Child Labour in China
China accounts for the third largest number where child labour is concerned. In fact, many think it to be a phenomenon that has just begun to surface. However, the fact is that child labour in China has been there for years. This is so despite that there have been strict official regulations that ban employment of minors. And according to the laws of China, a minor is an individual below the age of sixteen-years.
Due to poverty, teenagers and younger children have been migrating to the southern and coastal regions of China. This is because these regions have been developing and provide a lot of opportunities to earn.
The reasons for increasing child labour in this country include the following :
The high school fees even in the rural regions.
Less education opportunities in the rural regions.
The income children bring helps improve to certain extent the financial situation of the family.
Most parents are not aware of the grueling circumstance under which their children work.
Most children do not tell their parents, as they realize the value of their own income for their family.
In spite of all this the fact is that children are put to major risk. Each year a number of children lose their lives because of the varied dangers they are exposed to. Earlier this year five teenage girls apparently died due to being poisoned by carbon monoxide smoke. The smoke was from the coal brazier that was lit in the sleeping quarters of the small and cramped factory.
While this incident came to light, there are innumerable families that have lost their children. They have no idea how their children have died. This is because employers fear the strict hands of the law and do away with all evidence, claiming that the child just went away one morning. And the other children remain silent spectators due to fear of either meeting the same fate or then losing their means of supporting their poverty-stricken family.
Toy manufacturing
Production
Textiles
Construction
Food production
Light mechanical work