Category: Child Labour

The project is about a very questionable issue child labor. This report talks about worldwide problem of child labor and how different countries are exploiting children by making children work for longer hours and gaining benefits out of it. Child labor is a multi-dimensional issue. There are four main sections in this report the first and foremost section talks about the detailed introduction of the dilemma and the report itself. The next section is based on the facts and figures about the topic. The third part of the report provides the result and consequences of this problem along with statistical details graphs and tables whereas the last part of the report gives a conclusion and recommendations about getting rid of this problem.

Introduction

The rise of labor in the United States began in the 1700s and late 1800s. When the Industrial Revolution began, many families had to find someone to work or they would not survive. When European immigrants arrived they were no strangers to hard work. When they arrive they bring ideas or values that children should work on. This is where the kids start working. Many families moved from rural areas to newly developed cities. When it all started it started to increase and no one was bothered when the children were not getting a low education. In 1900, two million children were working to make their families healthy.

The emergence of child labor in big cities is the lifeblood of unhealthy families and economic instability. Families struggling with financial difficulties cannot cope with the growing needs of their children and sometimes fail to produce enough food.

Statement Of Problem/Purpose:

The purpose of writing this report solely includes eliminating the dangers of child labour and provide the children with their basic rights. Worldwide 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are working. Among them, 152 million are stuck of child labour 73 million, are victims to hazardous child labour. Half of all 152 million children victims of child labour are between 5-11 years, 42 million (28%) are 12-14 years old; and 37 million (24%) are 15-17 years old. Hazardous child labour is mostly observed among the 15-17 years old. Whereas up to a fourth of all hazardous child labour (19 million) (8%) is done by children less than 12 years old.

Figure1:age wise distribution percentage

Significance Of The Study:

The report signifies the rights of the children that are victims of child labour. It emphasizes on the emerging growth of this deadly weed in the world. It will provide a detailed study along with facts and figures disclosing the consequences of the increase in child labour. This growing problem is widely found all over the world but its roots are the steadiest in poor and underdeveloped countries. According to ILO, Eritrea, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Yemen as the 10 places where child labor is most hazardous. The main purpose of this report to alarm the concerned departments of the countries and world organizations about the rights of these children and provide at least basic necessities for them.

Scope Of Study:

Nelson Mandela, once said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children”

What causes child labor, and what are the consequences of it? What interventions can prevent termination of children from harming children? It will cover all the aspects that the children have to go through in order to provide for themselves and their families. Moreover, further problems originating from this particular problem will also be discussed. This detailed study on child labour will be an authentic source for the concerned authorities and the people to make effective decisions in order to eliminate this crisis.

Limitations Of The Study:

Writing and studying about this report revealed that although the ongoing decline in child labor is about 30% since 2000, progress has been slow. At current levels, more than 100 million children will still be employed by this year i.e. 2020. The continued decline in child labor poses a threat to the global economy and global values and has had serious short-term and long-term consequences for the realization of children’s rights, including stopping of education and exposure to violence. Child labor is preventable but unavoidable.

Literature Related To Child Labour:

The present section aims to explain the various meanings of child and child labor work that is prevalent in the literature and reviews how children often work at low wages countries.

Books:

1. Combating Child Labour, Autor: International Labour Organization (Ilo). Figure2:Combating Child Labour. This Work Examines The Developments Against Child Labour And The Defense Of The Rights Of Children.
2. The World Of Child Labour, Author: Hugh D.Hindman. Figure3: The World Of Child Labour. This Book Tells The Present And Past State Of Child Labor In Each Region Of The World, Entailing On Its Causes, Consequences, And Cures.
3. Child Labour In Globalized World, Author: Ilo. Figure4: Child Labour In Globalized World. This Book Examines The Legal Dimension Of The Ilo’s Work And Struggle In The Field Of Child Labour.

Articles:

1. Figure5: article 1
2. Figure6: article 2

Data Sources and Methodology:

The 2000-2019 estimates use data from a comprehensive 105 household survey covering 70 percent of the world’s population of young people aged 5 to 17. All regions of the world are covered, and details from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and countries in China are included for the first time. Information from organizations such as The ILO United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the US Agency for International Development (USAID)’s research and health program, the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat)) is used. The mathematical work and statistics of ILO and The United States Department of Labor has also been used.

Result and Discussions:

Child Labour: a Threatening Dilemma

Children aged 5 to 11 years form the largest share of these in child labour and also form a considerable share of this hazardous work. Forty-eight per cent of all those in child labour are within the 5–11 years age group, 28 percent are aged 12–14 years, and 25 percent fall under the 15–17 years age range. Younger children constitute an alarming share of total children in hazardous work. 1 / 4 of all children within the hazardous work group – 19 million children in absolute terms – are aged 5-11 years

Cause and Consequences:

The major cause of child labour includes:

1. children’s rights are not respected
2. compulsory, free and accessible education is not provided by governmets
3. the education system excludes poor and vulnerable children
4. employers can benefit from cheap labour
5. there is no decent work for adults (unemployment)

Sectors Percentage child labour

Agriculture

Service

Industry 70.9%

17.2%

11.4%

Table 1: sector-wise distribution

Recent international estimates based on facts of UNICEF, the ILO and the World Bank indicate that 168 million youngsters aged five to 17 are engaged in child labour. Millions of them suffer within the other worst sorts of child labour, along with slavery and slavery-like practices such as compelled and bonded labour and child soldiering, sexual exploitation, or are utilized by adults in illicit activities, such as drug trafficking.

Despite a steady decline in child labour, progress is a long way too slow. At modern-day rates, more than one hundred million children will nonetheless be trapped in child labour by way of 2021. The continuing endurance of this labour poses a risk to national economies and has intense negative and long term consequences for the fulfillment of children’s rights and also the economy of the countries.

Number of child labours percentage of child labours Number of child labours in hazardous work percentage of child labours in hazardous work

Low income 65 203 19.4% 29664 8.8%

Lowe middle 58184 8.5% 33465 4.9%

Upper middle 26209 6.6% 7751 2.0%

High income 2025 1.1% 1645 1.0%

Table 2: Child labour and hazardous work by national income

Figure7: percentage decline in child labour till date

The 10 countries in worst condition in 2019 are:

1. North Korea Somalia
2. South Sudan
3. Eritrea
4. Central African Republic
5. Sudan
6. Venezuela
7. Papua New Guinea
8. Chad
9. Mozambique

Child labor is widespread in many fields – if countries do not take action, it would prove itself to be a destruction of youth as well as the economy.

Figure8: regional breakdown by population

Figure9: child labour risk rate percentage due

While in some countries a large proportion of working children are able to attend school at least part-time, this is not always the case, more than one-third of children aged 7 to 14 work, and half of working children do not attend school. Some countries such as Pakistan have very little share of working children, but most of them are out of school.

