Child Labour in Supply Chains: Economic, Social, and Health Impacts

This report provides a detailed analysis of child labour within global supply chains. It begins by addressing the argument that child labour is a better alternative to poverty, arguing that it perpetuates the cycle of poverty by hindering children's education and physical development. The report examines the economic conditions of families involved in child labour, highlighting the low wages, dangerous working conditions, and lack of long-term improvement. It also discusses the social, economic, mental, and physical effects of child labour, including hindered social development, increased inequality, and adverse health impacts. The report concludes with recommendations for combating child labour, such as providing affordable education, implementing strict laws, raising awareness, ensuring transparent supply chains, and offering financial aid to impoverished families.

Child labour in supply
and chains

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Discussion on argument Child labour is better than living in poverty .......................................1
Discussion effect of child labour on economic conditions of families and long term effect of
child labour on families ..............................................................................................................1
Social, economic, mental and physical effects of child labour ..................................................2
RECOMMENDATION ..................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................4
REFRENCES ..................................................................................................................................6
Books and Journals ....................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Child labour id defined as the work which strips childhood away from children all over
the globe. Child labour is significant threat to physical and mental development children. This
report includes discussion about various factors related to this exploitative practice in context of
global supply chain and discusses effect of child laboured on their families. Social, economic,
mental and physical impact of child labour is also discussed in this report.
MAIN BODY
Discussion on argument Child labour is better than living in poverty
Child labour is an exploitative practices which hinders continuous educational,
nutritional, mental growth of children. Children engaged in various formas of child labour are
forced into this exploitative practice by families suffering from extreme poverty. Child labour
helps families move out of extreme poverty is a widely largely accepted argument. This
argument is not sound as child labour is one of the factors which keeps families engaged in child
labour poor (Chen and Kitsis, 2017). Child labourers are easy to exploit and are hired as low
wage labourers in dangerous working environment in global supply chain. This hinders their
educational growth and is harmful to heir physical growth. These children grow up to be part of
low paying jobs which reduces their ability to provide education to their children. Thus, such
families face generational poverty by engaging their children in child labour and stopping them
from reaching their highest potential by stripping away their education.
Child labour also contributes in perpetuating poverty on a global scale. As child labourers
are hired in global supply chain at extremely low wages, adults which cannot be exploited easily
face unemployment (Cramer, 2017). This reduces average income gained by adult labourers and
impacts economic conditions of adult labourers all over the world. In this way child labour not
only sustains poverty in families engaged in child labour but also increases poverty and
unemployment internationally.
Discussion effect of child labour on economic conditions of families and long term effect of
child labour on families
Children engaged in child labour have to work in extremely dangerous and unhygienic
conditions and receive low remuneration for their daily jobs. Child labourers usually gain non-
monetary compensation for their work such as access to shelter or daily food instead of any
1

monetary compensation. In addition to this child labourers face dangers of domestic abuse,
physical or sexual exploitation while working away from their families. The economic
conditions of families engaged in child labour is not improved from long term point of view.
This is because child labourers work in exploitative conditions after they reach their adulthood
and these exploitative practices are transferred to their children. This creates a situation where
poor economic conditions are transferred from one generation to the next and children with
potential to develop economically, socially and physically lose their potential to child
(Dimitrova, 2018). Another long term effect of child labour is that such children face
malnutrition due to the lack of healthy food given to them during their childhood. These
children suffer from various mental and physical health conditions in their later life. This not
only burdens their family with health expenditure but stops them from securing regular jobs in
non-exploitative conditions due to their ill health. This continues the cycle of exploration and
oppression throughout the life of child labour. Child labour may lead to limited improvement in
financial conditions of families of child labourer's early in their career but such families are
continuously exploited throughout their life.
Social, economic, mental and physical effects of child labour
The primary social effect of child labour on children is that it hinders their social
development as they are not able to enjoy their childhood and build relation or friendships with
children of same age. They have to work in exploitative conditions which stops them from
learning social behaviour and adapting in society. Child labour affects society as it creates
inequality and discrimination. Children from marginalised groups are more likely to be part of
child labour which further cultivates discrimination.
The economical impact of child labour is that tit sustains poverty in communities
engaged in child labourers. Child labourers do not gain any growth opportunity during their
lifetimes and are unable to provide education or nutrition to their children required for their
development which leads to generational transfer of poverty (Nolan and Bott, 2018). Child
labour allows business firms to hire children at low wages which creates unemployment for adult
labourers which worsens economic conditions of an area. Apart from this business firms are able
to create profitability by hiring child labourers at low wages which widens the gap of income
inequality between the rich and the poor.
2

Child labour has adverse impact physical and mental well-being of child labourers. Lack
of nutrition and mental exploitation of child labourers leads to these labourers facing various
mental and physical illnesses throughout their lives (Wu and et. al., 2017). As child labourers
work in hazardous conditions, they are often part of life threatening accidents which give them
untreatable physical or mental disabilities for life.
RECOMMENDATION
 One of the most effective way to stop child labour is to provide affordable and quality
education to each child.
 It is essential to implement strict laws against child labour on a global scale in order to
deal with this situation.
 Starting awareness campaigns which tell people about dangers of child labour so that
they shop from ethical firms.
 Implementing laws which ensure firms to create transparent supply chain so cases of
child labour can be detected and removed easily.
 Providing financial help to families in extreme poverty so that they don not engage in
child labour .
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the exploitative practice of child labour may
seem to enhance financial conditions of child labourer's family but in long term is harmful for
3

the growth of the labourer and their family. The family of the child labourer lives in an
oppressive state throughout their lives and poverty is transferred to the next generation of the
family.
4

REFRENCES
Books and Journals
Chen, I. J. and Kitsis, A. M., 2017. A research framework of sustainable supply chain
management. The International Journal of Logistics Management.
Cramer, J., 2017. Corporate Social Responsibility and Globalisation: an action plan for
business. Routledge.
Dimitrova, S., 2018. Unethical labour practices in MNEs' business worldwide. Izvestia Journal of
the Union of Scientists-Varna. Economic Sciences Series, 7(3). pp.231-242.
Nolan, J. and Bott, G., 2018. Global supply chains and human rights: spotlight on forced labour
and modern slavery practices. Australian Journal of Human Rights, 24(1), pp.44-69.
Wu and et. al., 2017. Supply chain models with corporate social responsibility. International
Journal of Production Research, 55(22). pp.6732-6759.
5