign child labor practices and policies, beliefs on child labor, and the needs of families with working children. Impoverished countries are in their industrial age and, hopefully, with our help can come out of it soon; furthermore, imagine the improvement in the lives of such families, if they had workers advantages such as ours. Research has shown that, many are moving away from the thought of abolition for an assortment of reasons: it fails to separate well from bad practices and it undermines the families need for this income to survive; it has been proven that forbidding these children from working will only cause their situation to worsen by a 2% gap increase, between household incomes of the rich and poor (Daugherty, Hiatt, Koenigsberg, & Zegas, 2002). This very controversial subject shows that we need to reinvent child labor practices, not abolish them. Audrey Hepburn once said that “a quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and given them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their full potential.” America was crippled throughout the industrialized age, and now it is happening in third world countries-It’s time for a change!

References
Antislavery International. (2009, July 27). What is child labour? Retrieved July 27, 2009, from Anti-Slavery: Today's Fight for Tomorrow's Future: http://www.antislavery.org/english/slavery_today/child_labour.aspx
Bureau of International Affairs. (2009, July 29). III. Child Labor In Commercial Agriculture. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from United States Department of Labor: Bureau of International Affairs: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat2/commercial.htm
Daugherty, R., Hiatt, K., Koenigsberg, J., & Zegas, R. (2002, December 14). History of Child Labor. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from Tulane University: http://www.tulane.edu/~rouxbee/kids02/uk3.html
Davis, S., & Leonard, J. (n.d.). The Ones the Law Forgot: Children Working in Agriculture. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from Farmworker Justice: http://www.fwjustice.org/Health&Safety/CHILD%20LABOR%20REPORT%20-%20FINAL.pdf
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Foner, P. S. (1983). Mother Jones Speaks; Collected Writings and Speeches. New York: Monad Press.
IRIN. (2007, August 27). YEMEN: Fears Over Possibly Rising Number of Child Labourers. Retrieved July 27, 2009, from ARIN: Humanitarian News and Analysis: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=73964
Sinclair, U. (1971). The Jungle. Cambridge: R. Bentley.
West's Encyclopedia of American Law. (2005). Child Labor Laws. Retrieved July 27, 2009, from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437700816.html