Figure10(1): children in employment, (portion of children working vs. studying vs. doing both)

Figure10(2): children in employment, (portion of children working vs. studying vs. doing both)

Conclusion

Children are a valuable human resource of the nation. The future well-being of a country depends upon how its children grow and develop, the great poet Milton said:

“Child Shows the man as morning shows the day”

It is therefore the duty of the society to take care of the children and each of them, to ensure the full development of their personality.

In conclusion, child labour is a major issue within the entire world. Numerous have misplaced their childhood because of it. Many have got harmed either mentally or physically because of it. With the advancement in the rights of the children, child labour ought to be prohibited in the modern world to rescue the future of the youth as well as the world itself.

“Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable and others extremely difficult”.

The issue of child labour can be uprooted with only after understanding the real cause behind children working in the industries. The children should be given the confidence to speak up for themselves and say no to child labour.

Recommendations:

It is a harsh reality that the country where children are regarded as the future are forced to work for money. In short, cultural and economic factors combine in the world to encourage children not of age to work. Following course of action can be effective to fight this problem.

• The government has made it compulsory for all children under the age of age e.g. Under 18 etc. they have to go to school and not agree to not work or work anywhere.
• The government should at least cover the child’s expenses for some years. As the practice continues in many countries
• Families should be aware of the separation of children and their children’s rights to have shelter, food, clothing and education so parents should be aware of these rights and should do everything possible to provide them with child labor and be avoided.
• Those who force children to work should be punished.
• Educate and encourage the poor to have more children.
• In addition, laws can be brought in to ensure that when young people enter the workforce, they are not allowed to work more than a certain number of hours and are paid minimum wage.
• Studies show repeatedly that providing free and good education to all children around the world helps reduce child labor incidents

Childhood is said to be the most beautiful of the stages of life. But how could this be when children are working in risky conditions just so they can survive? Adulthood cannot recapture the innocence and beauty of childhood. Child labour is an illegal act which has been ruining both the present and future for young children to a great extent.

Sir John Betjeman said, “Childhood is measured out by sounds and smiles and sights before the dark hours of reasons grow.” However, this is not the case for millions of children around the world. Children are being exploited to mentally and physically dangerous work. Child labour interferes with schooling and long-term development. The worst forms include sexual exploitation, trafficking, slavery and hazardous work that put children at risk. Ima, a young girl spends her days working in a shrimp depot. She tries to keep her fingers warm from the ice by using strips of cloth and wrapping her fingers in them. She is scared of her bosses as they will beat her if she makes a mistake as she has witnessed other girls being beaten. There are parts of a fish that are sharp as a knife where she regularly cuts her fingers. Ima has been deprived of a childhood, instead she has been plunged in the adult world and her childhood has been snatched away from him. This is only one example of the 218 million children working in the world, with more than 115 million children working in dangerous conditions. What kind of society allows their youngest and most vulnerable to be stripped of their innocence, degraded, used and abused?

Child labour is not only restricted to risky work but also includes any form of work completed by children under the minimum age. According to UNICEF, 1.2 million children are trafficked yearly. At least 20,000 Nepali girls as young as 9 are trafficked. They are often sent to brothels in India to work as prostitutes. Imagine if she was your sister? Some girls are sent to the Middle East to work as domestic servants at the tender age of 9. How can we truly accept children to be manipulated and exploited in such atrocious ways? Children as young as 8 years, are involved in “The Drug Ring” which is also known as drug trafficking. They are “recruited” to deal and smuggle drugs for gangs where they will “torture as it means a certain authority.” It is so shameful that the most vulnerable are threatened with violence. No child deserves to suffer life like this, or to be treated as less then human; irrespective of their colour, creed or religion. Engaging children in drug trafficking and prostitution is a recipe for disaster, a recipe of a corrupt future. Child trafficking is a despicable act. Are we humans or animals?

In 2016, UNICEF reported that 115 million children engaged in hazardous work such as working long hours in an unsafe environment and the use of dangerous tools, they are deprived of a quality future. The difficulty of tasks and harsh working conditions can lead to premature aging, depression and drug use. Their childhood is snatched away from them. Vulnerable children are thrown into the adult world of intense labour before they are physically or mentally prepared. Yasmeen, 14-years old, is one amongst thousands of Syrian children in Lebanon has to pay for her own rent and food, “Wake up at 4am and work for 10 hours” Earning US $6.60 a day. How can we allow innocent children to be stripped of their rights to an education? Article 26 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights expresses “everyone has the right to education.” Education is key to success, living in a world where education is emphasised and qualifications are upmost upright. Without the proper education, it can lead to a vicious cycle of poverty where children are deprived of their education which can equip them with essential skills to get employment that are well paid. The impact on child labour can emotionally, physically and morally have a lasting impact on their lives. What future do these children have to be plunged into child labour? We are throwing the key away and locking children in a world, they will never escape.

Nelson Mandela once said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” As a universal family, we need to emphasise with these children, child labour is despicable. Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means every gets what they need. Children are our assets; they are our future. If we allow them to engage to such injustices what will the fabric of society of tomorrow will be?

Abstract:

Child labour is a grave problem that continues to persist in our Indian society. Its existence can be traced back to some decades and as the years rolled by , the evil has become rampant in towns and cities both. It is a major social evil associated with the exploitation of young, tender children. It is one of the major stains and stigmas on the so-called glorious Indian society. Even though with the changing times, new laws and policies have been framed to eradicate such malicious practices, even today many young, poor children experience the challenges brought by child labor. The problem seems to prevail to a great extent in India. Moreover, it continues to hamper the peace, harmony, and growth of our society in various vital aspects.

This critical analysis aims at understanding the complex, deep-rooted, vital causes, adverse impacts and legislative measures taken by the Government of India to uproot this evil from our society.

Keywords:- Child Labour, deep-rooted evil, causes, effects and critical analysis.

Introduction

Child labour is the menace that seems to threaten the future of many children in our nation. In simple words, child labour refers to the service that is rendered by children in any field, be it appropriate for them or not. Childhood is a blissful and the most memorable phase of one’s life. However, social evils of these kinds, force a child to be deprived of all the bliss and live the life of an elder forcefully. It snatches away all the happiness and seems to cast a gloom on the life of the child with a long-lasting impression. It is very alarming that this malpractice and the cases of exploitation associated along with it are increasing with a great pace. The issue of child labour has also received international concern and support so as to uproot this evil as soon as possible. In the present scenario, child labour has become a social issue that needs to be dealt on priority and daily basis. We all need to initiate and keep an eye on this issue. In developing countries such as India, child labour is rampant and witnessed on a large scale due to the high level of poverty and poor schooling opportunities fond in the region or area for the children. Child labour is no less than a curse on our society and humanity as well. Instead of studying, playing and enjoying with their fellow friends, these unfortunate souls are made to earn the resources for their livelihood in the very childhood of their life. This introduction to the dark side of life eventually casts a negative impression on the impressionable young, tender minds.

