We are organizations that hear the stories of people who have experienced unacceptable working conditions, often for the sake of consumers having access to cheap, convenient products precisely when they want them. The incredible rise of just a few corporations which allows for unchecked market power has continued a vicious cycle of exploitation. ILRF, STITCH, SweatFree Communities and USLEAP refuse to accept the status quo as the way things have to be. On the contrary, we are working harder than ever to develop strategic partnerships with NGOs and trade unions around the world so that workers can continue to organize and stand up for themselves in the face of increasing pressure to work longer hours for less money.
Over the next several months we will continue to engage the growing community of people reading this blog and encourage them to talk about how labor rights are intricately related to many current issues such as immigration and corporate accountability, to name a couple of examples. We welcome your comments and contributions to this community as we continue to fight for the rights of laborers around the world.
Comments
re: Labor is Not a Commodity Collaboration Blog
Child labor is a consequence of poverty as hunger, homeless and others so is not as easy as we think. Even NGO’s and prominent individuals can not help eradication this issue until and unless they influence appropriate Governments to reevaluate the economic policies and rural economic growth. Till now rural economy is only known as agricultural economy and never emphasized on add-on value products. Governments have to consider growing and generating rural employment. Target set for 2015 to eradicate poverty may not be achieved until we understand roots and real causes of poverty.
http://www.sadashivan.com/quotpovertyquotasubject/
90% of child laborers are rural children who migrate to cities and end up begging, prostitution, domestic helpers, or other odd jobs. It is easy to say “give them education and not work”, but the question is who will give? How many will benefit? Individuals and organizations have been helping these children for several decades. Have they achieved any result? Each day numbers and methods of child labor is growing.
http://www.sadashivan.com/
Why child goes to work? This situation is most urgent to be taken care!!! Child goes to work only when parents allow. And why parents seek own child's support to sustain home economy? This is what in my opinion Governments need to understand and bring policies in accordance.
So my plea is, simply raiding factories with child labor does not solve as parents need their child to work to run home or child without parents to survive. In this circumstance child would enter new areas opened and are in boom such as; sex tourism, rag picking, pick pocketing, begging and more. Law and enforcement to control child labor is one way good discouraging factories, parents and child too, but is short term solution. Child labor, trafficking and prostitution are growing not only in India rather Eastern Europe, Africa, and other Asian countries day by day despite all efforts of governments and International bodies. Number involved in these activities may be much-much more than workers in factories, presently. Similar cases can see with rural poor women who end up in prostitution. Why this situation is arises? And why each day number of prostitutes growing in this world? And all these are in spite of all law and enforcements.
In books or written records the number of child labor may have reduced but physically, it is different, and areas of child labors have added like begging, domestic help, prostitution, pickpockets, street entertainment, which was never there 2-3 decades back.
I herewith enclosed the video clips and my sites to know more about relationship between poverty and child labor issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVPk9Jns28k
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4744275778188781484
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QlnKpAQ1aA
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8849854166464553063
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZCMAwYigzk
Not buying child labor made items is not the solution to wash out child labor from the world. You think by not buying child labor made items would save children from informal labor. Are you sure they are rehabilitated after they are unemployed? If so! How many? In many cases it is no!! Rather is an eye wash as they do not have resources to accommodate. This practice only lets child laborer enter in further dirty and odd jobs like sex tourism, street begging, street entertainers, rag pickers, thieves, and more open odd areas. So you should not be happy by saying that you have not bought what made by child labor.
Illegalizing child labor is an invitation to corruption in bureaucracy. Despite child labor laws, child labor numbers are on the increase. Arresting child labor in factories have opened many sectors for them to get involved specially in flesh trade, begging, street entertainment, pick pocketing and robbery etc. Law is effective as long as resources are open to children for education and for parents earn at least minimum to run a home. Law can only make this situation illegal but help is less towards reform to eliminate child labor.
Purpose of education fails when!!!
http://www.sadashivan.com/freephotos4ursocialstudy/
I have visited many rural villages in India and found intense poverty. My site explains the distressing facts:
http://www.sadashivan.com/distressingfacts/id4.html