Child labor is quite common in some parts of the world, and children's are engaged in working in factory, mining, prostitution, hotel, quarrying, agriculture and there are some cases like helping in their parents' business by doing odd jobs. Some children work as guides for tourists, sometimes combined with bringing in business for fast food shops and restaurants. Some children are forced to do tedious and repetitive jobs such as: assembling boxes, polishing shoes, stocking a store's products, or cleaning floors and toilets. However, rather than in factories and sweatshops, most child labor occurs in the informal sector, selling many things on the streets, at work in agriculture or hidden away in houses far from the reach of official labor inspectors and from media scrutiny.
Simple, Child labor means work for children that harms them or exploits them in some way (physically, mentally, morally, or by blocking access to education). But some research proves that some kinds of work may be completely unobjectionable were that should not be exploit the children's. For example if a child who delivers milk before school might actually benefit from learning how to work, gaining responsibility, and earn a bit of money. If the money is not paid for the child its a harm. UNICEF states that "Children’s work needs to be seen as happening along a continuum, with destructive or exploitative work at one end and beneficial work - promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest - at the other. And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development." Other social scientists have slightly different ways of drawing the line between acceptable and unacceptable work. As per the act Child means whose age is 18 or under.
Child Labor in Global arena:
International Labor Organization estimates, "246 million child workers aged 5 and 17 were involved in child labor, of which 171 million were involved in work that by its nature is hazardous to their safety, physical or mental health, and moral development. Moreover, some 8.4 million children were engaged in 'unconditional' worst forms of child labor, which include forced and bonded labor, the use of children in armed conflict, trafficking in children and commercial sexual exploitation." Were the proportion of child labors varies a lot between countries to countries and also regions inside those countries for example . 61% in Asia, 32% in Africa, and 7% in Latin America, 1% in US, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations In Asia, 22% of the workforce is children. In Latin America, 17% of the workforce is children. "In Africa, one child in three is at work, and in Latin America, one child in five works. In both these continents, only a tiny proportion of child workers are involved in the formal sector and the vast majority of work is for their families, in homes, in the fields or on the streets. Poor families often rely on the labor's of their children for survival, and sometimes it is their only source of income. This type of work is often hidden away because it is not always in the industrial sector. Child labor is employed in subsistence agriculture and in the urban informal sector; child domestic work is also important. In order to benefit children, child labor prohibition has to address the dual challenge of providing them with both short-term income and long-term prospects.
Reasons for the origin of child labor
Various research states that Child labor will be stopped until there is no poverty in the country. The following factors are also considered as a important reason for child labor. They are
1. Traditions and expectations of the Family
2. Child Abuse
3. Lack of health care
4. Employers uncaring attitude
5. Limited chances for women.
Movement against Child Labor
Child labor was approached from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. For example, Karl Marx called for "Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form" in his Communist Manifesto. Concern has also been raised about the buying publics moral complicity in purchasing products assembled or otherwise manufactured in developing countries with child labor. Others have raised concerns that boycotting products manufactured through child labor may force these children to turn to more dangerous or strenuous professions, such as prostitution or agriculture. For example, a UNICEF study found that 5,000 to 7,000 Nepalese children turned to prostitution after the United States banned that country's carpet exports in the 1990s. Also, after the Child Labor Deterrence Act was introduced in the US, an estimated 50,000 children were dismissed from their garment industry jobs in Bangladesh, leaving many to resort to jobs such as "stone-crushing, street hustling, and prostitution," -- all of them, according to a UNICEF study. "more hazardous and exploitative than garment production". The study says that boycotts are "blunt instruments with long-term consequences, that can actually harm rather than help the children involved." Today there are several industries and corporations which are being targeted by activists for their use of child labor.
The Amsterdam-based foundation for International Research on Working Children (IREWOC) was established in 1992 to generate more research on child labor, to raise awareness and motivate action against this complex issue. This is done by means of education, anthropological research, publications, consultancy and conferences. It has developed into a professional organization which is closely in touch both with the academic world and with development practitioners. IREWOC looks at the issue of child labor from the perspective of child rights and with a focus on the socio-cultural and economic environment. This institute will do research based on wider context of the living conditions of children and their families. Our focus is therefore not only on studying the specific situation of child laborers, but also the general situation of children living in adverse conditions. It also works closely with governmental and non-governmental organizations active in the field of child labor. By collaborating with the policy makers, we attempt to close the gap between scientific research and policy design.
Child Labor in India
The great challenge of India, as a developing country, is to provide nutrition, education and health care to these children. Normally, child labor is an accepted practice and perceived by the local population as a necessity to decrease poverty. Carpet weaving industries, hotels, matchbox factories, other local manufacturing industries pay low wages and make them work for long hours in unsecured areas. Children working in such units are mainly migrant workers from many parts of India who are sent here by their own family members to earn some money and send it to them because the whole family is depending on their income which forces them to work. In between 1960s and 1980's this child labor is alarming issue in India were lot of campaign programme are conducted all over the country and based on this we have a reasonable change took place like economic development that raised family incomes and living standards, comfortable and reliable education, enforcement of anti child labor laws i e., compulsory education laws and changes in public attitudes toward children that elevated the importance of education. Some educators and researchers believe that todays children will become the future pillars and the vast majority of new workers citizens and new consumers - whose skills and needs will build and worlds economy and society will come from developing countries. In 2025 more than 700 million people will join the global work force but if that global work force is should be a healthy one means we need to eliminate the child labor by exploring many programme to help child labors all over the world. Increased family incomes, structured education system, social services like NGOs must do some programme to eradicate the crisis of poverty family's such as disease or loss of home and shelter, family control and fertility so that children's burden will be less. Child Labor Act passed in 1986 Children's in India are not allowed to work in mines, factories, and other hazardous jobs already. Two more professions have been added in a list of fifty seven occupations which were considered hazardous for a child's development needs. Indian government has also taken lot of important development measures to ensure its practical application by eliminating the reasons of child labor practice. The origin of child labor is not only poverty it also includes illiteracy, scarcity of schools, ignorance, socially regressive practices, blind customs and traditions, migration and last butnot the least corruption among employees.
