If you click the button above it will take you to a video about how most dark chocolate was made. Also it shows how child labour is used for things that people just eat and don't think about where it came from.
The History of Child Labour
Below is a picture of children working in a factory and you can see what machines they would have to use and what kind of conditions they would have to work in.
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Child labour started in America in the early 1800s around the same time that the industrial revolution started, most of the children couldn't get enough education to get a job and had to start working at a young age. They would usually work in factories or mines and would most likely have to do very dangerous jobs. Child labour is usually not voluntary by the child and the parents are usually not making enough money to support their family and are sending their children out to get any job they can. After child labour started in America it spread to Britain, then Western Europe, North America, Japan and then the world. Many farms started to use child labour because there was lots of simple jobs to do on a farm. Many people would have more children so that they can have more workers on their farm. Since the industrial revolution was happening more mines and factories were opening up so they needed lots of new workers. There were jobs where they needed small hands and bodies. So children started to get hired, children were also smaller and quicker than adults. |
How was the Problem of Child Labour Solved?
Child labour was ended in most provinces in Canada in 1929 but on June 25th, 1938 a law was passed that stated children under 18 couldn't work in factories or be doing dangerous jobs. It also made it so children under 15 could only work max of 40 hours a week. Also, the children must get at least minimum wage which varies in different countries. Children labour is still not fully solved because it still happens throughout the world illegally. Lots of children were used in child labour in Canada but people try to keep to do it without anyone else knowing so there is no number about how many children were used in factories or coal mines in Canada.
The Biggest Moments in Child Labour
Iqbal Masih is one of the biggest figures in child labour history he was sold when he was 4 in child labour in 1983 he escaped and helped other children like him. To get them out of child labour. By his death in 1995 when he was shot and killed he had saved 3000 children from having to work. Below is a couple of pictures of Iqbal.