It adversely affects the different aspects of one’s overall development. It intervenes in their normal , regular routine and also causes harm to their physical, mental and social well-being.

Child labour is also witnessed in various cafeterias, restaurants, brick kilns, the firecracker manufacturing industry and many other places. These children are not only deprived of educational opportunities and facilities but also face deterioration in good health. It can be rightly said that it is an open exploitation of young kids in our developing society. Such unfortunate souls eventually end up being unskilled workers for their remaining life. As youngsters and members of society, we all need to ensure that this evil gets limited and eventually curbed from our societal whole. The present-day scenario raises the eyebrows of many social workers and socially conscious personalities. Hence, child labour is no less than a demon for our Indian society.

Causes of Factors Responsible for the Deep-Rooted Nature of Child Labour in India

1. Poverty:-

The first and the foremost cause of child labour in India points towards their utmost poverty in which they are compelled to survive and raise their family members. Because of poverty, educational facilities seem to be next to impossible for these people and hence they make their tender kids help them earn a living so as to make both ends meet. Children are compelled to render service in the shops, factories, industries, etc. Decisions of this kind adversely affect the mental and physical state of young kids.

2. Lack of availability of educational resources:-

Even after being free and independent from a long time, our country’s population in remote and backward areas is still deprived of the essential and required educational facilities and resources. Hence, getting their children properly educated remains a mere dream of such poverty-stricken parents.

3. Family issues:-

Due to disabilities, diseases and various sorts of addiction, there exist many family issues. In such instances, there are no means of regular earning and the wages earned by the children are regarded as the only way to sustain the family. Furthermore, the ever-increasing problem of child labour is also responsible for no downslide in the cases of child labour. The uneducated parents are willing to get their children to indulge in making a living rather than providing them elementary education, which has been made free of cost by the government to India so as to provide these unfortunate souls a bright and promising future.

4. Lack of firm implementation of laws:-

The present-day politics and laws time and again indicate that every citizen should be able to avail the benefits of good health services, equal opportunities to work and most importantly equal opportunities to avail the educational facilities and benefits. The government has made strict laws with regard to the prevention and elimination of the child labour. However, these evils prevail even today on a large scale in or so-called developing, modern society. Therefore, if we sincerely want to curb this growing menace, all of us must strictly adhere to the laws and policies formulated with regard to it.

5. Cheap labour:-

In some cases, the individuals who own factories, cafeterias, shops and manufacturing units employ small children in order to get subordinate and most importantly cheap labour. This is another note–worthy factor that contributes to child labour and adds fuel to the fire. These business owners make the children slog their daylight hours working as per their demands but unfortunately receive just half wages. This is a great form of exploitation and an ugly underbelly of these fast developing and growing cities.

6. Debt trap:-

When people lack financial stability and a sound economic background, it becomes troublesome for them to fulfill their demands and needs, as a result, they borrow money. Being unaware, uneducated and illiterate, these individuals borrow huge amounts of capital and later, having no employment sources, fail to repay the loans borrowed. This eventually, makes them land in the debt trap. Next, in order to compensate for the amount borrowed, they push their children in labour along with them and render service to the moneylender.

7. Professional requirements:-

In some cases, as witnessed in the case of the bangle-making industry, in order to carve out the design with sheer excellence and utmost grace and to minutely work upon the delicate bangle materials, small children are given the first reference. The hands of the adults are not soft and hence, they require and eventually hire children for such dangerous tasks to be fulfilled.

Effects Of Child Labour On The Indian Society

Following are some of the vital and note–worthy effects of the ever-increasing child labour on our society.

1. Injuries:-

Being tender and delicate, children face various sorts of critical and accidental injuries at their workplace. Deep cuts, dizziness, wounds loss of eyesight especially in the bangle–making manufacturing units is greatly evident on a large scale thought the country. in addition to this scars, burns and fractures are also witnessed. Lastly, in the extreme and worst cases, child deaths are also the bitter reality brought by this social evil.

2. Abuses

This is one of the most astonishing and alarming consequences brought by child labour. Children undergo various types of abuse whether it be mental abuse or physical abuse. Sexual abuse is also an unavoidable kind of abuse that especially young girls face. The physical abuse consists of beating, giving corporal punishment to the kids. In addition to this, emotional abuse consists of accusing, humiliation, verbal attacks and sudden rejection. All the above–mentioned are due to the emotional abuse that young kids face.

Lastly, due to sexual abuse, young girls, reaching the stage of puberty experience a great amount of exploitation and this eventually casts a gloom on their life, leaving an unforgettable impression.

3. Sexual Exploitation:-

The adults with malicious and filthy minds exploit the young girls sexually. This further leads to rape, early and unwanted pregnancy, and in worst cases it contributes towards the evil of prostitution as well. Hiv – aids and other sexually transmitted diseases are also on the verge of getting spread through such sort of abuses and exploitations.

4. Neglecting essential emotions:-

When young children are compelled to work, they are forced to be isolated from their family. This results in family deprivation and sheer – loneliness. These kids are deprived of the love, affection and care that they must receive from the parental end.

As a result, the emotional stability of these kids gets adversely affected and leads to depression in extreme cases.

5. Physical neglect:-

Due to child labor, the basic necessities of young kids remain unfulfilled. They undergo various health issues and are prone to various health risks and diseases too. Lack of proper clothing, shelter and medication eventually makes their condition miserable and pitiful. Unlike, other kids, these children barely get two square meals a day. This is the root cause of their malnourishment.

6. Lack of educational opportunities:-

Due to lack of educational opportunities, the children indulged in child labor are further deprived of a bright and promising, stable career and future. They are not able to avail the benefits of educational schemes and therefore lag behind in academic qualifications.

7. Liability for the nation:-

When the young children of our society, who are seen as the future reformers are themselves trapped in the vicious and perpetual cycle of poverty and child labor, it is no less than a liability for the country. Instead of being an asset, day by day the number of such children victims is increasing and thus it can be said that the number of liabilities is increasing. If such a trend continues, India’s further progress and development would be next to impossible. We all need to initiate to remove such hurdles from our society as early as possible.

Types of child labor prevalent in the Indian society

Following are the note–worthy and important types of child labor found in India.

1. Industrial Child Labour:-

The manufacturing sector in India employs a large number of child workers. Usually, children below the age of 18 and in between the age – group 5 – 14 are hired and made to work. Industrial child labor is often evident in the firework industry, bangle industry, brick kilns, garments industry, and diamond manufacturing units, etc. Furthermore, unorganized sectors are involved in fueling the evil practice of child labor too to a great extent.

