Introduction

child labor, use of the young as workers in factories, farms, and mines. Child labor was first recognized as a social problem with the introduction of the factory system in late 18th-century Great Britain. Children had formerly been apprenticed (see apprenticeship) or had worked in the family, but in the factory their employment soon constituted virtual slavery, especially among British orphans. This was mitigated by acts of Parliament in 1802 and later.
Similar legislation followed on the European Continent as countries became industrialized. Although most European nations had child labor laws by 1940, the material requirements necessary during World War II brought many children back into the labor market. Legislation concerning child labor in other than industrial pursuits, e.g., in agriculture, has lagged.
In the Eastern and Midwestern United States, child labor became a recognized problem after the Civil War, and in the South after 1910. Congressional child labor laws were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1918 and 1922. A constitutional amendment was passed in Congress in 1924 but was not approved by enough states. The First Labor Standards Act of 1938 set a minimum age limit of 18 for occupations designated hazardous, 16 for employment during school hours for companies engaged in interstate commerce, and 14 for employment outside school hours in nonmanufacturing companies. In 1941 The Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the constitutional authority to pass this act.
Nearly all member nations of the International Labor Organization (ILO) regulate the employment of children in industry, and most also regulate commercial work; some nations regulate work in the street trades, while a few control agricultural and household work. Despite such regulation attempts, as many as 26% of all children between the ages of 5 and 14 (an estimated 246 million children) were engaged in economic activity in 2005, with the highest percentage in developing nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Not all such work is considered child labor, but some 186 million children were estimated to be involved in child labor as defined under international agreements. The 1973 ILO Minimum Age Convention, banning any form of child labor, has been ratified by 117 nations. In 1999, ILO members unanimously approved a treaty banning any form of child labor that endangers the safety, health, or morals of children, but the treaty covered such universally objectionable forms of work as slavery, forced labor, child prostitution, criminal activity, and forced military recruitment and could be seen as a step backward from the 1973 treaty. The treaty was also criticized for permitting voluntary enlistment in the military by persons under the age of 18.
Labour Standards

Today, throughout the world, around 215 million children work, many full-time. They do not go to school and have little or no time to play. Many do not receive proper nutrition or care. They are denied the chance to be children. More than half of them are exposed to the worst forms of child labour such as work in hazardous environments, slavery, or other forms of forced labour, illicit activities including drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as involvement in armed conflict.
Guided by the principles enshrined in the ILO's Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182, the ILO InFocus Programme on Child Labour (IPEC) works to achieve the effective abolition of child labour.
One of the major aims set for the International Labour Organization (ILO) at its foundation in 1919 was the abolition of child labour. Historically, the ILO’s principal tool in pursuing the goal of effective abolition of child labour has been the adoption and supervision of labour standards that embody the concept of a minimum age for admission to employment or work. Furthermore, from 1919 onwards the principle that minimum age standards should be linked to schooling has been part of the ILO’s tradition in standard setting in this area. Convention No. 138 provides that the minimum age for admission to employment shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling.
The ILO’s adoption of Convention No. 182 in 1999 consolidated the global consensus on child labour elimination. It provided much-needed focus without abandoning the overarching goal, expressed in Convention No. 138, of the effective abolition of child labour. Moreover, the concept of the worst forms helps set priorities and can be used as an entry point in tackling the mainstream child labour problem. The concept also helps to direct attention to the impact of work on children, as well as the work they perform.
Child labour that is proscribed under international law falls into three categories: * The unconditional worst forms of child labour, which are internationally defined as slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and other forms of forced labour, forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, prostitution and pornography, and illicit activities. * Labour performed by a child who is under the minimum age specified for that kind of work (as defined by national legislation, in accordance with accepted international standards), and that is thus likely to impede the child’s education and full development. * Labour that jeopardizes the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, known as “hazardous work”.

Back ground of child labour

Picutre: Peter Müller
126 million children and young people aged between five and seventeen work under unacceptable conditions throughout the world. Poverty forces many families to send their children out to work. Many children become the victims of slavery, child trafficking or prostitution. Kindernothilfe supports projects in which girls and boys can find protection from exploitation and abuse. In the German Forum on Child Labour, Kindernothilfe works together with other organisations to create awareness of the different aspects of this issue and campaigns for the implementation of children's rights.
Figures
According to estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in their report of June 2006, the numbers of children working aged 5 to 14 is: * Globally 190 million. * In Asia 122 million. * In sub-Saharan Africa 50 million. In fact 26 percent of all children work here. * In Latin America 5 million. * In the rest of the world 13 million.
Hazardous child labour
Approximately 126 million children work in jobs which are considered hazardous forms of child labour. These include: * Slavery * Child trafficking * Bonded labour * Prostitution * Any other work which is harmful for the health, safety and morals of children.
A survey carried out by the ILO showed that 70% of working children are involved in agriculture, forestry and hunting. There is a close interweavement here with the informal economy in which by far most working children are involved. Hence it can occur that commercial plantations contract work out to small family farms - or families manufacture goods in their homes which are then sold by a company on the domestic market or abroad.
Injuries caused by unacceptable working conditions
Very few children are left unaffected by the frequent hard physical and hazardous work they carry out.

Children suffer from: * Broken arms and legs * Burns * Skin diseases * Blindness * Deafness * Headaches, stomach-aches and breathing difficulties.
The causes
Child labour is closely related to poverty in families. Unemployment, unfair distribution of land, indebtedness and price drops for raw material lead to the situation where families become dependent on the work of their children. Lack of social security and reductions in social expenditure by many governments show that there is a direct link between the exploitation of children as a source of labour and the development of the world economy.
Convention
On 17th June 1999 in Geneva, 174 states of the International Labour Organisation adopted the Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Kindernothilfe was involved in the advisory and decision-making process of the new convention (more details)
The new convention (ILO No. 182) commits countries that ratify it to take active steps: * against child slavery; * against bonded labour (children working to pay off their parents debts); * against child trafficking; * against child prostitution and pornography; * against the forced recruitment of children as soldiers; * against any other form of exploitation or danger to children.