FORUM

Should Child Labor Be Eliminated? An HRD Perspective

Nadir N. Budhwani, Belinda Wee, Gary N. McLean
Child labor, especially in developing countries, has been an increasing target for social reformers. Although there are many suggested solutions for the eradication of child labor, many are simplistic and create more problems than they cure. Suggested reforms are explored and analyzed. Additional recommendations, especially from a human resource development perspective, are explored. Child labor is a concern around the globe and in the global marketplace because many countries either do not legally prohibit the employment of children or do not enforce their existing laws. The strong and often emotional feelings against child labor are especially prominent in countries generally considered part of the developed world. Therefore, many U.S. corporations have second thoughts about moving their production to Pakistan or Thailand because of the strong feelings that exist back home. Still, there are strong incentives to move because of the lower labor costs that are the result of the use of child workers. Child labor is often dened in terms such as work carried out to the detriment of the child in violation of international and national law. In equally negative but broader terms, child labor can be dened as children who are denied their childhood and a future, who work long hours for low wages, often under conditions harmful to their health and to their physical and mental development, and who are sometimes separated from their families and frequently deprived of education (Ali, 2000). Both of these denitions are loaded in a negative direction. In addition, they do not take into account the fact that denitions of who a child is vary considerably from culture to culture and country to country, and no attempt is made by either denition to dene who a child is. A more neutral denition might be work that is performed for payment and outside of the family by someone who is under the age allowed by the country in which the child resides. As one of the coauthors wrote:
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When I was . . . in Bangladesh, I was working with a textile mill when the U.S. Congress passed a bill putting very stringent limitations on the import of cheap garments. The mill was closed the next day. Many of the seamstresses in the mill were young girls [ages] twelve to fourteen. Yet, they provided the rice for their families for the month based on their monthly income. If the choice is between child labor and starvation, which is the worse evil? And their only option for employment without the textile mills was prostitution. Fortunately, Congress realized almost immediately the impact of its actions, and reinstated old quotas for the worlds poorest countries. [McLean, 2001, p. 358]

McLean also wrote about his visit to a match factory in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, where several of the young boy workers employed were under the age of ten. The day of his visit was payday, and he saw the excitement that these boys felt about the few taka (about thirty cents at the time) that they received per day. He also observed serious problems, negative to all employeeslow light, poor (to nonexistent) pollution control, lack of appropriate work desks and chairs, and so on. He observed similar negative work factors in carpet factories in Pakistan, where children worked an entire day, crouching on a dirty oor, producing one carpet per month. In response to some of the criticism from developed countries, there has been some effort to reduce the amount of child labor. But McLean saw cooperative schools, in which groups of young women were producing carpets under the guise of education even though the results were identical to what he had observed in production settings, although the environment was somewhat improved. These examples set the stage for the difcult question of how national policies should address child labor, as well as for the difcult question of what role human resource development should play in either eradicating child labor or improving the conditions in which child labor occurs.

Purpose of Article, Question, and Signicance

The purpose of this article is to address the issue of child labor from a human resource development perspective and describe how changes in policies at various levels could help resolve it. The specic issue addressed is this: Should strenuous efforts be made to eliminate child labor, even if these create negative outcomes? The objective of this inquiry is to study how policies at the international level affect child labor, especially in developing countries, and the role that HRD might be able to play in resolving the issue. The article includes presentation and analysis of alternative policies, their respective consequences, preferred courses of action, and implications for HRD. The question is signicant because it extends understanding of the multidimensional nature of the child labor issue, which is critical because it involves

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a vulnerable populationchildren. Furthermore, discussion of the role of HRD in the issue of child labor is almost nonexistent in our literature.

Limitations
One limitation of this article is its focus on Western literature, presented from a Western perspective. There is limited literature on child labor from the perspective of developing countries for several reasons: the literature from those countries is seldom on Web sites or included in literature indices, they may be written in a language other than English (or, in this case, Chinese or Urdu), and research resources are limited in developing countries. While addressing this issue, the authors have attempted to present it from both Western and Eastern perspectives, based on their personal experiences and observations. This article has also been limited to existing published literature. It would have been expanded signicantly through interviews, for example, with policymakers trying to enforce existing laws and policies against child labor, businesses that used or are using child labor, child laborers themselves and their families, and child labor researchers. Such interviews may be conducted as a follow-up to this article.