2. Domestic Child Labour:-

This is another form of child labour that is commonly observed. Here, we find both girls and boys employed in order to render service as a domestic helper, maid, servant, looking after the young kids, pets, performing all the daily chores, etc. They are usually hired by rich and wealthy families in order to get cheap and dedicated labour. The parents of such children give their approval in the hope of a stable shelter and wages for their children.

3. Bonded child labour:-

This the third most noticeable type of child labour prevalent in our society. In this type, the small children are compelled to work under the authoritative or the rich for instance a moneylender. This is done to fulfill the purpose of paying off the debt of his parents of guardians. Even though many strict policies and laws have been framed with regard to eliminating it, there are many cases seen or heard every now and then. In addition to this, bonded labour is often witnessed in interiors of the cities and towns and even in remote areas.

Measures to eradicate child labour from our society

Following are some of the suggestions or solutions which if put into action with sincerity may turn out to be fruitful in the coming future.

1. Awareness:-

The need of the hour is to spread awareness on a larger scale among the poverty-stricken parents, who forcefully push their tender kids into child labour. If these parents are aware and can easily differentiate between what is righteous for their children and what is hazardous, half of the battle against the growing menace of child labour is won. Further, today Ngo’s play a vital role in educating the people in backward areas about the importance of all the government legislations and educational opportunities. Arts, theatre, and other tools are used by these organizations to accomplish their goals.

2. Firm implementation of laws:-

The stepping stone towards bringing a social change is framing the desired policies and laws in coordination with the respected authorities. However, until and unless these laws are not put into action i.e are not firmly enforced, no social change or revolution can be brought. The firm implementation of the government legislation can spread fear among the wrongdoers and eventually can favour the victims of child labour.

3. Spreading educational awareness:-

By sending more and more children to school, education can become widespread. The increase in enrollment can be done by infusing the benefits of governmental educational policies and schemes along with future benefits of academic excellence into the minds of the parents and the growing children.

4. Heavy fines & punishments.

By infusing heavy fines and strictly punishing the wrongdoers i.e the people who employ small children as workers in their shops and industries and exploit them in all the above–mentioned aspects, some sort of change can be expected. Further, at all times initiatives and joint efforts must be made to discourage the evil of child labour.

Conclusion

From the above–mentioned facts and points, it is clearly worth – noticing that child labor exists on a larger scale in our Indian society. It is not only an unethical practice that unveils the malicious aspect of our society but is also against the basic level of humanity that is expected from all members of society. Even though due to the policies, governmental legislation, and the appreciable efforts of the non – governmental organizations, there has been a downslide in the cases of child labor, it is still prevalent to a greater extent, especially in the towns and remote areas where people lack modern thinking and are neither updated nor aware. Lastly, on a concluding note, I would like to remark that in order to curb the social evil of child labor from our society, we all need to step ahead and raise our voices against it.

References:

1. www.indiacelebrating.com
2. www.ilo.org
3. www.legalserviceindia.com

The resources that were chosen are, a book name “CHILD LABOR: A GLOBAL VIEW (A WORLD VIEW OF SOCIAL ISSUES)” written by Cathryne L. Schmitz , Elizabeth KimJin Traver , Desi Larson and the second text is about “CHILD LABOUR IN BANGLADESH: A FORWARD LOOKING POLICY STUDY” posted by International labour office , which is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards. Lastly, a video on “UNICEF that supported programme aids poor urban children in Bangladesh” posted in Youtube. These resources were used to explore why Bangladesh is common in child labour.

Both text suggested that the most important causes of child labour in Bangladesh is poverty. Based on the first book child labour global view, children are more likely to be in the work force due to their contribution to overall family income in poorer families. In a 2013 statistical report, UNICEF estimates that around 43.3% of the population in Bangladesh is currently living below the international poverty line. Some children are also forced to work for themselves in order to live because no one not take care of them. Based on the video posted by UNICEF, the videos shows that a boy in Bangladesh named Muhammad which is only 12 years old forced to work after his father passes away years ago. He work as a newspaper seller in the morning and help in the train in the afternoon. His mother and siblings depends on him but he only earns 1 US dollar a day this causes him to live in poverty and does not afford to study in school. The two resources are similar as they state that poverty is the causes of them suffering in hunger. Hence they are forced to work for survival of themselves as well as their family members.

The two media also provided that lack of interest in education also a main reason for children in Bangladesh to work in an early age. Based on the book child labour global view, lots of organizations recognize that education is important to eradicate poverty and preventing child labour but in a 2010 statistical report, UNICEF measured that around 50% of all working children in Bangladesh do not attend school. Although school is free but a lot of them do not have time or resources to attend because their parents feel that the income is more valuable than an education. On the second text, it state that parents are more towards helping their children in ways that will produce visible benefits in the long run. Children are therefore encouraged to work in activities that would not only help develop their skills in specific areas but would also pay them wages to increase their quality of lifestyle. As evidence, In Bangladesh, less than 75% of girls finish their primary education and are send to work since young. The two text both state that the parents feel that sending their children for work and learn the skills is better than sending them to school which doesn’t guarantee their future.

In conclusion, child labour are caused by mainly poverty of the family and lack of interest in the education. As said by Iqbal Masih, a boy who became a symbol of abusive child labour in the developing world “children should have pens in their hands not tools”. Thus, laws on child labour should be tighten in Bangladesh so that all children can have the right as a children to study in school.

Is one minute of pleasure worth a lifetime of suffering? Are our actions really worth children’s torment? Is our love for chocolate that important where we ruin children’s lives? But I know that some of you have already decided to go to the vending machine and buy some chocolate after this forum. What’s the harm in that you may ask? It brings a whole new meaning of guilty pleasure. The chocolate that you eat from a vending machine is the product of a child’s back-breaking work. The Valentine’s day chocolate that you buy your valentine is the loss of a child’s childhood and the chocolate that you give to your friend is a child’s sacrifice for education.

My name is Aliya Islam, and I am so grateful to be able to talk to you in O-week at UQ. Today I am going to be talking to you about child labour in the cocoa industry and why this practice is morally repugnant. Why is this morally repugnant? One, because children are forced to do work that they are physically not capable of doing and the health conditions. And two, they are forced to lose their childhood, everyone deserves a childhood worth remembering.

Now onto my first point. Children are forced to do work on cocoa farms and do work that they are physically not capable of doing. I can already hear the cries of protest from those in favour of this immoral practice. They can declare the ‘these children do not have a choice, they have to do it to survive’. And you might be thinking no pain no gain, right? It doesn’t really make sense if they are forced, exploited, and violated from their rights, to do work for our pleasure. The pleasure of the exotic taste of chocolate, something which only lasts a minute for us, while they are stuck with the ‘pleasure’ of making this chocolate for their whole life. The ‘pleasure’ of working in hazardous conditions, where they use dangerous tools like machetes. Young children as young as six years old are ripped from living their life and are forced to have to do this and not only that but they have to carry very heavy loads and are exposed to pesticides. All activities which inflict pain and injury.

