Employmentweb_low

EmpLoymEnT, work, And HEALTH inEquALiTiES - a global perspective
Figure 11. percentage of child labour by region and level of wealth in 2003.
Low income countries Middle income countries High income countries
Child labour (%)
0 10 20 30 40 50
1
2
3
Child labour (%)
0 10 20 30 40 50
1
2
3
4
Child labour (%)
0 10 20 30 40 50
1
2
EAP ECA LAC MENA SA SSA WCE
EAP ECA LAC MENA SSA WCE
EAP MENA NAM WCE
region region region
outliers: 1= yemen, 2=Egypt_arab_rep,
3=albania
outliers: 1= Thailand, 2=Brazil, 3=El Salvador,
4=Turkey
outliers: 1= Portugal , 2= Italy
regions: EaP (East asia and Pacific), ECa (Eastern Europe and Central asia), laC (latin america and Caribbean), MEna (Middle East and north africa),
naM (north america), Sa (South asia), SSa (Sub -Saharan africa), WCE (Western and Central Europe).
source: international labour organization. (2007). The Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM). 5th edition.
Case study 25. Are we going backward in the global economy - charles Kernaghan and barbara briggs
Forced to work 13 ½ hours a day, six days a week for an 81-hour workweek, 2,000 child cotton mill workers aged 10 to
18 went out on a six-week strike in paterson, new Jersey, beginning in July 1835. the children demanded an 11-hour day,
but had to settle for a compromise: 12 hours a day monday through Friday and 9 hours on saturday, for a 69-hour week.
their pay at the time was $2.00 a week, which in today's dollars would be $44.08 or 64 cents an hour. child labour has not
changed much in today's world. in 2006, between 200 and 300 child garment workers as young as 11 years old, and some
perhaps even younger, were found working in the harvest rich factory in bangladesh. they were being forced to work 12 to
14 hours a day, often seven days a week, sometimes with grueling, mandatory all-night, 19- to 20-hour shifts. during busy
periods, these child workers could be at the factory 80 to 110 hours a week, while earning just 6 ½ cents to 17 cents an hour
- only one-tenth to one-quarter of what the child workers were paid in paterson, new Jersey, back in the early nineteenth
century. daily production goals are arbitrarily set by management and are excessive. For example, the child workers are
allowed just 24 seconds to clean each pair of hanes underwear, using scissors to cut off any loose threads. they are paid
just one twenty-third of a cent for each operation. the workers must receive permission to use the bathroom and are limited
to two, or at most three, visits per day. the bathrooms are filthy, lacking toilet paper, soap, and towels. sometimes (on
average two days a week) the bathrooms even lack running water. anyone spending too much time in the bathroom will be
slapped. speaking during working hours is strictly forbidden and workers who get caught are punished. the workers say
that the factory drinking water is not purified and sometimes makes them sick. the sewers are provided only hard stools
without cushions or backs. if the workers bring their own cushions, managements takes them away. the workers say the
factory is very hot and they are constantly sweating while they work. according to the workers, harvest rich does not respect
women workers' legal right to three months maternity leave with full pay. pregnant women have to quit and return as new
workers. For being one minute late, a worker can be punished with loss of their attendance bonus for the full month. the
workers say they do not receive national public holidays, nor are they allowed the legal vacation time they are due. the
workers at harvest rich have no voice and no rights. anyone daring to ask for their proper pay, or demanding that their most
basic legal rights be respected, will be attacked and fired. the rights of freedom of association and to organise are 100 per
cent denied. the children report being routinely beaten, slapped, and cursed at for falling behind on their production goals,
making mistakes, taking too long in the bathroom, or for being absent for a day due to sickness. one can only imagine what
would happen to the child and teenaged workers in the harvest rich factory in bangladesh if they dared declare a strike. at
best, they would face beatings and firing.
Source
the national labor committee. (2006). Child labor is back: children again sewing clothing for Wal-Mart, Hanes and other US companies.
retrieved october 28, 2008, from http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1024-01.htm
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