Background and Causes of Child Labor

Children in almost every part of the world (including the Western world) have always taken part in social and economic activities as members of the household to which they belong. Given that family and not the individual is the unit of social activity, a childs work in this case is seen as a process of socialization and apprenticeship (Hasnat, 1995). Clay and Stephens (1996) provided an American perspective on child labor. Child labor started in the colonies that were to become the United States in the early 1600s, involving children in manufacturing operations, such as working with cotton and silk, and making hats and ribbons. Factors like rapid growth of industrialization, death of a generation of men in the Civil War, and low value placed on education by families encouraged child labor in the United States. The emergence of labor unions and bargaining power posed threats to employers, who then preferred hiring children to hiring adults. Child labor is rooted in poverty, uncontrolled population growth, social customs, migration, lack of facilities for education, and low government spending on education, as can be seen in many developing countries. Child labor is found in various economic activities, such as family-based agriculture, domestic service, street vending, small-scale manufacturing, and prostitution (GuhaKhasnobis, Mehta, & Agarwal, 1999; Hasnat, 1995). In developing countries, trade did not create child labor but did promote its use (Basu, 1999; Hasnat, 1995).

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According to a U.N. study, there are approximately eighty-ve million child workers worldwide, with two to three million of them in the developed world and the rest in developing countries (United Nations Fund for Childrens Education, 1995); 61 percent of child workers are in Asia. Half of the twelve million child workers in Pakistan are under age ten (Ali, 2000). This employment often comes at the expense of childrens education, health, and natural development (Guha-Khasnobis et al., 1999). The notion that child labor is a social problem gained importance during the industrial revolution. Children moved from family-based production to factory systems where they worked in hazardous environments without family supervision (Hasnat, 1995). In 1866, the International Workers Congress called for an international campaign against child labor, though the motive was suspicious because it was seen to protect union members jobs and not children. During the International Labor Organizations (ILO) rst session in 1919, the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention was adopted, thereby setting standards on the minimum age requirements (fourteen years) for eligibility for employment in industry, agriculture, shipping, and other nonindustrial occupations. The ILOs efforts to combat child labor became evident at the international level in the mid-1980s. In 1986, the United Nations Fund for Childrens Education (UNICEF) increased its efforts to address child labor issues from a broader perspective. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a Program of Action for the Elimination of the Exploitation of Child Labor (Child Labor, 1997).

Arguments for and Against Eliminating Child Labor

The complete elimination of child labor is an issue because there is no agreement on whether this is a desirable goal. Although there are many reasons why child labor should be eliminated, there are reasons for its continuation, albeit in an environment that protects this vulnerable population from abuse. Arguments for Eliminating Child Labor. There are many arguments for why child labor should be eliminated: Working at too early an age poses physical problems for the childs development (for example, vision, posture, nutrition). Children are particularly vulnerable to workplace abuse (physical, sexual, emotional) and are not easily able to protect themselves. Working keeps children from attending school and attending to their studies (Grootaert & Kanbur, 1995). Children are not able to develop normal socialization skills when they are employed for long hours (for example, play, relationships with other children, hobbies). A difcult, and not very widely accepted argument, is that child labor enables continuing destructive behavior, such as uncontrolled population growth. Eliminating child labor may well lead to increased death rates,

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allowing those who remain to change their behaviors and live healthier lives (Basu & Van, 1999). Retaining suppressed wages for child labor also reduces wages of adults, creating a cyclical demand for child labor to provide sufcient income for a family. Arguments for Retaining Some Form of Protected Child Labor. The following arguments all assume that the child labor is performed in an environment that has adequate safeguards to protect the children from all forms of abuse. In spite of the many political arguments opposed to child labor, there are reasons for supporting it: As long as poverty continues, the decision may well come down to working (and eating and living) or not working and dying of starvation (both the child and the childs family). Children who work and enjoy their work may well develop a work ethic and develop on-the-job skills (similar to apprenticeships) that will serve them well as they become adults. In the appropriate work environment, children can develop socialization skills on the job. Children who work in unskilled or low-skilled jobs may well develop the motivation to acquire education that will allow them to escape into more highly skilled or professional jobs. Many countries cannot afford to provide children with education; prohibiting them from working may force them into activities that are less socially desirable, such as gangs, thievery, begging, prostitution, and pornography. Penalizing countries that do not eliminate child labor may create a downward economic spiral, because the only competitive advantage some countries have is based on low wages paid to child laborers. The downward spiral adds to the countrys poverty, making child labor even more necessary rather than helping to eradicate it.

