Globalization and child labor

Globalization and child labor
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Table of content
 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc363149015"
1.0 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc363149015 \h
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2.0 Implications for Nursing  PAGEREF _Toc363149016 \h
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3.0 Conceptualization of child labor  PAGEREF _Toc363149017 \h
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4.0 Influence of globalization on child labor  PAGEREF _Toc363149018 \h
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5.0 Child labor, global health and global health inequality  PAGEREF _Toc363149019 \h
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6.0 Determinants of child labor  PAGEREF _Toc363149020 \h
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7.0 Policies to address child labor and promotes global health  PAGEREF _Toc363149021 \h
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8.0 Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc363149022 \h
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9.0 References  PAGEREF _Toc363149023 \h
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1.0 Introduction
Poverty is one of the main causes of child labor, and since the advent of globalization, child labor practices have been viewed from a global perspective. Consequently, child labor has received attention from numerous international organizations including the International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank (ILO, 2004, UNICEF, 2013, WHO, 2013, The World Bank, 2013). There are about 200 million child laborers,and 150 million children experience the worst forms of child labor through human trafficking, slavery, work abuse and unsafe working conditions detrimental to their physical and mental well being (ILO, 2004). This paper looks into causes, impact, global health concerns of child labor, and possible remedies to the practice of child labor.
2.0 Implications for Nursing
Child labor increases vulnerability of children with regards to their physical and psychological well -being. Thus, nurse practitioners need to be more proactive in eradicating the practice especially for the marginalized and disadvantaged groups (Gharaibeh, & Hoeman, 2003). Nurses can improve the lives of vulnerable children through counselling and advocating for the rights and health needs of the children. According to Gharaibeh, & Hoeman, (2003) practicing nurses in Jordan might find it difficult in advocating for the end to child labor, because of inadequate advocacy training, and skills in the detection and prevention of child labor practices. Consequently, empowering nurses though imparting the requisite skills in prevention, detection and management of child labor would help nurses to lower incidences of the practice.
The risks involved in child labor include risks of suffering injuries, chronic illnesses and exposure toxic substances. Despite its negative impact, child labor is still a persistent problem particularly in the developing world (Conley, 2000), but there are also instances of child labor in developed countries (ILO, 2004). Global concern for child labor is because of the negative effects of the practice, and with the world economy becoming more integrated nurses need to be more involved in stopping child labor. Thus, nurses and other health practitioners have an obligation to protect children from child labor, through enforcement of policies and implementation of strategies that help vulnerable children. (Gharaibeh & Hoeman, 2003).
Through liaising with private and public organizations, nurses can influence public health policy formulation. However, practicing nurses need to realize that globalization has changed people’s perceptions in the workplace, and must be willing to engage with all stakeholders including faith- based groups. Even though, individual nurses might not have much influence in policy formulation, through participation in nursing organizations, they can lobby for the adoption and implementation of laws governing child labor in their respective countries. Partnership and involvement with both public and private organizations is beneficial, because most healthcare systems now lean towards market forces, with little emphasis on social responsibility. Since private health providers are also interested in making profits, the issue of child labor may be relegated, but partnership with labor organizations and government agencies, nurses can tackle child labor and its effects.
3.0 Conceptualization of child labor
Other than poverty issues child labor is related to other socio economic global concerns including gender inequalities and educational opportunities (Roggerro et al., 2007). Child laborers typically work for long hours beginning at an early age, and tend to be malnourished because of working in unsafe working environments. With globalization of the economy there has been more demand for manufactured goods, with child laborers filling the gap in production shortfall, but they work for low wages, with wages and salaries being utilized by their families. Nonetheless, child laborers continually dominate the agricultural sector more than any other industry, with about 90% or rural child laborers being in the agricultural sector (Roggerro et al., 2007). In most cases, child labor interferes with school enrolment and attendance as time needed for education purpose is spent working.
The issue of child labor has led to the adoption of various conventions to what constitutes child labor and laws prohibiting child labor. In 1999 ILO came up with one of these conventions, which was subsequently ratified by 174 countries, this ratification banned the exposure of workers to harmful working environments (Amon, et al., 2012), depending on the definition adopted children could either be below 18 or 15. Similarly, countries had to eliminate child labor practices that endangered the lives of children through posing health risks in unsafe working conditions. However, child labor continues to be menacing for the mining and agricultural sectors where there are health and environmental risk exposure for working children. Amon et al (2012) conducted two case studies in Kazakhstan and Mali, whereby the role of advocacy groups and the media were reported as being important in bringing the issue of child labor to the forefront.
There exist disagreements on what constitutes child labor owing to cultural and legal differences in many countries. However, integration of the world has resulted in harmonization of labor laws and adoption of international labor laws. At the same time, Western countries are increasingly adopting sanctions against countries that show little efforts towards combating child labor, but one of the major challenges towards the estimation of global child laborers is that many developing nations have unreliable data (Edmonds & Pavcnik, 2005). However, the International Labour Organization adopts the view that child labor is any kind of work that is detrimental to the physical, mental developed for children below 18 years and which robs them of their dignity, education opportunities and childhood.
