Child Labour: A Serious Issue in Australia and Worldwide

Running Head: CHILD LABOUR
Child Labour
Name Of The Student
Name Of The University
Author Note

1Child Labour
Child Labour is one of the most serious issues of the world in the modern times. Child
Labour refers to taking children in basic employment services, which deprives them of their
ability to attend schools and considered to be dangerous mentally, socially and considered to
be harmful for the children. This is prevalent in mostly 3rd world and developing nations of
the world, the most being in Africa where it is said that 1 in 4 persons are involved in child
labour. It is present in mostly all 3rd World countries and is a serious issue to be taken into
consideration. Child labour is also one of the most serious issues in Australia. In the 70’s,
child convicts were made to work when they were sent into Australia. Although not as much
as Britain, child labour laws had been passed in Australia so that children do not get derived
of their schooling needs. It was completely restricted during the late 1870’s for compulsory
schooling of the students. Nowadays, in Australia, children can work but only above the age
of 15. These rules also lay restrictions on the types of jobs that the students can perform. It is
said that in the modern times, mostly Aboriginal and Torres children have been taken into
child labour and child slavery, which accounts for 13% of the children between the ages of 10
to 14. They are often abused badly and involved in activities liking mining, agriculture,
prostitution or helping their parents with their business which prevents them from going to
school and getting the basic education needed by them. Child labour often leads to child
slavery as the children are forced to work against their will. This occurs mainly as the
children are abandoned by their families due to their physical or mental disabilities or are
forced into labour or slavery to repay some family debt without getting any week offs.
Sometimes, it involves children working in certain dangerous or unhealthy situations that can
lead them being killed or seriously injured due to ill health and not suitable working
condition. Per the ILO, more than 22, 000 children die from child labour and slavery every
year. It is the purpose of this essay to determine why child labour in Australia is one of the

2Child Labour
serious issues in the country and why steps must be taken to stop such labour from
happening.
Child labour is one of the most serious issues that Australia is facing currently. It is
affecting the children of the country in the way that it affects their mental health. Various
steps must be taken by the government and non-government organizations to eradicate child
labour from the country and allow the children to go to school so that they can get their basic
education. Experts states that the International Labour Organization (ILO) states that, if the
children are rescued from their lives of child labour, they will also get proper education
which will lead to the total income of the country by nearly 22% over 20 years1. Another
benefit of children being rescued from child labour is that it will lead to the boosting of the
economy of the country. Australia has had some major examples of child labour and slavery
in the country. According to the opinion of the experts, one of these includes a case from
around 1909 – 69 where it was reported that children of Aboriginal and Torres Straight
people of Australia are forced into child, labour and slavery. These children were referred to
as the “stolen generation” as these children were mainly taken to white families based on the
common perception that they were supposed to become labourers or gardeners and were also
sexually and physically abused which not only affected these children but also caused
problems for their family members. These instances of child labour is very common in
Australia. It is highly suggested that Australian government and non-government
organizations are taking various steps to eradicate the children of the problems of child
labour. It should be known that the problems of child labour is not only present in Australia
itself, other countries also have their fair share of child labour problems. It has been a
constant source of problems in various other countries like in Africa, from a very young age,
and are subject to extreme physical abuse without them getting a week off or any break from
1 Lee-Wright, Peter. Child slaves. Routledge, 2013.