There are a lot of dark and depressing sights that a person can see in today’s world. These might include poverty, death or even loss. None of these, however, compare to the sight of a child seen working in hazardous working conditions. This is most prominent in various third world countries, namely countries situated in African countries. If we want to make the world a more peaceful and better place, we have to start eradicating child labour around the world. Only then will we be able to start the process of a global scale modernization.
Let us first know why people opt for child labour. This will help us understand what actions we can take to make the situations around the world better. It is done because of the low supply of labour that is obtained from the workforce of the country. Due to this reason, a lot of companies (both local and international) would hire children as they would want more supply which would thus increase the revenue generated by the company which would, in turn, increase the amount of profit produced by the firm.
Another reason for the increase in child labour is because the families who work these companies are underpaid. They are so underpaid that most of them are only able to gather a few grains of rice for their whole family for the whole day. It is not by choice but due to pure need that the children have to work because they aren’t able to obtain basic necessities. Children’s earnings help the family to sustain themselves by using the revenue generated to
Sustain themselves and fill their basic needs to rest.
The first way we could eliminate child labour is if all countries would make rules and regulations which suggest that the firms who are caught using children as labour will be charged heavily and would be denied to do business in that particular country. This would help because firms who were using children, would now become more cautious and, because they would want to protect business, would refrain from using children in their business endeavours which would ensure them a lower, but non the less ethical, revenue that is generated.
The second way that governments could abolish the concept of child labour is by providing aid and support to whoever is below the poverty line in their country. If countries would do this, then families would have no reason to make their children work. Not only this, but governments could also provide free education to increase the literacy rate of the country. Moreover, countries with economic stability could aid countries with economic slowdown or recession so that relations can be made between the two, beneficial for both parties involved.
A real-life example where children are suffering due to child labour is the Mica mines in Jharkhand, India. Mica is a product that is used in a lot of products; technology, machines, automobiles. makeup and even toothpaste. It is a product that is so widespread in use that people don’t even stop and ask themselves what Mica is and how exactly it is extracted. Well, the answer is that Mica is a mineral that is primarily found in India and is extracted with the help of child labour. As the mines made are structurally weak, there is a lot of risk to children. If the government starts helping them, the future of these children will be saved.
Concluding, no matter how we decide to abolish child slavery, it is important that we achieve it. We have to think about all of the young, innocent lives lost in the mines of Africa, or the children dying due to radiation poisoning in South America. The fact stands that child labour is a poison for the modern world and, when it is abolished, the shift to a better world will start.
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