Some of the pesticides they use have been found to cause headaches, nausea, and diarrhoea. If you think that’s awful, they get kidney complications and even cancer. Think about it, your younger sister, only seven years old, was forced to use pesticides in cocoa farms and gets diagnosed with severe lung cancer, with only a couple more days of living. All because she had to use pesticides, and if she didn’t, she would be brutally beaten for not listening to their master. And that’s not all, she had to handle these pesticides without protective clothing. Why? because their so-called master, doesn’t want to spend anything more then they have to. They go through these children like tissues, because they know that they can easily replace the children. Is it really worth sabotaging of a child’s life? If you are not outraged by this treatment yet, the children have to labour in extreme heat, where the average midday temperature is 30-35˚C, while we sit inside and turn on the aircon when it gets to 25˚C. Is this the right treatment for young children? No, it’s not, it’s foul, ghastly, and atrocious, and these children do not deserve this highly detrimental treatment. All these children in cocoa farms have to do all this whilst battling poor nutrition and we can’t blame not taking any action to stop this because of our ignorance. This torture must stop.

But the abuse doesn’t stop there, these children are deprived of their childhood. Every child should have a childhood worth remembering, right? And boy do these children get one worth remembering. They get a childhood full of rape, abuse, torture, and not only that but permanent psychological trauma from working on a cocoa farm. Their childhood consists of working 30-100 hours a week of pouring all their blood, sweat, and tears into making chocolate in cocoa farms, which they don’t even get the benefit of eating. They have to work for the gratification of others, and not themselves. Children are the world’s most, purest and treasured beings, they don’t deserve to be exploited in this inhumane, immoral, and inane manner. You probably think only a couple hundred or so work on these farms and ‘sacrifice’ their childhoods, right? You’re wrong. You are completely and utterly wrong. More than 2 million children work on these cocoa plantations, and 500,000 of them work under abusive conditions. This is not an industry, it is a business. The façade that the cocoa industry puts up must be abolished. It’s a business that these children are born and enslaved into. Imagine being one of the 2 million children. Imagine being bought and sold into this business and getting your childhood ripped out of your grasp. You work day and night, hours on end, with no break, just to suffice an income for the day.

An income of $0.78, and that’s only if you’re lucky. Most days you get nothing, you don’t even know whether you will go home and eat dinner or whether you can go to work the next day. You live in a hut, with ten other kids aged 6-11. All of you have to cram onto the cold, hard concrete floor at night, just to get a wink of sleep. Your body is thin and frail and you could break in any minute. The only thing you had to eat was the bitter dust of cocoa beans hanging around in the air, and the only drink you had in days was the salty beads of sweat rolling down your small broken face. Only one of the ten people in your hut can go to school, and this is including have the ability to go to high school. If you think that this is diminishing and detestable treatment, then listen to what happens next. None of you have any say, in the type of work you have to do, whether it be using pesticides, machetes, or lifting extremely heavy loads, you just have to accept it, whether you are physically able to do it or not, because if you speak up, you get beaten, raped, and tortured. Your voice means nothing to the murderers that own you. You are forced to stay silent, your life is forever in an endless pitch of darkness, forever stuck in this silence, with nowhere to go.

Now that you have heard the dark and bitter secret behind this sweetness. I’m calling out to all the consumers of chocolate and chocolate lovers, boycott big brands like Nestle, Cadbury, and Mars, brands which still fund child labour by buying from those producers. They have broken their pledge to end child labour. Consumer power is strong, our actions speak louder than our words. If you think boycotting is not strong enough, then complain. Complain to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights. Our voices have power. Even with one complaint from each one of you, we can save a child’s life, and save them from appalling hardships and suffering, and send them to school. We have powerful and influencing voices and we should use them to do the right thing. Another thing you can do is protest. Protest and save these children and give them a brighter future. Be the glimmer of light in their darkness, because one less kit-kat can save a child’s life. So the choice is yours.

There are many social activists who have made a difference in our world. Today you are going to learn about social activist Kailash Satyarthi! You will learn about his background, some of his accomplishments, world wide marches, awards and famous quotes! Did you know that Kailash Satyarthi has saved more than 80,000 kids from child labour?! Made a carpet company that does not use children to make them? One of the marches he has lead had travelled an astonishing distance of 80,000 km! That is like one million Johnny Bright Terry Fox runs!

Kailash Satyarthi was born on January 11th, 1954 in Vidisha India. He is now 65 years of age, living in New Delhi India. Something else Kailash likes to do in his spare time is cooking! His family says that he is an amazing cook! Now here is a fact about him that you might be surprised about hearing. It is surprising that when Kailash Satyarthi was born his real name was Kailash SHARMA! When he was 15 years old he changed is name (with approval) to Kailash Satyarthi which means “Seeker of Truth”.

Kailash Satyarthi, the man on a mission, has helped many people with peaceful marches and protests. One of his accomplishments was saving more than 80,000 children from child labour. When he was younger, on the first day of school he was looking at a dad and child working as a clobber, shoe shiners, and wondered why the kid was working instead of going to school. Even from childhood he felt cfor children like that. He lead peaceful protests encouraging the government to implement laws to prevent child labour. The first march was in 1928 which stretched across 103 countries! That’s crazy! The march travelled 80,000 km to put forth a global demand against child labour, 140 differnt countries participated in the march. Another one was a nationwide march in Bharat Yatra India and it covered 19,000 km in 35 days to spread awareness about child abuse and traffliking. Something else you might want to know about him is that in 1994 he started an initiative which at the time was called RugMart. In present time, it’s called GoodWeave which is a carpet industry that does not make use of child labour. So that means that any carpet they make is child labour free.

Kailash Satyarthi has already earned more than 12 awards from the year 1994 and onward. Some of those awards are the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He received the Nobel Peace Prize because of his efforts to bring peace. Another thing you should know about the prize is he did not earn it just himself, he got it with Malala Yousafzai! The reason why they did that was because for their struggle against the suppression for children and young people too. He is currently the global chair for the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation where they believe that every kid has a fundamental right to live freely, be healthy, enjoy their childhood and receive a quality education. He also won the Humanitarian of The Year award where he was the first Indian to ever receive it!

Kailash Satyarthi inspired many people with his words. Here’s one of his many quotes that he said about children’s rights to conclude my biography project:

“The single aim in my life is that every child is:

Free to be a child

Free to grow and develop

Free to eat, sleep, see daylight

Free to laugh and cry

Free to play

Free to learn, free to go to school, and above all, free to dream.”