The mass media have been the most cited source of information on child labor, shaping the opinion of the public especially in the developed world. Consequently, the developed world mainly targets the elimination of child labor on the grounds of human rights abuse (Amon et al., 2012). However, it is necessary for nursing professionals to be more vocal on child labor, because of the long term mental and physical implications of the practice. Highlighting on bad working conditions in the factories of developing nation has been the norm, but this diverts attention from worse cases of child labor including sex trafficking and child soldiers. Furthermore, child laborers come from impoverished families where human rights violation may not be so obvious.
Consequently, what is typically portrayed in the media does not give a holistic view on child work and child labor. In most cases, children work under their parents as opposed to the manufacturing industry or other sectors. According to a UNICEF report in the years 2000 and 2001, a quarter of 124 million surveyed children between the ages of 5-14, reported that they performed either domestic or market work in their parents’ household as reported by (Edmonds & Pavcnik, 2005). The report further stated that approximately 6% of the children were involved in unpaid work outside their parent’s homestead. Bangladesh had many reported cases of child laborers in garment factories there were only 1.2 % children below the age of 14 working as employees in the year 2002. On the contrary around 20% of the children surveyed stated that they either worked in family businesses or farms.
4.0 Influence of globalization on child labor
The increase in globalization is associated with adoption of trade liberalization in many countries(Edmonds & Pavcnik, 2005). However, child laborers have little say in their lives, and it is the parents who allow the practice to go on, as they try to find ways through which to supplement their meager resources. Even though, children may only work in their family businesses and farms this still constitute child labor, when there is exploitation. The interaction between globalization and child labor appears because of economic forces. Thus, through globalization, there are increasing employment opportunities in developing nations leading to increased foreign direct investment. When there are improved employment opportunities, countries tend to open up their markets leading to increase in local labor wages. In many developing nations the gaps in labor demand and supply typically attract child laborers.
Improvements in the earnings of parents through globalization may reduce the level of child labor incidences in the developing world. In essence, this scenario may come about if children merely work if their parents cannot afford school fees. Thus, if one child is able to supplement income and other can go to school, then later on there will less incentive for child labor(Edmonds & Pavcnik, 2005). Similarly, increased parental earnings brought about by globalization have a positive impact on reducing child labor. This is because children have less work to do, and there is less incentive for child labor. Additionally, parents can buy goods that were previously necessary through child labor by way of substituting income that would have been incurred. Nonetheless, there are disagreements as to whether globalization increases the earnings of people in the developing nations, as the local markets are exposed to fierce foreign competition.
Even though, in the short term, there are increased earnings to a family due to child labor, this may not be the case in the long term. The household income increase is not substantial and in the long term there is underutilization of human capital brought about by low school enrolment rates or adverse health consequences. Thus, there are missed opportunities for children to acquire vital skills in education reducing their productivity and ability to earn decent wages and incomes in the future. Furthermore, child laborers who grow up in low income households with low education attainments are also likely to have low incomes in the future, and there is a vicious cycle whereby there is more than one generation of child laborers in the family (Roggero et al., 2012).
Globalization relates to the interdependence of economies, and may have diverse impacts on child labor depending on the situation; the trade off between education and child labor is a common feature for continuation of the practice. If the returns to education are not deemed sufficient, then the rate of child labor tends to rise. Furthermore, in a globalized economy abundance of unskilled labor may result in a rise in returns, which in turn discourages investment in education and formal skills. Thus, when the returns of child labor rise over time, people are more likely to have a favorable view about child labor because of increased labor supply. Nonetheless, this may not always be the case in case there is increased competition from imported goods.
Also related to demand for child supply, is increased competition among countries after trade liberalization. Countries focus on those sectors where they have a comparative advantage over others. In order to achieve this, some countries result to hiring more child laborers and driving down the cost of production. This scenario mainly affects developing countries where there are less strict labor laws and there is an abundance of unskilled labor. This is a manifestation of liberalization of world markets where profits are the main targets of businesses. Thus, globalization has increased the tendency towards off shoring, in the hope of increasing profitability with little regard for working conditions in host countries.
On the contrary, supporters of globalization state that child labor is likely to reduce as countries open up their economies. This perception has its basis on the fact that liberalization of trade increases the relative income of unskilled laborers (Edmonds & Pavcnik, 2005). From an economic viewpoint, there is an assumption that child education and leisure are normal goods resulting in a positive income effect rather than the substitution effect, resulting to lower child labor because of globalization (Khanam & Rahman, 2012). Additionally, national policy makers realize that education and the acquisition of skills is an investment in human resources and likely to have long term positive effects. Consequently, countries are more inclined towards investing in education to maintain their global competitiveness.
Globalization enthusiasts also argue that the entry of Multinational corporations into new markets does not lead to more child labor. To support their argument, they state that MNCs rely on skilled labor, and workers in developing countries receive higher wages in comparison to local competitors. Consequently, people get attracted to acquiring formal skills as increased foreign investment targets these workers. Equally, unskilled labor becomes less alluring as the relative wages of unskilled workers decrease. Consequently, parents have lower incentives to allow their children to work as child laborers resulting in improved school attendance in the hope that the children will acquire the necessary formal skills.
Forfeiting education at the expense of child labor has long -term harmful effects on the family and leads to widening social inequalities. Thus, even when there is no direct impact on the health status of the child, t...