| -It is estimated to take $760 billion over 20 years to eliminate child labour completely. The estimated benefit in terms of better education and health is over $4 trillion, a six to one difference. -As of 2004, there were 218 million child labourers around the world. -The number of child labourers fell by 16 percent between 2000 and 2004. -Twenty-six percent of all children in Africe are workers. -While the percentage of child labourers is decreasing across Africa, there are actually more children in the workforce now than 10 years ago. -Seven out of ten children work in agricultur, two in services and the last one in industry. |
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Hey Everybody!
Hello blog viewers1 If you are really interseted in stopping child labour, Read the book Free the children by Craig Kielburger. It is a truly moving memoir and will inform you even more on yhis awful topic. Thanks alot!
Ballerinagrrrl
Ballerinagrrrl
Monday, January 17, 2011
Approaches to stopping Child Labour
1. Prioritise primary education It is no coincidence that the countries where child labour is worst are those that spend least on primary education. Primary education should be free, compulsory, well-resourced, relevant and nearby. It is much easier to monitor school attendance that to inspect factories and workshops. Sponsoring a child doesn't solve this problem - it might make us feel good, but it only helps educate one child, isolating them from others in their community.
2. Regulate global trade The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the international body charged with overseeing and enforcing the rules of world trade as drawn up during the four decades of GATT negotiations.
Given the impact that globalisation combined with economic rationalist policies have had on workers' wages, conditions, safety standards and basic rights, the global union movement is calling for additional regulation of international trading laws.
Trade unions globally are pushing for a set of rules stipulating the minimum labour standards to be included in the rules of world trade enforced by the WTO. Including core labour standards would enforce several key ILO Conventions such as the right for workers to join a trade union and bargain collectively, and the banning of child labour, as well as banning slave labour, prison labour and discrimination in the workplace.
3. Get rid of poverty Many things are needed to overcome global poverty, but two urgent steps are:
a) Get rid of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs): When a country has a balance of payments difficulty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) implements a SAP for that country. This IMF program usually demands cuts to government social spending such as health and education, spending cuts which impact hardest on the poorest.
b) Restructure Third World Debt. The repayments of the poorest and most indebted countries should be redirected into spending on local health and education rather than to Western bankers. An international campaign aims to cancel the debts of the poorest countries - see the Jubilee Australia website for details and to get involved.
4. Strengthen unions Trade unions also play a crucial role in preventing and eliminating child labour. Adult workers who have the right to organise, negotiate and bargain for a living wage do not have to send their children to work. Where strong unions exist, child labour is diminished. Unions not only strongly oppose child labour on the grounds of social justice, they also resist the hiring of children at wages that undermine their own.
5. Consumer education As consumers, we are the driving force behind the global economy - let's drive it the right direction. We can raise awareness, we can question stores about the labour conditions under which their goods were made, and we can demand proper labelling. If they can tell us what's in a product, they can also tell us who made it. Where labelling exists (eg, Rugmark for hand woven carpets) support these products. Pester multinational companies to adopt codes of conduct for themselves and their subcontractors.
6. Ban the worst forms of child labour Demand the government support the ILO Convention 182 banning the worst forms of child labour such as bonded labour, work in heavy industry or with dangerous substances and commercial sexual exploitation.
7. Give the jobs of child workers to their adult relatives This way, the family does not suffer, and indeed should be better off, as adult wages are generally much higher than child wages.
8. Campaign on specific industries It's hard to take on the whole global economy, so just work industry by industry. Recent ACTU and international union campaigns have involved sporting goods made by child labour, medical instruments made by children (often exported to Australia) and the gem polishing industry in India where children polish diamonds, often sourced from Australia's Argyle diamond mine. Another recent campaign has involved the role of children in citrus juice production in Brazil.
9. Join the Fair Wear campaign Where exploitative child labour does exist in Australia, it is predominantly in the outsourced clothing industry. The Fair Wear Campaign is a coalition of unions, churches and community organisations. It works in association with the Textile, Clothing & Footwear Union and uses consumer pressure to fight for the rights of all homebased outworkers. Contact the Fair Wear Campaign for further details.
10. Education and training for women All studies show that when women are educated, trained and empowered, the incidence of labour by their children, especially girl children, drops dramatically. Your union's overseas aid agency, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA - has many projects assisting skills training for women. Support them.
11. Our overseas aid The Australian government's overseas aid budget is approximately $1.8 billion per year. This should give it leverage to encourage other governments to enact and enforce adequate legislation banning child labour. We need to demand that a greater share of this budget goes to non-government aid agencies for primary education and teacher training, rather than to big, for-profit companies and to subsidising middle class students to study in our universities.
Some information gathered from http://hubpages.com/hub/Stop_child_labour
2. Regulate global trade The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the international body charged with overseeing and enforcing the rules of world trade as drawn up during the four decades of GATT negotiations.
Given the impact that globalisation combined with economic rationalist policies have had on workers' wages, conditions, safety standards and basic rights, the global union movement is calling for additional regulation of international trading laws.