Kailsh Satyarhti has been a hero for the kids in India. Lead peaceful protests and marches, made a company not using children to make carpets and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. These are all of the wonderful things that Kailsh has done to try to improve child labour and trafliking.  

About child Labour

In India, kid labour refers to the hiring of any child below the age of fourteen for the aim of any economic advantages. In alternative words, it’s outlawed for a company, as well as outlets and factories to have interaction a toddler in their business for physical labour. This particularly holds true for employment with activity hazards, adore coal mines, welding, construction works, and painting, etc.

Though constitution makes using the youngsters for heavy works a punishable offense, information says otherwise. several national and international laws are created to present these kids protection from kid labour however ground reality are some things else. In India alone, quite fifty million kids are forced into kid labour for one or the opposite reasons.

Major Causes of kid Labour

Poverty

First of all, financial condition strikes a serious proportion of the overall population of India. Life in rural areas of villages is even tougher. The poor status and low customary of living pave the means for kid labour. To complete the daily desires of food and survival, each boys and women are forced to figure on the far side their capacities. It’s honest to mention that they’re left with no selection.

Lack of Education

Lack of education within the rural areas suggests that folks are less educated. Consequently, they conjointly don’t worth the importance of faculty and education within the lives of their own kids. within the scarceness of contraceptive awareness, couples find yourself having multiple kids. composition 3 meals daily become AN not possible task and therefore the kids learn it the laborious means quite presently.

Gender Discrimination

Girls are usually prevented from attending to college at a really low age. they’re created to assist within the munition and therefore the housework still. The story isn’t abundant totally different for the boys too. They quit college so as to require up some labour add factories and farms and facilitate their father in breadwinning.

Cheap Labour

In massive cities and towns, these factors are also absent however that doesn’t immune the urban areas from the kid labour cases. kid labours are simple to afford. they will be created to do a lot of exhausting jobs at low pays. Typically, the owners would supply them very little food and cash for continuous hours of labour. As these youngsters don’t have any family support, they wind up giving in to such exploitations.

Child Trafficking

Child trafficking is additionally another issue that results in child labour. Trafficked kids don’t have any home. they’re sent to faraway place unknown to them. Ultimately, these very little souls are pushed into very torturing and dangerous work conditions, such as prostitution, domestic serving to, transport of prescription medicines, etc.

Impacts of child Labour

Poor Physical and Mental Health

Children at such a young age are gullible and vulnerable. child labour affects their physical, mental, and emotional health in a very severe manner. they’re deprived of their basic rights to education. Arduous physical strain and also the burden of arranging their own food cause malnutrition in them.

Forced Maturity

In order to survive during this world, they have a tendency to become mature quicker than they should to. Their childhood is lost and crushed with the bitter pressure of acting like an adult. the type of fondness and love required at such a young age isn’t accessible to them. each folks and therefore the owners are typically extremely strict to them.

Physical Abuse

Such consistent threats keep the kids in a horrifying state of mind all the time. There are enhanced probabilities of physical abuse. To cope up with these pressures, women and boys fall victims to the misuse. more dangerous habits become a standard part of their lives.

Addiction and Sexual Abuse

From doing drugs to marketing them, alcoholism, sexually transmitted diseases, rape, emotional symptom, violence, are common things that surround their living conditions. Poor children might also catch up these habits from their own folks or localities, wherever their folks or friends are showing these behaviours on a daily basis.

The situation becomes worse if these youngsters are physically unfit. In villages and low-income groups, the adults struggle to rearrange a correct livelihood for themselves. So, they start to visualize women and unfit kids as nothing more than a baggage. As a result, women are sold off to marry old men and also the children are left to beg on the streets.

Challenges in dominant child Labour

Unclear Laws

While the laws to diminish the curse of kid labour has been created, they’re pretty imprecise in nature. for example, most of the laws are unable to dictate strict guidelines for the unorganized sectors. Immunity from the harmful works isn’t enough. Moreover, clear points should be arranged out in terms of wherever and for how many hours will the kids work (if they actually need to).

Lack of Rehabilitation Plans

Another issue that the authorities face is that the lack of rehabilitation facilities for the kids World Health Organization has been saved from the devil grips of child labour. It becomes an unanswered question on however these kids ought to regain management of their new lives and begin anew. correct guidance and nutrition play an essential role to assist them thrive.

Lack of Awareness

More awareness has to be created in rural and concrete areas. Adults as well as the parents should be tutored regarding the negative impacts of child labour on the minds of youngsters. they must be explained regarding the ability of education and also the numerous schemes that guarantees a free basic education for teenagers. it’s even additional vital to emphasise how the education empowers women and makes their lives better.

Conclusion

Child labour isn’t just about forcing kids to do labour. Its side effects are quite massive and serious. It leaves a stain on the child’s mind. It interferes with their mental and emotional health and prevents their proper growth and development. it’s a blemish on the face of humanity that has to be erased as shortly as possible.

After all, what kind of citizens can we expect them to grow into when such types of abuse? we need to consider it. kids are the longer term of our society, our country. we have a tendency to cannot hope for true growth and prosperity till and unless our young generation is safe and healthy in each means.

What do you believe people should do in their childhood? Go to school, play, and have fun. Unfortunately there is a factor stopping innocent children from prospering in school, playing with friends, and having fun. That factor is child labour. Child labour is the employment of children in business, against their will or understanding. Child labour is never ok, and needs to be taken seriously and be abolished from society. Child labour causes numerous mental health problems, robs children from their childhood and future, and some work is hazardous and dangerous to children who participate in it.

Child labour is a terrible problem in any country, about 89 percent of child workers in the country are Saudis, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Qassim. Child labour does not just exhaust the children, but also has a huge negative impact on their mental health. Some examples of mental illnesses caused by child labour is premature ageing, malnutrition, depression, and drug dependency. Child labour also affects childrens communication skills, because due to the overload of work they do get enough time to spend time with friends , family, or their community. Teenagers who spend more than 20 hours per week working, have a higher risk of developing problematic social behaviors like drug abuse and aggression. Children who work will also suffer from isolation and depression, which will prevent them from continuing to develop healthy emotions as they grow older.

Most kids look forward to one thing, their future as adults. Will they be engineers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, explorers, entrepreneurs, politicians, or whatever they can dream of? There was an interview held by thegaurdian.com with a 14-year-old girl called Tiyamike, she explained the importance of school, and that if she wasn’t forced to work she would want to become a nurse. School is a very important aspect in a child’s life, it helps them grow, learn, improve, master skills, and get ready for the future. If a child is slaving away everyday at a factory or farm, they will not gain any of these important life lessons, and they will not succeed or be able to achieve their dream or their dream career. In Saudi Arabia, a recent study shows that 1.54% of all children work instead of going to school.

