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Child labor is a reality in spite of all the steps taken by the legal machinery to eliminate it. It prevails and persists as a world phenomenon in spite of child labor laws.
The causes of child labor in the contemporary world are the same as those in U.S. hundred years ago- namely poverty, lack of education and exposure, poor access to education, suppression of workers rights, partial prohibition of child labor and inadequate enforcement of child labor laws.
The existing law and codes of conduct regarding child labor are blatantly violated by the beneficiaries and the victims of this terrible practice all over the developing world. There are ambiguities in the export and manufacturing sector, which means multiple layers of outsourcing and production- making the monitoring of labor performers not only difficult but impossible. Extensive subcontracting also makes it impossible to identify the use of child labor whether intentional or unintentional.
Even when laws or codes of conduct exist, they are often violated.
The Indian constitution categorically states that child labor is a wrong practice, and standards should be set by law to eliminate it. The child labor act of 1986 implemented by the government of India makes child labor illegal in many regions and sets the minimum age of employment at fourteen years.
There are many loop holes in this law in terms of affectivity. First is that it does not make child labor completely illegal and does not meet the guidelines set by ILO concerning the minimum age for employment, which is fifteen years. Moreover the policies which are set to reduce incidences of child labor are difficult to implement and enforce. The government and other agencies responsible for the enforcement of these laws are not doing their job. Without proper enforcement all policies and laws concerning child labor prove useless.
Moreover certain sectors like agriculture and domestic work are not included in the exemption of child labor. In some countries very strict child labor laws exist but the offices and departments responsible for implementing them are under funded and under staffed. The judicial machinery and courts are also found to be faltering and falting where proper enforcement of such laws is concerned. Many state governments are feisty in allocating resources to enforce child labor laws.
There are also many loop holes while setting laws and rules for child labor which allows exploitation. For example in Nepal, the minimum age for a person to go for work is 14 years, but plantation of brick clines is exempted from this.
Kenya prohibits children under 16 from going to work in industries but excludes agriculture. Bangladesh also specifies a minimum age to go to work, but excludes agriculture and domestic work.
Indeed laws become unpractical and redundant in the face of necessity. Poor children and their family members depend so much on little ones to provide the basic necessities of life in the impoverished areas that it becomes impossible for them to adhere to any laws and regulations regarding child labor. We must also remember, that about one fifth of the world’s six billion humans live in absolute poverty.
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