child labor affect on labor force, and its affect on child and how to solve such a problem

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Child labor affect on labor force, and its affect on child and how to solve such a problem
Introduction
It is clear that most developing nations are currently removing barriers on migration, and this has created the integration of children in the workforce in other nations. The children are also being incorporated in their countries in the labour force, hence denying them their rights to education, which is often an important facet in their lives. In other nations that are industrialised, young children also part of the labour force similar to their parents. Most of them work in more than one job while others fall under the government subsidised employment. Issues that pertain to child labour have been rampant across the globe, hence the need for strict policies among governments to stop using them, and instead incorporate them into different learning institutions that will provide them with the needed experience and expertise to be better workers in the future. These paper discuses the menace of child labour to the labour force, its effects and solutions that can ensure the elimination of such practices.
Causes of Child labour and its effects to children and the labour force
Child labour has been clearly defined by the ILO Conventions, which have discussed various issues that pertain to the children. Child labour is the use of children to undertake different chores which are not suitable for their health and age as a whole. Further, children that are of age, and able to work can be categorised under the bracket of child labour when the work they perform hinder them from getting educated or are affected psychologically.

It is vital to note that not all the work children perform can be categorised under child labour, but only those duties that hinder their personal growth and puts them at risk. However, adolescents should be allowed to perform various functions in their homes and society to ensure responsible citizens in the future and for personal growth. The idea of child labour clearly follows after the age of the child and number of hours they are made to work (Ravallion 175).
There are different forms of child labour across the globe. Most children who work often engage themselves in agricultural activities, in domestic chores, mining, manufacturing industries, begging on the stress and different types of construction. There are however other forms of child labour, and this fully depends on where the children are situated. Most children under this category often find themselves in different forms of slavery where they are forced to work without their personal consent. Forced labour usually leads to the exploitation of children, whereby most of them join commercial sex workers and other illicit activities like trafficking of drugs and other many other types of organised labour.
Such kinds of child labour are often dangerous as they lead to harmful activities and are known to be morally unacceptable as they violate the rights and freedoms of such children. The informal sector has had numerous cases of child labour, and in most cases such children receive no payment for their services, but only given places to sleep and food. Most children in the informal segment receive nothing if they are injured and often have limited support when they fall under various forms of violence or maltreated by their bosses (Ray 561).
The issues surrounding child labour are complex, and many factors often influence whether they should work or continue with their normal lives. Poverty has been seen as the most factor that lead children to work, as most of them come from poor families; hence need to work to provide for their families. Most poor households often used most of their income on food and the amount of money collected from child labour is often seen as being important to cover for various expenses that they need. However, the idea of poverty is not only the one that is seen as pushing children to work and can never be justified as the reason behind child labour. There are nations that are generally under the poverty line, but often have low or high levels of child labour.
Child labour can also be caused by due to various barriers to education. Most parents in different parts of the world force their children to work because they do not see the importance of allowing their children to go to school, but instead make them work in different firms to ensure enough supplies for their survival. Education is never free to most children as there are nations where children never attend school because of the remote nature of their institutions. There education system can also be of low standards and this makes most children to desire work as opposed to school. In many situations, education is never affordable and this makes parents send their children to work to ensure providence for their families.
The culture and tradition of most families have made it impossible for most children to attend school and follow the traditions of their families. In cases whereby parents have limited education they often desire to have their children follow their traditions and join the labour force as opposed to going to school. Work in this sense is mostly seen as being lucrative as it provides the concerned families with income. Such occurrences often deter children from going to school hence limiting them for better opportunities in the future.
Employers also like using children for their employment opportunities because of the minimal expenses that are often involved. Using children for labour is usually cheaper, and they can easily be dispensed any time when there are cases of fluctuations in the labour market. Such employees see the children as people who cannot form organisations and support themselves in case of problems, hence making them a better group to provide various services in the organisation in question.
Most households that cannot shield themselves from income shock due to disasters, HIV and Aids, natural disasters and many other crises often use their children to work to cope up with the problems they are facing. For example, currently the number of HIV cases among children is alarming, and worse are those who are orphaned due to the pandemic. When parents fall sick due to HIV and Aids and other health problems, most children take the responsibility of caring for other young ones or providing for their whole family through different chores in their region. Such children often lack basic necessities but continue working to ensure a better future for themselves and their families (Otañez 223).
The lack of policies that endeavour to take care of children in the labour force is a major factor that has led to child labour in most instances. The ineffective implementation in areas where such policies are set has also contributed to the increased nature of child labour around the globe. Nations need to put stringent measures that do not allow child labour to ensure a permanent stop to such occurrences around the globe. Laws that protect the rights and freedom of children should be put in place and often implemented as desired (Okkerse 5).