Child labour does not only have a long term negative impact, but also has direct impact on children. There are some tasks children or forced to participate in that are hazardous and dangerous. Most work the children are assigned are done over long and tiring hours, with little or more breaks. They also do tasks in unhealthy and dangerous environments, such as construction sites or factories. Children also are forced to handle dangerous material, that may be too heavy or too risky for them. Sometimes the work is too menacing that results in a child being killed, or injured , or getting sick as a consequence of poor safety and health standards and working arrangements. It can result in permanent disability, ill health and psychological damage.

When society develops, so must we. We need to abolish old standards such as children working ,and give them the childhood and life they deserve. Child labour is unacceptable and should not be tolerated in any circumstances. They are children, the only truly innocent victims in our society. Children are our future, what our society will become. Are you honestly going to let these morbid people rob our society from our future!? I think not. Now it is up to you, people of our society, to stand up and end this intolerable issue, known as child labour.

Introduction

Child labour is a world practice and has many bad outcomes. According to the International Labour Organization, child labour is the vital source of child exploitation and child abuse in the world today. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has estimated the range of Pakistani working youth to be round 11-12 millions, out of which, at least, half the youth are underneath the age of ten years.

Haneef, an eleven 12 months old child, labored in a carpet weaving, manufacturing facility for 12-16 hours a day, seven days a week. He supported his household in paying off old loans, which his family had taken years in the past from their village landlord to survive. However, he used to be never informed who in his household had borrowed the cash or how much. His parents came to go to him and to gain the money from the proprietor of the factory for whom Haneef worked, however he not knew the amount or how long he would have to precede working. Any time he made an error in his work, for which he charged and the load of the debt increased. Once, when his work was very slow, he was badly beaten. On any other occasion, after a painful beating, Haneef tried to run away, however was complained through the area police and was later back to the loom’s owner.

This situation of child labour is frequent in Pakistan and is frequently ignored; which depicts the society’s attitudes toward child care. This paper analyzes the determinants of child labour in the Pakistani context and its implications for the life of children, in specific, and for the nation.

Amongst many, one factor that helps us decide quality of any society is “How properly it cares for its children”. Unfortunately, in our part of the world the scenario is different because here youth are restricted to emerge as a field of the labour market being victimized to the hostile environment. Children are engaged in work that is harmful, hazardous and/or exploitative, such as slavery, trafficking, debt bondage, prostitution, pornography and different illicit activities.

Body

Before watching the determinants, it is essential to have an overview of the mannequin that as a framework for in-depth analysis of the issue. The model was added via Clemen-stone, McGuire in 1991. It summarizes the number of parameters the fitness care carriers may want to observe while analyzing the fitness reputation of any community. It comprises physical, social and ethical elements of well-being which clinked with health care delivery system, human beings and environment aid characteristics that impact a community’s nation of being. If there are changes in any one component, it alters the balance of fitness in the community setting. This framework permits health care providers to examine a specific community and then put into effect consequently to gain the applicable outcome.

Determinants of Child Labour

Keeping in mind that South East Asia is amongst the fastest growing economies in the region, it has an excessive poverty level. They also debate it that poverty is no longer the only motive; however, discrimination based on caste, gender, tribal, non secular motives is additionally contributing factors.

The issue receives more extreme in the absence of a high-quality social security system, and varieties the groundwork of an even harsher kind of child labour, the as referred to as bonded labour.

There are laws legal guidelines planned by the Government of Pakistan, each as the section of its constitution and at other organizational levels mentioning, that compelled labour resulting in disability or kidnapping, sexual abuse, and torture is severely punishable with the maximum penalty up to life imprisonment. Such as Factories Act, 1934; West Pakistan Shops and Establishment Ordinance; The Employee Children Act, 1991; The Bonded Labour System Abolition Act, 1992; and the Punjab Compulsory Education Act 1994; However, the most essential hassle is the implementation of these laws; and as ordinances. The so known as imposing companies have failed to efficaciously put in force these laws; As a result, this issue of child labour stays unresolved.

Another indicator of negligence by using the worried businesses is that there are no enforcement records available: Pakistan lacks a nice management statistics gadget related to child labour which may want to grant reliable quantitative data on the quantity of working children. Regarding child labour legislation, “Articles 3, 11(1-3), 17(1) and 37(C) are there in the Constitution of Pakistan to ensure removal of child labour.”

In such a society where a child’s adolescence is seldom respected, the problem of low-cost employment makes the trouble even greater complex. In a financial system, the place there is a war to compete by using decreasing labour costs; child labour prevails.

According to the findings of a current survey conducted at Peshawar, they revealed it those 150 youngsters among which 120 had been working in automobile workshops for 8-10 hours besides any protection measures. It ages most of the teenagers working in this enterprise between 8-14 years, which is honestly now not an appropriate age for performing these sorts of worrying jobs. We have found these youths to be struggling from health problems due to working in unsafe, polluted environments for long time durations which led to their serious health complications.

It has also to be taken into account that child function extraordinary tasks than adults in the same occupation and, consequently their exposure to hazardous retailers may also differ. In Lahore, they had surveyed 84 metal furnaces and spare parts. Amongst them, 27% of the personnel engaged in these sectors comprising children; and were struggling from headache, sore throat, nasal irritation and skin rashes.

Agriculture was once determined to be the most dangerous occupation open to children in Pakistan which brought about excessive charges of injury whilst working with knives, sharp tools, and other heavy equipment. About 100,000 children suffered agriculture-related accidents in Pakistan annually.

Conclusion

The problem of child labour in the 0.33 world international locations is not solely economic however is additionally a socio-economic problem which can be addressed with adopting certain measures for enhancing the financial conditions of the community and enabling it to supply schooling and amusement time to the children. At the equal time, it requires due diligence in high quality implementation of child labour legislation. Perhaps abrupt eradication or demolishing child labour may additionally not be the clarification of Pakistan, where poverty is the root motive of many troubles because by doing so these children may also ease up in other extra damaging professions such as drug trafficking, and sex workers; to earn their livelihood. However, provision of training alongside with work would help these teens so that we can outfit them with necessary capabilities and in future they would be better able to work in a contributive environment. I wish a multidisciplinary approach to work on the satisfactory of a working child, and therefore, as health care personnel, we ought to replicate and work jointly to fight this issue.

Reference

1. Child labour. (Online) 2009 (Cited 2006 Nov 11). Available from URL: http://hrw.org/children/labour.htm.
2. Child labour remains a complex issue in Pakistan. 2008. International the news. (Online) 2009 (Cited 2009 May 25). Available from URL: www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=113143 – 34k.
3. Child labour: Position statement. (Online) 2007 (Cited 2005 Nov 2). Available from URL: http://www.icn.ch/pschildren00.htm.
4. Clemen-stone S, McGuire SL. Comprehensive Family and Community Health Nursing. St. Louis: Mosby, 1991.

