Should Poor Countries Ban or Regulate Child Labor



Should Poor Countries Ban or Regulate Child Labor1

Introduction1

Discussion2

Supporting Argument2

Conflicting Values3

Rebuttals4

Conclusion4

References6

Should Poor Countries Ban or Regulate Child Labor

Introduction

There are approximately 120 million children who fall under the age bracket of 5 to 14 and these children are employed at places such as factories, fisheries, firms, mines, automobile workshops, small scale restaurants etc. And this is not just one country's situation; the phenomenon is the same all around the world. The trend is increasing in the developing countries in Latin America, Africa and countries of Asia.

Child labor has adverse effects on the children as well the society. To begin with their effects on the children, the biggest problem is poor health and growth of a child which includes stunted growth along with weakened learning. These facts are globally known and recognized. Child labor exposes children to a lot of risks and occupational diseases, thus leaving hazardous effect on their health and. Some countries have reported that death rate of children due to pesticide poison in agriculture increases more than the normal mortality rate due to diseases such as diphtheria, malaria and tetanus etc. Similarly children, who are a victim of child labor, remained deprived from their very basic right such as education which in return affects the economic and social conditions of the country as well.

The debate is about the need of child labor in developing and under developed countries because these countries are way too poor to adopt the policies and take measures which are taken by countries such as United Kingdom or United States who have instituted to abolish child labor.

According to Heritage Foundation, it is very hard for poor countries to take necessary measures for the eradication of child labor. These countries lack required resources to do so.

Discussion

Supporting Argument

Child labor has been declared as illegal but even then it persists in many countries and we see it surrounded by apathy and indifference. My view point is that child labor must be removed completely. Since 1990s, United States has established worldwide leadership of bring child labor to an end. Public was highly sensitized to this emerging and increasing issue of child labor in mid 1990s and the media always galvanized it esp. by issuing child labor reports in Central America's garment factories and production of sports goods in Pakistan.

The evidences and statistics show that developing countries cannot afford to regulate the ban on child labor as they are not economically strong enough to do so. But this whole debate is based on various arguments; in simple words it could be difficult for developing countries to eliminate child labor and it could put them in a state of competitive disadvantage in few international markets. But instead of just removing the source of income from a very deprived family in developing countries, the ban on child labor could change the entire structure of labor market which will result in an increase in wages of adult ...