labor35

How do we combat Child labour?

Child labour is a complicated issue which can not be solved through legislation
alone. In fact forced legislation can move children out of monitorable forms of
child labour into more hidden and hazardous employment such as the sex trade.
Sanctions like consumer boycotts can be counter-productive unless they are
supported by schemes in the developing countries themselves.Children must be
offered a feasible alternative to exploitative work. Schemes by companies such
as Levi Strauss - who offer children under 14 education instead of fulltime factory
work and which offer employment to the children once their schooling has been
completed - are long term and realistic.Primary school education which is free,
accessible and compulsory, does more than any other single factor to reduce
exploitative child labour.But as individuals, what can we do to help put an end to
child labour throughout the world?We can all help by taking small initiatives such
as contacting our local retailers and importers and asking them about their
policies on child labour. This could mean asking about the products they buy from
overseas or about the use of outworkers in Australia. Do they have any checks in
place which help ensure that child labour is not employed to make their products?
If you are thinking about buying a carpet, ask traders about the availability of
Rugmark and Woolmark carpets.These labels mean that to the best of the
manufacturer’s knowledge, child labour has not been used in the production of
the carpets - there are retailers in Australia who stock the Woolmark carpets.As
consumers we should be supporting those manufacturers and brands that don’t
use exploitative child labour.We can contact consumer bodies and pressure them
to bring their trading practices into line with our consumer expectations.
Consumer bodies can be powerful allies and can help pressure manufacturers to
introduce schemes like workplace education and better employment conditions.
As consumers we have the power to tell manufacturers, traders and retailers
what we expect from them. We must make it clear that using child labour, whether
inside Australia or out, is not acceptable to us.These measures will help solve
part of the problem - but eradicating exploitative child labour is something that
must be tackled on various fronts.If we take such actions, we should also support
programs and schemes to help children who, because of our actions, will no
longer be able to work in factories, mines, hotels and the like. We must be sure
that these children are not merely forced onto the streets and into more
exploitative forms of labour, such as prostitution.The best way to ensure such
schemes are in place is through pressuring those who have the power, such as
politicians, to take action.Write to our politicians and decision-makers
encouraging them to establish a Code of Conduct regarding labour practices for
Australian companies operating overseas. Initiatives taken by Levi Strauss and
other such companies have shown that such Codes can have a powerful impact.
Urge our government to provide more effective, poverty focused aid which
targets such things as education. Encourage them to become more involved in
funding projects which aim at eradicating the exploitation of children.Support
organisations such as World Vision which have specific projects established to
help deal with the problems of Child exploitation, such as educating communities
about alternatives and assisting children who have left exploitative work.
Exploitative child labour is a global problem because the actions of each and
every one of us can impact upon the lives of children thousands of kilometres
away from us. As individuals we do have the capacity to make a change for the
better and to help eradicate exploitative child labour.