Alternative Approaches for Eliminating Child Labor

Guha-Khasnobis et al. (1999) suggested imposing sanctions on countries that use child labor. They also suggested that more be done to provide free education for children, with the objective of eradicating the need for children to work. The establishment of schools in villages means children can have easy access to learning, but these researchers did not suggest how this could be funded, and funding for school is a signicant problem in many developing countries. During the presentation of this article at the First Annual Asian Conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development, held in Bangalore, India, in October 2002, many participants enthusiastically underscored the importance of this point. They concurred that efforts to eliminate child labor in India have faced severe difculties, including the inability of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (education) to provide the programs and the

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resources to support such children in moving beyond the need to work and gain an education that would allow them to move into jobs as adults that require an education. Grootaert and Kanbur (1995) suggested providing economic and legislative incentives, such as schools, grants, and targeted funding by the government, to reduce child labor. The ILO and UNICEF accept this approach because it requires a consistent balance between economic and legislative measures. Countries like India and Brazil have been somewhat successful in addressing child labor through the use of such measures. An example would be to include child labor issues in trade unions collective bargaining process because children are vulnerable and should be appropriately and fairly represented. Children should have input into decisions such as determining light work, allocating free time, getting time off for school, and designing a code of conduct, all in the interest of improving the work environment for children. Monitoring such measures is a complicated task but nevertheless should not prevent childrens participation in collective bargaining. Eaton and Da Silva (1999) suggested that increased quality standards would require rms to hire skilled workers (that is, adults). Adult workers would be encouraged to work if the rms offered higher wages, provided better work environments, and restricted work hours for childrenall possible through increased revenue from higher-quality products.

Analysis of Recommended Alternatives

Each alternatives consequences are presented along with a description of who will benet or be disadvantaged by their implementationthat is, both the negative and positive aspects. Eliminating child labor is an issue and not a problem that can be solved using one approach. Impose Sanctions. Guha-Khasnobis et al. (1999) suggested imposing sanctions to eliminate child labor. In developing countries, child labor is related more to poverty and uncontrolled population growth than to trade issues (Basu & Van, 1999; Hasnat, 1995). Trade does inuence child labor but is not the cause. Thus, imposing sanctions will perhaps stop child labor, but will only add to poverty, not stop it. Therefore, sanctions are a short-term solution for eliminating child labor, and there are long-term associated consequences to consider. In 1996, when U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) boycotted textile goods produced in Bangladesh, it resulted in fty thousand children losing their jobs, and these children turned to crime and prostitution to survive. Furthermore, imposing trade sanctions may affect only the manufacturing sector, which may simply result in child workers entering another sector for employment. Thus, those who suffer the most from the consequences of such sanctions are the same children the sanctions aimed to help, along with their families, not the entrepreneurs or traders. Eradicating child labor using such short-term measures can easily result in eradication of the child itself! (Guha-Khasnobis et al., 1999, p. 145).

