Child Labour In Australia Essay

Forced into physical labour to provide for their desolate families, millions of children and adolescents in under-developed countries are illegally under employment from large international companies, who critically under-pay these desperate children. We as people who live such privileged lives in Australia should not support companies that rely on child labour, instead understand where our items are manufactured and work to encourage companies to improve and support their workers to reduce the number of child labourers. Many begin their working life at just the age of 5…. This is the harsh reality for millions of children in countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Cambodia and India, where numbers are alarmingly high. These children around the world

This is the unknown question that leads many Australians to blindly support the exploitation of children in under developed countries. Growing pressures on companies to raise their ethical standards have been raised over the past decade, with many companies raising their manufacturing costs to support their workers and abide to standards. Unfortunately many international brands such as H&M remain operating factories in Cambodia where many employees are as young as 12, working 14 hour shifts in overcrowded, horrible conditions. These companies that utilise child workers maximise their profits by severely underpaying the children who are responsible for producing their goods. We as consumers must learn to overlook a sale item and see the true cost of what we are buying. We may be buying a cheap item, but we must learn to ignore the $5 t-shirt sale and see the true unethical treatment of millions of children behind the making of that shirt. Alternative brands that support their workers to ensure safe conditions should instead be supported to create widespread change in how companies run their businesses. It is important to avoid large brands that manufacture their items inexpensively, at the expense of