Twenty-four icons, creating a U shape, with each icon representing the company’s core values and the company’s mission statement to add vitality to life. Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company that produces food, beverages, cleaning agents, and personal care products. Its co-headquarters are located in London and Rotterdam. Unilever was founded by the Lever Brothers in 1929, first known for its production of margarine and soap. Today, Unilever has over 400 brands, including Knorr, Dove, Axe, and Lipton. In 2017, the Unilever Group was listed as the fourth largest fast-moving consumer goods company worldwide in terms of sales. In 2010, it launched its sustainable living plan to achieve sustainable growth, covering all aspects of business and value chain, and incorporating all brands and divisions, in every country where Unilever is located. Some of Unilever’s principal plans include; making 100 percent of its plastic packaging recyclable, reusable, and compostable by 2025; helping more people take action to improve their health and wellbeing by the end of 2020; reducing the environmental footprint of its products; sourcing 100 percent of its agricultural raw materials sustainably and linking more than half a million smallholder farmers and small-scale distributors to its supply chain. Companies that seek to drive a global movement of people, using their businesses as an initiative to work towards building a more sustainable world, are also known as B Corporations. Despite Unilever’s strong ambition towards becoming 100 percent sustainable in economic, social, and environmental fields, it could nevertheless potentially improve upon all three areas by ceasing extractions of unsustainable palm oil from its supply chains, putting an end to unsustainable farming, and vanilla extractions and lastly addressing company policies towards issues such as poverty and exploitation of agricultural workers.

Unilever strives towards positive change and sustainable growth through its business, brands, and partnerships. One of Unilever’s 2020 goals is to encourage more than one billion people to take action in order to improve their health and well-being. In 2004, Unilever launched a Dove Self-Esteem Project (DSEP) to educate young women about self-esteem through its educational programs. Since 2005, the DSEP campaign has helped more than 35 million young people to raise their self-esteem and realize their full potential. Another way that Unilever works toward contributing to the establishment of a healthier and stronger community is through its advancement of hygiene behavior. In Indonesia, Unilever provided training, cleaning equipment packages, and guidance on how to effectively clean mosques. This movement reached over to 50 000 community members around the mosques throughout the year, who joined the Mosque Cleaning activities. Moreover, Unilever also thrives towards creating a better educational system to ensure that children all over the world are granted full access to education. One of Unilever’s laundry brands, Persil, works in collaboration with UNICEF, helping 10 million children in Brazil, Vietnam, and India to gain a good quality education. Furthermore, Unilever claimed to make 100 percent of its plastic packaging recyclable, reusable, and compostable by 2025 through its ‘Zero waste to nature’ objective. CreaSolv technology, operating to recycle flexible plastic waste into raw materials, was started by Unilever in 2017. This approach enabled the recycling and utilization of rejected ice cream and wastewater treatment to transform into high protein and high-quality cattle feed. Unilever announced that since 2010, its total waste footprint per consumer use has been reduced by 31%. However, Unilever continues to progress even further by leading towards a circular economy for all its packaging materials and exploring different materials such as aluminum, paper, and glass. One example of sustainable packaging set off in 2019 is Loop, an innovative waste-free shopping, and delivery model. When products are shipped to consumers, they are then returned and refilled. This shift in approach makes the model ‘durable’ rather than ‘disposable.’ Signal also launched its refillable toothpaste tablets, which require less water than regular toothpaste but are still made to be used the same way. Lastly, Unilever reported that it would source its agricultural raw materials 100 percent sustainably by 2020. Moreover, it also claimed to source these raw materials from small-scale farmers. More specifically, in 2012, Unilever committed to working with at least 500,000 smallholder farmers in its supply network, so that they can improve their agricultural practices. Overall, it is distinct that Unilever attempts to satisfy the requirements to become a complete B Corporation, and although, several of Unilever’s brands have already achieved a B-Corp certification such as Ben & Jerry’s, as a whole company Unilever has not yet fully reached its potential of an accomplished B Corporation, and here is why.

Unilever is one of the largest buyers of vanilla in the world. It purchases 8% of all vanilla from Madagascar for ice cream production. However, in Madagascar, there is unsustainable farming and child labor. According to the International Labor Organization, child labor in vanilla production affects one-third of all children in Madagascar between the ages of 12 and 17. Nevertheless, Unilever denies any connection with those farmers and merely stated that child labor was unacceptable, but no extra support or policies on behalf of the company were provided. Controversially to its aim to empower 5 million women and improve the livelihoods of 800,000 smallholder farmers throughout the value chain by 2020, land-grabbing and the exploitation of women are ignored by Unilever. Furthermore, Unilever extracts oil from Wilmar International, an oilseed processing company, which was accused of illegal activities in the forest and land clearing in 2011. Nevertheless, Unilever still continues to purchase palm oil from Wilmar. According to the investigation conducted by Amnesty International, a non-governmental organization focused on human rights, women, who work on palm plantations owned by Wilmar, are being threatened and forced to work long hours with minimum wage earnings of up to US dollars 2.50 a day. Children between the ages of eight to fourteen must do hard physical work, carry heavy containers of palm fruit that can weigh from 12 to 25 kilograms, and often drop out of school to help their parents on the plantations. The working conditions are not safe either as workers sometimes suffer severe injuries from toxic chemicals still used in the plantations despite being banned in the EU and by Wilmar itself. Unilever affirmed that they source palm oil from Wilmar but did not respond to Amnesty International’s questions about which refineries they source from. WWF judged how much did companies make progress toward phasing out unsustainable palm oil from supply chains. Unilever scored 14.75 out of 22 in the WWF table. This indicates that more effort could still be made on behalf of Unilever to combat this ongoing issue.

It is now evident that Unilever strives towards improving the community’s health and well-being, promoting education opportunities, and working towards maintaining a circular economy for all its packaging materials. However, Unilever has still got many improvements to make in order to fulfill the requirements of a certified B Corporation. Unilever is yet to achieve some of its biggest goals, such as stopping unsustainable palm oil extractions, sourcing all energy renewably, providing a safer environment for all workers, ending discrimination towards women at workplaces, and addressing child labor issues. To resolve some of the issues such as child labor, Unilever must establish full visibility throughout its supply chain, which would help engage its suppliers closely and consequently deal with the issue more efficiently. Additionally, in order to halt unsustainable sourcing of palm oil, in the first place, Unilever must recognize the illegal activities induced by Wilmar, and then as a whole company, take action. It is essential that with the support of its stakeholders, they work together to make advancements towards initiating a greener and more sustainable economy. When Unilever starts working persistently towards creating a more sustainable world in all environmental, economic, and social areas, only then will it be ready to represent the ideals and actions of a true B Corporation.