132 million child laborers work in agriculture.There are many different types of agricultural work and one of them is picking fruits and vegetables which demands the children to bend down, kneel, climb ladders, carry heavy loads of fruit, weed and cultivate soil, and apply pesticides to the plants growing.
Risks and Effects:
Heat and Sun
Children working in agriculture work in the sun for 10-12 hours a day. The Environmental Protection Agency said that children are more vulnerable to heat stress than adults. If the Child has a terrible sunburn during childhood it doubles the risk of receiving skin cancer in the future. 1992-2006, 423 children working in agriculture were reported to have passed away from heat exposure.
Heat and Sun
Children working in agriculture work in the sun for 10-12 hours a day. The Environmental Protection Agency said that children are more vulnerable to heat stress than adults. If the Child has a terrible sunburn during childhood it doubles the risk of receiving skin cancer in the future. 1992-2006, 423 children working in agriculture were reported to have passed away from heat exposure.
Pesticides
Pesticides health threat is greater to children than adults because of their small body mass and state of rapid physical and cognitive development. also they can engage in hand-to-mouth behaviors that increase their risk of ingesting pesticides. No children interviewed by Human Rights Watch had received any safety training about the dangers of pesticides or what to do in case of exposure. Some didn't even know what pesticides were.
Pesticides health threat is greater to children than adults because of their small body mass and state of rapid physical and cognitive development. also they can engage in hand-to-mouth behaviors that increase their risk of ingesting pesticides. No children interviewed by Human Rights Watch had received any safety training about the dangers of pesticides or what to do in case of exposure. Some didn't even know what pesticides were.
Hazardous Tools and Machinery
Agriculture labor requires the use of knives, ladders, hoes, and other tools. Common injuries include broken bones, sprains, and cuts. The most common injury were arms, hands, feet, and ankles. The children's inexperience increases the probability of accidents, injury and fatigue that comes from hours of work in difficult conditions.
Stone Crushers
Stone Crushers
Children are employed by mine owners and contractors for digging, breaking stones, dumping, and transporting with no prescribed working hours or wages. There is a high rate of children in schools that drop out because of the mine labor market. Mining operators including central and state governments, the traders, buyers, national or multinational companies, and contractors. Others involved in the mine extraction, processing or marketing can be responsible for the existence of child labor.
Risks and Effects:
Constant inhalation of stone dust leads to severe illness like silicosis, tuberculosis, asthma, and lung cancer. Children often injury their hands. Backbreaking work with iron tools and heavy loads leads to causes in spinal and orthopedic complications. Medical and welfare facilities are absent. Children also work in granite mines for collecting kerosene from mine tailings and in treacheries, handling toxic wastes with their bare hands.The mine owners or contractors ignore the laws related to employing children. The payment for the children working in these conditions result in earning them $0.35 a day.
In this video you see children working in mining labor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2VFOzH1Qr0&feature=fvst
More videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJXfILoTEXQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVgljEs5RE
Bibliography
LL, J. (2009). Child Labor. Retrieved from NCFH: http://www.ncfh.org/docs/fs-Child%20Labor.pdf
Kendall
Constant inhalation of stone dust leads to severe illness like silicosis, tuberculosis, asthma, and lung cancer. Children often injury their hands. Backbreaking work with iron tools and heavy loads leads to causes in spinal and orthopedic complications. Medical and welfare facilities are absent. Children also work in granite mines for collecting kerosene from mine tailings and in treacheries, handling toxic wastes with their bare hands.The mine owners or contractors ignore the laws related to employing children. The payment for the children working in these conditions result in earning them $0.35 a day.
In this video you see children working in mining labor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2VFOzH1Qr0&feature=fvst
More videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJXfILoTEXQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVgljEs5RE
Bibliography
LL, J. (2009). Child Labor. Retrieved from NCFH: http://www.ncfh.org/docs/fs-Child%20Labor.pdf
Grinder. (2010). Mining and Stone Crusher Children.
Retrieved from Raymondgrindingmill:
http://www.raymondgrindingmill.com/solutions/how-to-crushing/mining-and-stone-crusher-children.html
Kendall
Agriculture indeed is a larger issue than many (such as I previous to doing research) thought. This graph demonstrates well its large percentage in child labour: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/archive/fullsize/sectoral-child-labor-stats_90b99b1f4f.jpg
ReplyDeleteIt is simply shocking the huge percentage of young boys and girls of ages 5-14 involved in agricultural work which demands extremely long hours and very harsh conditions (as you have mentioned). This obstructs physical and mental developments, withdraws children from needed healthcare and familial support, prevents children from achieving a reasonable degree of education and in essence, takes away their “childhood”. Particularly at this tender age when the basis of knowledge and understanding of the world is formed, it is crucial that these children are given the rights they deserve. Under conditions that require them to work (particularly at older ages to support family and buy food and other necessities), laws must be implemented to guarantee no long-term effects on health and development, shorter work hours, a ban on jobs that are only suited for stronger adults and reasonable pay. Most of all, these laws are to be strictly governed, something many governments take far too lightly but is a crucial step in controlling child labour.
Source:
Children and Youth in History. Child Labor Statistics by Gender and Sector [Chart]. n.d. Electronic. 3 March 2012.