It is vital to note that childhood is a period that is critical, for the overall development and safety of human development capabilities. Due to the growing nature of children, their special needs and characteristics in terms of cognitive, behavioral and physical should be considered. Child workers often risk being injured, getting sick or even die due to the varied machines, physical, ergonomic, psychosocial and hygiene hazards that they encounter while working in their different working stations (Kim 498).
The various hazards that affect adult workers often affect children more, and this often leads to various instances that are unwanted like deteriorating health. For example, the strain that most jobs desire coupled with regular movements can cause spinal injuries, stunting and other many conditions that are life threatening. Most children also have psychological damages due to the nature of their work. In instances where children are harassed, abused, denigrated and violated against, they often suffer psychologically, and this may lead to lifelong problems that may affect their future adversely. When children are denied their right of getting quality education, they usually end up becoming beggars leading to deterioration in their family units.
However, child labour denies children more than education capabilities as most of them are often deprived of their physical and mental developments which are usually crucial for such generations. Most of their childhood can easily be stolen from their involvement in different labour related activities. Among other things the majority of effects of child labour on the children fully lie on their stunted growth, increased cases of HIV and Aids due to forced prostitutions, poisoning, malnutrition and exhaustion (Khan 1055).
Apart from the effects on the children, child labour may lead to poor nations where there are few graduates who can push the economic standards of their citizens in the long run. The host nations, however, might benefit from child labour as they will have cheap labour that will be used as opposed to the use of experts who often desire high pay for their services. The labour force can also benefit from child labour as it will have an increased number of workers who are readily available to work for low pay and minimal support systems (Hazan 812).
Child labour as initially stated increases the number of workers in the labour force thereby reducing the costs associated with paying workers (Cockburn 34). Most employees often pay their workers relatively low amounts of money because of their inability to form support groups that and demand for changes. Such vulnerable groups can also be used to perform dangerous activities which may lead to their demise or other related health problems. The labour force benefits from child labour, but in most cases break different laws and regulations that have been set to stand for the rights of the children around the globe.
Child labour can easily be eliminated completely if consumers use their power through social media and many other forums that have more members. Social media often guarantees powerful consumer voices as they involve the majority of people who have similar concerns. Most companies often avoid negative feedbacks from their customers as they usually make them loose on important business aspects that can lead to their overall success. No company desire to be accused of encouraging child labour as this can make their ratings go down in the long run. If consumers decide to boycott businesses that employ children for their provisions, they might lose be affected adversely and have low-profit levels that are not able to capture their needs.
Consumers should, therefore, know companies that make use of children in the operations, and name them to ensure a stop to such activities. Consumers need to perform different research works that will make them know whether the products they are purchasing were as a result of child labour. They can, therefore, make informed and responsible choices if they gather enough information about the products they use on a daily basis (Chakrabarty 484).
When manufacturers find out that they do not have market for the products they are producing they can easily change their labour force or stop producing them, and this often leads to a negative rating. It is vital to note that consumers are always the driving force of any economic activity, hence have a greater say when it comes to the ideas of buying different products from companies.
Citizens can also raise awareness about the issues of child labor within their communities, and this will make child labour to stop as information will be passed from one individual to another with ease. The individuals will need to know which companies make use of children in the productions and also have full information of its effects. Awareness on child labour will help stop the menace completely as it often taints the name of the company that engages in such practices. Policies can also be created to ensure strict measures for companies that are found using children for their operations.
In places where poverty levels are high, children should be encouraged to attend school through free education and other provisions that will allow them to attend their classes without problems. Governments can also provide food stuff to households to make children go to school instead of working for purposes of looking for money to buy food for their families. Such provisions will help the children to join different institutions and become better members of the society in the future. Child labour ought to stop as it has negative effects towards the children who are often vulnerable (Report Global 41).
Creating awareness, boycotting products from companies that use children for their operations and ensuring strict policies are solutions that will require the minimal amount of money and effort. People will only need social media sites to create awareness and propose different policies that the government can institute to ensure zero issues of child labour. Such provisions are easy to implement and viable in combating issues of child labour.
Conclusion
Millions of children around the globe make use of child labour, and this is often done because of their relatively cheap labour that most employers desire. Most companies make use of cheap labour to ensure an increased amount of profits in the long run from their operations. Child labour should be stopped and this can only be done through the creation of awareness of such activities and boycotting different companies’ products that make use of children for their operations. Policies can also be instituted that strictly deter companies to use children, and all those who are found to break the law charged highly in the courts. With increased campaigns against child labour, companies can decide to use adult labour and give children a chance to complete their education.

Works Cited
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