Introduction to child labor issue
“The child is the father of man.” This famous line quoted by William Wordsworth refers to the importance of the child for the development of society as well as for the all-around development of the human race. Childhood is the time to garner the best physical, intellectual and emotional capacity to fulfill this duty towards the nation and to one’s own self. However this simple rule of nature has been crippled by the ever-growing menace of child labor.
The policymakers and also the ordinary citizens must understand that the future of the children wouldn’t be secured unless their rights are clearly identified, redefined and restored. Seen from this perspective, it must become a mandatory duty to all of governments across the world to take all possible steps to put and end the problem of child labor once and for all. Today’s children will constitute the backbone of tomorrow’s society. Hence, it is the obligation to bring up children who will be citizens of tomorrow in a proper way.
The policymakers and also the ordinary citizens must understand that the future of the children wouldn’t be secured unless their rights are clearly identified, redefined and restored. Seen from this perspective, it must become a mandatory duty to all of governments across the world to take all possible steps to put and end the problem of child labor once and for all. Today’s children will constitute the backbone of tomorrow’s society. Hence, it is the obligation to bring up children who will be citizens of tomorrow in a proper way.
Child Labor Issues in Uruguay
In Uruguay, child labor is prohibited until the age of fifteen, from fifteen to eighteen it is allowed, but with limitations. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is responsible for enforcing the Child Labor Code that protects children. However, the law has been difficult to enforce, given that the majority of child labor occurs informally. Child labor accounts for 40 percent of the total employment in Uruguay
The International Labor Organizations estimates that the economic crisis of 2002 has led to an increase in the number of children working in the informal sectors. The ILO estimates that during the crisis, at least 1% of children ages 10 to 14 were working, children also engage in prostitution.
Child labor in Uruguay persists even though laws and standards to eliminate it exist. Current causes of global child labor including in Uruguay are similar to its causes in the U.S 100 years ago, including poverty, limited access to education, repression of workers rights and limited prohibition on child labor.
The National Institute of Statistics reported that in 2002 one-fourth of the Uruguayan population lived below the poverty level. The last census conducted in 1996 reported that there are 103,548 adolescents between the ages of twelve and thirteen in Uruguay, 5,092 of them declared they were working or looking for a job. The number of adolescents between the ages of fifteen and seventeen looking for jobs has been estimated at 24,800 and children aged five to eleven at 2,700.
The International Labor Organizations estimates that the economic crisis of 2002 has led to an increase in the number of children working in the informal sectors. The ILO estimates that during the crisis, at least 1% of children ages 10 to 14 were working, children also engage in prostitution.
Child labor in Uruguay persists even though laws and standards to eliminate it exist. Current causes of global child labor including in Uruguay are similar to its causes in the U.S 100 years ago, including poverty, limited access to education, repression of workers rights and limited prohibition on child labor.
The National Institute of Statistics reported that in 2002 one-fourth of the Uruguayan population lived below the poverty level. The last census conducted in 1996 reported that there are 103,548 adolescents between the ages of twelve and thirteen in Uruguay, 5,092 of them declared they were working or looking for a job. The number of adolescents between the ages of fifteen and seventeen looking for jobs has been estimated at 24,800 and children aged five to eleven at 2,700.