Child labor a widespread problem in industrialized countries as well

GENEVA – The menace of child labor is not just a prerogative of poorer countries. It is also a widespread threat in industrialized countries.

One activist, Fernando Morales-de la Cruz, claimed that one million children work in the United States and the same number in European countries.

He said that countries such as Norway and Switzerland also continue to “benefit from the exploitation of millions of children by companies.”

According to Morales-de la Cruz, more than 75 million children are exploited in global supply chains.

“Sadly, there are tens of millions of children working in the supply chains of the US and EU. This has to stop,” he added. 

He also blamed companies for their “exploitative business models.”

He said Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CMLRS) or relief efforts are just tools to pretend to care.

The only way to eradicate poverty and eliminate child labor is to “raise prices for farmers and wages for workers.”

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), at least 160 million children worldwide were forced to work in 2021 – nearly one in 10 children worldwide.

Morales-de la Cruz ruled out that the international community could meet its goal of ending child labor by 2025.

He said there was a concerted effort in several U.S. states to relax child labor laws to allow companies to employ children as young as 14.

A similar law is currently being pursued in the Canadian state of Quebec to allow children to work in agriculture.

“This is contrary to the commitments of President (Joe) Biden and Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau at G-7 summits,” he stressed.

In the U.S., the Department of Labor reported a 69% increase in illegally employed children since 2018.

It reprimanded 3,800 violations at 835 companies in fiscal year 2022.

Much of the increase is due to migrant children who have entered the United States.