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Simply outlawing a practice will also have little effect because of the lack of sufcient monitoring systems at local levels. This is especially true for developing countries where systems are not very organized or transparent. Hence, imposing sanctions has more disadvantages than advantages. Provide Free Education. In order to encourage children to refrain from seeking employment at an early age, Guha-Khasnobis et al. (1999) suggested providing free education. But this may be in direct conict with the role of children as breadwinners in developing countries. However, education provides children with the foundation and means of becoming better qualied, skilled workers. Education helps children become good decision makers who are able to think for themselves and their families. Further, education enhances an individuals life beyond the economic benet that will ultimately accrue to him or her. From a macroeconomic perspective, however, providing free education requires a huge investment in infrastructure. India has 146 million six- to eleven-year-old children who need primary education. It would cost the Indian government U.S. $5.9 billion to provide universal free primary education 57 percent of that countrys budget for 1995 (Guha-Khasnobis et al., 1999). Additional funds would be needed for the teacher education required for the education of these children. Further costs would be the provision of midday meals, with some allowances as incentives to the family to compensate for the loss of income when the children are in school (Grootaert & Kanbur, 1995). Developing countries simply cannot afford these huge investments. Furthermore, providing free education is not sufcient, because not all educated individuals will nd suitable employment. Support the Development of Trade Unions. Child labor is found where trade unions are weak, and it is uncommon to nd child labor in workplaces where workers are organized and there exists a system of collective bargaining (Myrstad, 1999). A benet brought by trade unions is their position in advocating the rights of children to education and simultaneously asserting the rights of adult workers to adequate compensation, which would reduce the dependence of families on child labor. Because trade unions can reach large numbers of families, they are able to promote the importance of education for children, thus protecting children against work hazards and their premature entry into the labor markets. Cooperation between trade unions and the ILO is an important dimension in the global movement against child labor (Myrstad, 1999). Increase Quality Standards. There are several benets to Eaton and Da Silvas (1999) suggestion of promoting a quality drive for goods produced as a way of eliminating child labor. There will be an increase in the demand for skilled or adult workers. Organizations will invest in training their present and future workforce, including children. And higher-quality goods will command higher prices, leading to an increased level of exports, thereby increasing the prot margin for organizations, and in turn, leading to increased demand for skilled workers and thus increased hiring and training of workers. On the ip

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side, the higher quality of goods will produce an increased demand for skilled workers for which the company may not be able to nd or train the human resources needed, which could lead to a loss in sales. Further, if poverty and unrestrained population growth are not addressed, children will still nd some outlets for their labor.

Preferred Courses of Action

Eliminating child labor is complicated because it revolves around children, a vulnerable population (Miljeteig, 1999). Children have to accept decisions that are made for them. Involving them in decision-making processes is also an issue because there are questions about childrens ability to make strategic decisions (Frederiksen, 1999). Woodhead (1999) conducted a study with three hundred working children in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, the Philippines, and Central America, and 77 percent of the study participants expressed an overwhelming preference to combine work with school. Participants recognized the high cost of attending school, which includes not only the costs of tuition and books but also the opportunity costs of potential loss of income by not working. However, they were also aware of the benets they could reap from obtaining an education. The study disclosed that children often do not have a choice between working and getting an education. Getting an education was desirable, whereas working was a necessity. The children wanting an education faced the extremely difcult task of having to work to pay for their own education. Proposing only one alternative for resolving the elimination of child labor is analogous to solving a problem and looking for one correct answer. Therefore, a variety of alternatives need to be implemented so that various aspects of the issue can be addressed and resolved. On-the-job training for children is one way of enhancing skill and providing career opportunities. In Kenya, the emerging employment areas are in the jua kalismall, roadside businesses. By working as apprentices, children learn employment skills from skilled craftspeople (McLean, 1996). The trade unions in Brazils gemstone industry set up vocational training centers that child workers attend, learning various skills needed to work in that industry (Myrstad, 1999). Incentives can help children remain active in both education and work. When training is tied to wages, children and their families see both short- and long-term benets (Blagbrough & Glynn, 1999). Providing social support and entertainment can support efforts to control child labor, and employers and governments can seek help from NGOs to address this issue (Narayan, 1997). In developing countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, NGOs provide basic education and recreational activities for mental and physical development and organize campaigns for creating

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awareness in communities of appropriate treatment of children, also educating the populace on population control and conducting action research to understand and resolve problems of child workers better (Ali, 2000).