Trade unions globally are pushing for a set of rules stipulating the minimum labour standards to be included in the rules of world trade enforced by the WTO. Including core labour standards would enforce several key ILO Conventions such as the right for workers to join a trade union and bargain collectively, and the banning of child labour, as well as banning slave labour, prison labour and discrimination in the workplace.
3. Get rid of poverty Many things are needed to overcome global poverty, but two urgent steps are:
a) Get rid of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs): When a country has a balance of payments difficulty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) implements a SAP for that country. This IMF program usually demands cuts to government social spending such as health and education, spending cuts which impact hardest on the poorest.
b) Restructure Third World Debt. The repayments of the poorest and most indebted countries should be redirected into spending on local health and education rather than to Western bankers. An international campaign aims to cancel the debts of the poorest countries - see the Jubilee Australia website for details and to get involved.
4. Strengthen unions Trade unions also play a crucial role in preventing and eliminating child labour. Adult workers who have the right to organise, negotiate and bargain for a living wage do not have to send their children to work. Where strong unions exist, child labour is diminished. Unions not only strongly oppose child labour on the grounds of social justice, they also resist the hiring of children at wages that undermine their own.
5. Consumer education As consumers, we are the driving force behind the global economy - let's drive it the right direction. We can raise awareness, we can question stores about the labour conditions under which their goods were made, and we can demand proper labelling. If they can tell us what's in a product, they can also tell us who made it. Where labelling exists (eg, Rugmark for hand woven carpets) support these products. Pester multinational companies to adopt codes of conduct for themselves and their subcontractors.
6. Ban the worst forms of child labour Demand the government support the ILO Convention 182 banning the worst forms of child labour such as bonded labour, work in heavy industry or with dangerous substances and commercial sexual exploitation.
7. Give the jobs of child workers to their adult relatives This way, the family does not suffer, and indeed should be better off, as adult wages are generally much higher than child wages.
8. Campaign on specific industries It's hard to take on the whole global economy, so just work industry by industry. Recent ACTU and international union campaigns have involved sporting goods made by child labour, medical instruments made by children (often exported to Australia) and the gem polishing industry in India where children polish diamonds, often sourced from Australia's Argyle diamond mine. Another recent campaign has involved the role of children in citrus juice production in Brazil.
9. Join the Fair Wear campaign Where exploitative child labour does exist in Australia, it is predominantly in the outsourced clothing industry. The Fair Wear Campaign is a coalition of unions, churches and community organisations. It works in association with the Textile, Clothing & Footwear Union and uses consumer pressure to fight for the rights of all homebased outworkers. Contact the Fair Wear Campaign for further details.
10. Education and training for women All studies show that when women are educated, trained and empowered, the incidence of labour by their children, especially girl children, drops dramatically. Your union's overseas aid agency, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA - has many projects assisting skills training for women. Support them.
11. Our overseas aid The Australian government's overseas aid budget is approximately $1.8 billion per year. This should give it leverage to encourage other governments to enact and enforce adequate legislation banning child labour. We need to demand that a greater share of this budget goes to non-government aid agencies for primary education and teacher training, rather than to big, for-profit companies and to subsidising middle class students to study in our universities.
Some information gathered from http://hubpages.com/hub/Stop_child_labour
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Child working ages in Canada
http://www.naalc.org/migrant/english/pdf/mgcanchl_en.pdf
This is a special site with some facts about what age and where you can work when you reach a certain age. Child Labour is illegal in Canada, But I am sure that there are at least some factories hiding it from the rest of the world. This is a haneous crime, especially for Canadians to commit because people think of Cnada as a place that will obey the law, and will be trusted.
This is a special site with some facts about what age and where you can work when you reach a certain age. Child Labour is illegal in Canada, But I am sure that there are at least some factories hiding it from the rest of the world. This is a haneous crime, especially for Canadians to commit because people think of Cnada as a place that will obey the law, and will be trusted.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Top five ways to stop child labour
1. Don't buy products made by children(ie rugs, certain clothes and shoes)
2. Do not support child labour by not buying products made by those companies, even if that particular prodduct is made by machines
3. Try to take a stand and help out organizations likr Free the Children
4. Donate to adopt a child so they never have to expiriance child labour
5. Don't start child labour in Canada! it is illigeal and morally wrong
2. Do not support child labour by not buying products made by those companies, even if that particular prodduct is made by machines
3. Try to take a stand and help out organizations likr Free the Children
4. Donate to adopt a child so they never have to expiriance child labour
5. Don't start child labour in Canada! it is illigeal and morally wrong
Monday, January 3, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Craig Kielburger
Craig Kielburger is a remarkable person that worked to help children under the effects of child labour. When he was only twelveyears old, he read the story of Iqbal Masih, and was driven to help children just like him. He started a program called Free the Children, and traveled across Asia to experience the effects of child labour personally. Craig has a book called Free re children and it is what inspired me to do the concept of child labour. If we all work hard, we can be like Craig.
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