Child Labor

Despite its decline throughout the advanced industrial nations, child labor remains one of the major social, political, and economic concerns of modern history, as witnessed by the many high-profile stories on child labor and sweatshops in the media today. This work considers the issue in three parts. The first section discusses child labor as a social and economic problem in America from an historical and theoretical perspective. The second part presents child labor as National Child Labor Committee investigators found it in major American industries and occupations, including coal mines, cotton textile mills, and sweatshops in the early 1900s. Finally, the concluding section integrates these findings and attempts to apply them to child labor problems in America and the rest of the world today.

"The World of Child Labor" details both the current and historical state of child labor in each region of the world, focusing on its causes, consequences, and cures. Child labor remains a problem of immense social and economic proportions throughout the developing world, and there is a global movement underway to do away with it. Volume editor Hugh D. Hindman has assembled an international team of leading child labor scholars, researchers, policy-makers, and activists to provide a comprehensive reference with over 220 essays. This volume first provides a current global snapshot with overview essays on the dimensions of the problem and those institutions and organizations combating child labor. Thereafter the organization of the work is regional, covering developed, developing, and less developed regions of the world.The reference goes around the globe to document the contemporary and historical state of child labor within each major region (Africa, Latin and South America, North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Oceania) including country-level accounts for nearly half of the world's nations. Country-level essays for more developed nations include historical material in addition to current issues in child labor. All country-level essays address specific facets of child labor problems, such as industries and occupations in which children commonly work, the national child welfare policy, occupational safety regulations, educational system, and laws, and often highlight significant initiatives against child labor.Current statistical data accompany most country-level essays that include ratifications to UN and ILO conventions, the Human Development Index, human capital indicators, economic indicators, and national child labor surveys conducted by the Statistical Information and Monitoring Program on Child Labor. "The World of Child Labor" is designed to be a self-contained, comprehensive reference for high school, college, and professional researchers. Maps, photos, figures, tables, references, and index are included.

Presents a history of child labor around the world, describing the jobs children were and are forced to do, the ways child labor can be prevented, and the laws being created in underdeveloped countries to prevent such unfair practices.

"The World of Child Labor" details both the current and historical state of child labor in each region of the world, focusing on its causes, consequences, and cures. Child labor remains a problem of immense social and economic proportions throughout the developing world, and there is a global movement underway to do away with it. Volume editor Hugh D. Hindman has assembled an international team of leading child labor scholars, researchers, policy-makers, and activists to provide a comprehensive reference with over 220 essays. This volume first provides a current global snapshot with overview essays on the dimensions of the problem and those institutions and organizations combating child labor. Thereafter the organization of the work is regional, covering developed, developing, and less developed regions of the world.The reference goes around the globe to document the contemporary and historical state of child labor within each major region (Africa, Latin and South America, North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Oceania) including country-level accounts for nearly half of the world's nations. Country-level essays for more developed nations include historical material in addition to current issues in child labor. All country-level essays address specific facets of child labor problems, such as industries and occupations in which children commonly work, the national child welfare policy, occupational safety regulations, educational system, and laws, and often highlight significant initiatives against child labor.Current statistical data accompany most country-level essays that include ratifications to UN and ILO conventions, the Human Development Index, human capital indicators, economic indicators, and national child labor surveys conducted by the Statistical Information and Monitoring Program on Child Labor. "The World of Child Labor" is designed to be a self-contained, comprehensive reference for high school, college, and professional researchers. Maps, photos, figures, tables, references, and index are included.

The history of child labour in America is long and, in some cases, unsavoury. It dates back to the founding of the United States. Traditionally, most children, except for the privileged few, had always worked -- either for their parents or for an outside employer. Through the years, however, child labour practices have changed. So have the benefits and risks associated with employment of children. In some respects, altered workplace technology has served to make work easier and less hazardous. At the same time, some processes and equipment have rendered the workplace more dangerous, especially for children and youth. This book examines the current state of enforcement of America's federal child labour laws by the Department of Labour. This historical issue of child labour in America is also briefly reviewed. In addition, recommendations are made about reforms to strengthen protections for working children from hazardous working conditions. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.

The history of child labour in America is long and, in some cases, unsavoury. It dates back to the founding of the United States. Traditionally, most children, except for the privileged few, had always worked -- either for their parents or for an outside employer. Through the years, child labour practices have changed -- and so have the benefits and risks associated with employment of children. In some respects, altered workplace technology has served to make work easier and less hazardous. At the same time, some processes and equipment have rendered the workplace more dangerous -- especially for the very young. Child labour first became a federal legislative issue at least as far back as 1906 with the introduction of the Beveridge proposal for regulation of the types of work in which children might be engaged. Although the 1906 legislation was not adopted, it led to extended study of the conditions under which children were employed or allowed to work and to a series of legislative proposals -- some approved, others defeated or overturned by the courts -- culminating in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938. The latter statute, amended periodically, remains the primary federal law dealing with the employment of children. Although providing a framework for regulation of child labour (and, in some cases, forbidding it entirely), the FLSA is not comprehensive, nor does it deal with all employment of children in precisely the same way. Generally speaking, work by young persons (under 18 years of age) in mines and factories is not allowed. What other types of work may be suitable (or especially hazardous) for persons under 18 years of age has been left to the discretion of the Secretary of Labour. Some types of work -- for example, some newspaper sales and delivery, theatrical (and related) employment -- fall beyond the scope of FLSA child labour requirements. Finally, a distinction has been made between employment in non-agricultural fields and in agriculture -- and, in the latter case, between work for a parent or guardian in an agricultural setting and commercial employment. This book sketches the early history of child labour regulation and reviews certain recent federal initiatives in that area and discusses child labour legislation.