In our day and age, to save on the cost of labor we sacrifice certain things. One of these things is the use of child labor. In this essay we will elaborate on certain factors containing: the history of child labor, the major companies that use child labor, and what the future holds for the children that are going to live in this world. .
Child labor is a serious problem in our world today, especially in the third world countries. Child labor is defined by the Webster's Dictionary as work that is done by children under the age of 15, which restricts or damages their physical, emotional, intellectual, social, or spiritual growth as children.
Child labor first started being noticed in the 18th century because of the increasing number of immigrants and industrial companies. Children started working as young as the age of 6 and 7 to collect money for the household. For every age there was a different job. The boys worked as scavengers, picking up cinders, rope and metal bottles and then sold them to make there money. The girls were usually stuck street-sweeping and selling newspapers. Some children also worked in glass mills, and in coalfields breathing in the coal dust for sometime up to 6-10 hours, which led them to get sick and even die. These types of children were far away from adult supervision which usually led them trapped into prostitution, gambling and theft. In 1870, a census report showed that there was 750,000 workers in the industrial companies that where 15 years old and younger. .
Here are some cases that have been brought up at the member managing committee in 1992: .
1) In Firozabad, India, a glass-making company has 50,000 employees that are all under the age of 14. In this company the children are working with the glass and naked flame. No gloves or other protection is supplied; the children are left with their bare hands working with the acetylene burner. These children work all day for 10 rupees a day and suffer from respiratory diseases.
