Child Labor in the Global Economy

             Child labor has been an issue of concern for decades. In recent
             years child labor has been brought to the forefront of media attention by
             activist groups who have exposed numerous large corporations, such as
             Reebok, WalMart, and major clothing manufacturers who outsource work to
             sweatshops around the world. Child labor has become a topic for
             international organizations concerned with its impact on globalization.
             Throughout history and within all cultures, children have worked
             along side their parents in the agricultural field, the marketplace, and
             around the home as soon as they were old enough to perform simple tasks
             (Child pp). It was not until the introduction of the factory system that
             the use of child labor was regarded as a social problem (Child pp). In
             Britain, during the late 18th century, cotton mill owners collected orphans
             and children of poor parents throughout the country to obtain their
             services merely for the cost of maintaining them (Child pp). In many
             cases, the children were as young as five years old are were forced to work
             thirteen to sixteen hours a day (Child pp). As early as 1802, social
             reformers attempted to obtain legislative restrictions against the worst
             features of the child-labor system, however, little was ever done even to
             enforce the existing laws limiting work hours and establishing a minimum
             age for employment (Child pp). Soon, non-pauper children were employed,
             often with the approval of political, social, and religious leaders, to
             work in hazardous occupations such as mining, resulting in social problems
             such as illiteracy, and a multitude of diseased and crippled children,
             thus, poor families were further impoverished (Child pp).
             The call for reform steadily increased through the years, and in 1878
             the first significant British legislation was enacted, raising the minimum
             age to 10 years old and restricting employment of ...

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Child Labor in the Global Economy. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:28, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/201329.html