EGP 21st February, 2023

Question:

Can child labour ever be justified?

Statement/ evaluation based on analysis of Data( prevailing situation)

Child labor continues to be a matter of great concern in many parts of the world. Economic
hardship negatively impacts millions of families worldwide – and in some places, it comes at the
price of a child’s safety. Roughly 186 million children were subjected to child labour at the
beginning of 2020, with 9 million additional children at risk due to the impact of COVID-19.
This accounts for nearly 1 in 10 children worldwide. Almost half of them are in hazardous work
that directly endangers their health and moral development. An in depth diagnosis of the above
facts indubitably divulges child labour as a serious global hazard that can hardly ever be
justified.

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.

There are an estimated 186 million child laborers worldwide; despite its menace and harmful
impacts, the data shows prevalence of child labor across the globe and the statistical figures
about child labor are indeed very alarming.

Child labor is morally wrong / blatant denial of basic human rights and education.

But poverty is not an excuse for child labor. Indisputably, it can be argued that poverty
perpetuates child labor and child labor perpetuates poverty; it all seems to be a vicious circle.

Definition

Child labor is any type of work undertaken by a child. This is work that requires many hours, for
which they are too young, compromising their health and wellbeing, robbing them of their play
time and depriving them of education.

\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.
As defined by the convention, the worst forms of child labor include:

 Slavery or similar practices

 Child trafficking

 Forced recruitment into armed conflict

 Prostitution and pornography

 Drug production and trafficking or other illegal acts

 Debt bondage

 Hazardous work that can cause injury or moral corruption

Paragraph one: Elaborate on the CAUSES of child labour

 Child labor persists even though laws and standards to eliminate it exist. Current causes
of global child labor include poverty, limited access to education, repression of workers’
rights, and limited prohibitions on child labor, inadequate and ineffective laws and
enforcement.

 Children may be driven into work for various reasons. Most often, child labour occurs
when families face financial challenges or uncertainty – whether due to poverty, sudden
illness of a caregiver, or job loss of a primary wage earner.

Consequences/ analysis/ ideas to support argument that child labour CANNOT be justified.

The consequences are staggering. Child labour can result in:

 Extreme bodily and mental harm and even death.

 It can lead to slavery and sexual or economic exploitation.
 In nearly every case, it cuts children off from schooling and health care, restricting their
fundamental rights and threatening their futures.
 Whatever the cause, child labour compounds social inequality and discrimination, and
robs girls and boys of their childhood
 Child labour limits access to education and harms a child’s physical, mental and social
growth. Especially for girls, the “triple burden” of school, work and household chores
 heightens their risk of falling behind, making them even more vulnerable to poverty and
exclusion.
 Children working in difficult and hazardous conditions, suffer higher levels of illness
and injury. They are more at risk than adults to workplace hazards because of their age
and level of development. As a consequence of hazardous work, a number of serious
diseases appear only in adulthood and are often more devastating and are more likely to
cause permanent harm.

However { Arguments supporting the view that Child labour CAN be justified}
 Children earn money instead of dying of hunger/ when hunger strikes, schooling is no
more of a priority.
 They feed themselves and support their family
 They learn better survival skills/ skillful
 Help and contribute to the economy by providing cheap labour

Other Interesting Facts about Child Labour

Although the Constitution of India guarantees free and compulsory education to children
between the age of 6 to 14 and prohibits employment of children younger than 14 in 18
hazardous occupations, child labor is still prevalent in the informal sectors of the Indian
economy.

About one-third of children of the developing world are failing to complete even 4 years of
education. Indian population has more than 17.5 million working children in different industries,
and incidentally maximum are in agricultural sector, leather industry, mining and match-making
industries, etc

Children involved in hazardous work may work at night, over long hours, be exposed to
physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, and have to work in dangerous situations, such as
underground, underwater, at dangerous heights, heat, cold or in isolated and confined spaces.
Some children have to operate unsafe machinery, equipment, and tools, or be required to lift
heavy loads and be exposed to hazardous substances, agents, or processes, or to temperatures,
noise levels, or vibrations that can cause serious damage to their health.

There is also a gender dimension to hazardous work or worst forms of child labour. For instance,
girls are more likely to perform heavy domestic work and be subject to sexual abuse and
exploitation, while boys are more likely to be involved in dangerous work in agriculture,
operating heavy machinery, or spraying pesticides or handling dangerous chemicals.

Child labor is concentrated in the world’s poorest countries. It is also common in fragile contexts
where there is insecurity or armed conflict. Sub-Saharan Africa has 86.6 million child laborers,
more than anywhere else.

Family poverty and poor schools are two major reasons children in low-income countries are in
the labor force. However, child labor is not confined to low-income countries. About 93.4
million children, 58.4% of child laborers, live in middle-income countries, and 1.6 million child
laborers live in high-income countries.

From the most recent Global Estimates of Child Labour of 2017, there are 73 million children
involved in hazardous work, that directly endangers their health and safety. Hazardous work can
cause death, serious illness or injury, permanent disability or psychological damage, as a direct
consequence of poor safety and health standards, exploitation or abuse.

Conclusive Paragraph/ Ideas

First and foremost, child labour should be stamped out, especially in its worst forms. The
international community, including the European Union, has committed to the eradication of
child labour.

The Sustainable Development Goals sets the target of ending child labour in all its forms by
2025. However, this is increasingly looking less likely. This is why we need renewed
commitments and efforts by all, especially by governments where there is high prevalence of
child labour, the private sector involved in supply chains that involve child labour, civil society
and other stakeholders. The solutions are known, it is the commitment and resources that need
reinvigorating.