Notes: Review of the literature

Unfinished Business : The Persistence of Child Labor in the US written by Hugh D. Hindman a professor of Labor & Human Resources at the Appalachian State University in Boone, USA.

MLA bibliography: Hindman, Hugh D. "Unfinished Business: The Persistence of Child Labor in the U. S." Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 18.2 (2006): 125-31. 31 January 2007 <http://www.springerlink.com/content/y785x9773w618067/fulltext.pdf>

"This essay assesses residual child labor problems in the Us today"

Child labor vs. child work

Child work: work that can be beneficial for children or at least nor harmful

Child labor: harmful work

“Convention #182 of the International Labor Organization condemns certain forms of child labor including slavery, sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and other forms of forced labor, child prostitution and pornography, and use of children in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, and recommends the act of placing children in these situations be criminalized.”Child labor is anything that can harm a child physically, mentally or morally according to Convention #182 of the ILO. Plus, any form of work by a child under ten years old is considered as being child labor, and all children under eighteen are protected against hazardous work.

Historically

Even though the progress was really slow, by the mid-30’s, children under fourteen were removed from the mines, mills and factories, and with all the other regulations by 1938 the child labor was removed completely from the mines, mills and factories. Children became “economically worthless but priceless emotionally”

Today

Most common freelance jobs held by girls is babysitting and by boys yard work. Other jobs such as snow shovelling, chores and odd jobs, newspaper routes and pet care are held by children nowadays. Most of these jobs held by children between twelve and sixteen are seen as a tool for children to learn to take responsibilities, gain independence and self-confidence, among other values.

But there are still children that are illegally unemployed in the United States every year and that are abused by their bosses. The most common violation is excessive hours combined with hazardous work.

Child labor in Agriculture

Child labor on family farms remains today unregulated. Children of any age can work an amazing amount of hours after school. There are three groups of farm work. Children working on family farms, seasonal workers and migrant workers, and it is more dangerous for a children working on the family farm, because they are more likely to be permitted to do hazardous work.

Other jobs were children face a rate of fatality higher than adults are in construction, were it is twice as dangerous for a children that for an adult, for that reason children under eighteen are banned from the construction jobs, in sweatshops and in child prostitution and child traffic, which are regulated, but authorities face difficulties stopping all of it.

Conclusion

Child labor is most often seen as something from the past, but it still exists unfortunately, and the causes are numerous.