Causes Of Child Labour Dilemmas

What is the dilemma?

The dilemma for capable business is how to address child labour responsibly given the intricate social and economic settings in which it occurs. While a business may try to respect the international conventions and national laws on minimum age there is the dilemma that dismissing children from work without considering the implications for them may worsen their conditions and situations. Eliminating children from the workplace may leave them susceptible to more exploitative work elsewhere and bad health implications due to increased poverty within the family.

Responsible management and the formation of innovative strategies to cope with this dilemma can maintain the right to childhood and primary education. For example,

For example, the manufacture and export of products often involves multiple layers of production and outsourcing, which can make it difficult to monitor who is performing labor at each step of the process. Extensive subcontracting can intentionally or unintentionally hide the use of child labor.

 National Laws Often Include Exemptions

Some countries have exemptions in their laws of child labour. Some examples are:

Nepal: The minimum age is 14 for most work. Plantations and brick kilns are exempted.

Kenya: It prohibits children under 16 from industrial work, but excludes agriculture.

Bangladesh: It specifies a minimum age for work, but sets no regulations on domestic work or agricultural work.

 The global economy intensifies the effects of some factors.

As multinational corporations expand across borders, countries often compete for jobs, investment, and industry. This competition sometimes slows child labor reform by encouraging corporations and governments to seek low labor costs by resisting international standards. Some U.S. legislation has begun to include labor standards and child labor as criteria for preferential trade and federal contracts. However, international free trade rules may prohibit consideration of child labor or workers’

Cotton seed as any Oilseeds is a rich source of oil and minerals.

India is the 2nd largest producer of cottonseeds after China, accounting for nearly 18% of the world’s production. With around 12 million hectares of cotton cultivation, 95% is spread in the 6 states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Most of the produce is consumed domestically, having no or negligible exports.

The cottonseed sector has been on a steady rise for the last many years. This steady increase in production has increased the amount of labor required. This additional requirement of labor is fulfilled by adolescents and also children under the age of 14. The main reasons for employing Child labor are:

Since the work involved in production of hybrid cottonseed is very delicate, children, especially girls were preferred. Majority of the children employed are girls belonging to the Dalit, Adivasi or the OBC Communities. These girls were employed on the basis of a long term contracts extending loans to their