Implications for Human Resource Development

Because the majority of the population in developing countries is illiterate, human resource development, including workplace education, is as signicant for childrens growth and development as community and family education. In developing countries, the workplace is generally the environment where the effects of education trickle down to communities and families. Hence, employers who use child workers and invest in workplace education are in fact investing not only in education for their employees (children in this context) but also for their families and the community. Controlling, and not eliminating, child labor will encourage organizations using child workers to develop collaborative relationships with schools so that there will continue to be an inow of human resources from the schools into the businesses. This is a way of making coordinated improvements in workplace education systems. Creating such coordinated activities may well be the outcome of community-based organization development. Organization development may be used appropriately in addressing the many cultural changes that will be necessitated by the suggestions outlined here. It may also be the component of HRD that is effective in creating safe and healthy workplace environments, as well as educating supervisors and managers about their social responsibilities when children are employed in their workplaces. Increasingly, there is interest in national HRD (see Cho & McLean, 2002). Almost all the suggestions listed in this article have implications for national HRD. As countries begin to become aware of the benets of establishing HRD at a national level, it is likely that HRDs values and tools will be implemented and will assist, in a healthy way, to reduce reliance by countries, companies, and families on child labor.

Conclusion
Most will agree that eliminating child labor is clearly a goal in the long run. However, in poverty-stricken countries, work and education are often viewed as mutually exclusive in the lives of children (White, 1999). Cultural values and political environments of most developing countries continue to support the use of child labor, and this poses tough challenges for organizations and individuals engaged in controlling its use. The need is to formulate and implement relative instead of universal strategies. Implementing universal strategies, such as imposing a complete ban on child labor worldwide, is inappropriate at this time. Hence, individuals and organizations that support efforts to

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eliminate child labor should think of ways that are appropriate to, and acceptable in, particular cultures and countries. References
Ali, M. Z. (2000, April 25). Asian economic crisis and its social impact on child labor: Roles and responses: The case of Pakistan. Child workers in Asia. [http://www.cwa.tnet.co.th / booklet / Pakistan.htm]. Basu, K. (1999). International labor standards and child labor. Challenge, 42 (6), 8093. Basu, K., & Van, P. H. (1999). Economics of child labor: Reply. American Economic Review, 89, 13861388. Blagbrough, J., & Glynn, E. (1999). Child domestic workers: Characteristics of the modern slave and approaches to ending such exploitation. Childhood, 6, 5156. Child labor: How the challenge is being met. (1997). International Labor Review, 136, 233257. Cho, E. S., & McLean, G. N. (2002). National human resource development: Korean case. In U. Pareek, A. M. Osman-Gani, S. Ramnaravan, & T. V. Rao (Eds.), Human resource development in Asia: Trends and challenges (pp. 253260). New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing. Clay, J. M., & Stephens, E. C. (1996). A brief history of child labor. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 37 (6), 22. Eaton, M., & Da Silva, C. P. (1999). Portuguese child labor. Childhood, 6, 325334. Frederiksen, L. (1999). Child and youth employment in Denmark: Comments on childrens work from their own perspective. Childhood, 6, 101112. Grootaert, C., & Kanbur, R. (1995). Child labor: An economic perspective. International Labor Review, 134, 187199. Guha-Khasnobis, B., Mehta, P. S., & Agarwal, M. (1999). Seen but not heard? Dealing with child labor. Consumer Policy Review, 9 (4), 143147. Hasnat, B. (1995). International trade and child labor. Journal of Economic Issues, 29, 419425. McLean, G. N. (1996). Vocational and technical education and training at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya (Project No. 75). St. Paul: Human Resource Development Research Center, University of Minnesota. McLean, G. N. (2001). Human resource development as a factor in the inevitable move to globalization. In O. A. Aliaga (Ed.), Proceedings of the Academy of Human Resource Development Conference 2001 (pp. 356363). Baton Rouge, LA: Academy of Human Resource Development. Miljeteig, P. (1999). Introduction: Understanding child labor. Childhood, 6, 512. Myrstad, G. (1999). What can trade unions do to combat child labor? Childhood, 6, 7588. Narayan, N. (1997). Stolen childhoods: Tackling the health burdens of child labor. Harvard International Review, 19 (4), 5055. United Nations Fund for Childrens Education. (1995). The progress of nations. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. White, B. (1999). Dening the intolerable. Childhood, 6, 133144. Woodhead, M. (1999). Combating child labor. Childhood, 6, 2749.

Nadir Budhwani is a doctoral student in human resource development at the University of Minnesota. Belinda Wee is a doctoral student in human resource development at the University of Minnesota. Gary N. McLean is professor and coordinator of human resource development and adult education at the University of Minnesota.