Not Just Do It, But Do It Right Pakistan

It is clearly stated in the U.S. constitution that child labor is illegal, inhumane and is not to be practiced by any U.S. companies. However, the World Trade Organization prohibits members from discriminating against country that use child labor. Allegations of poor working conditions, employee mistreatment, and child labor have been reported in Pakistan’s Nike workshops. High inflation rates in Pakistan make it increasingly hard for the low-income population to survive, which boosts the tradition of child labor all over the reign. Exported good are an important centre for the Pakistani market, especially sporting goods. Lack of political will, gender discrimination, and low national budgets make education a low priority. The national budget calls for only 3% of the total gross domestic product to be allocated to education. “More than 200 children, some as young as 4 and 5 years of age, are involved in the production line.” Local firms that are subcontracted by bigger companies like Nike hire the children. Leaving Nike technically not responsible for the sweatshops and illegal child labor, but instead placing the fault on the subsidized local businesses. 

Wake Up Mal-Mart

Wal-Mart was recently fined 135,540 in civil money penalties for infringing the youth provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, by permitting teenagers to operate dangerous equipment. Investigations conducted by the Department Of Labor show that over eighty five minors aged sixteen and seventeen were performing illegal activities, including loading and occasionally operating or unloading scrap paper balers, and operating fork lifts. Due to the investigations and fines Wal-Mart stores and super centers have agreed to put into effect the following, designated corporation official would be put in place to supervise, new and current store managers will be trained on child labor compliance's, and signs issued by the Department Of Labor will be posted indicating age restrictions. 

Not only has Wal-Mart been prosecuted for its violations of the youth provisions but also for giving low wages. It has been said that a “A Wal-Mart associate can not earn enough to support a family.” The average full time Wal-Mart associate makes $17,114 a year, mean while the average two-person home needs $27,948 to meet basic needs. Health care falls short by failing to cover over 775,000 of their employees. Wal-Mart is reported to have purchased $18 billion of goods from China making it responsible for about 1/10th of the U.S. trade deficit. China filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in claiming that workers were not paid the legal minimum wage, not permitted to take holidays off, and was forced to work overtime. Workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Swaziland brought a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in asserting that the company's codes of conduct were violated in dozens of ways.

Is That Next Puff Worth It For Malawi?

Tobacco is major use of people around the world, it is estimated that 46.2 million adults in the United States smoke cigarettes. Where does tobacco come from? Have you ever wondered about the work going into growing this major cash crop? Many who smoke do not know the work that goes into making these tiny finely ground tobacco wrapped in white paper, used for smoking. Most pay seven dollars a pack sometimes more, prices continue to escalate while people continue to stay hooked. 

This crop is farmed in over one hundred countries and the growing of it is very intensive and requires thirty three million workers at farm level. The site (http://www.eclt.org/about/tobacco.html) also states that as in other agricultural sectors, child labor is prevalent, particularly in the poorer areas, the whole family is involved in cultivation and harvesting process. 

The following facts about child labor have been extracted from previous studies:

Seventy-eight percent of children between 10 and 14 years work either full-time or part-time with their parents at the estates. A study in the Thyolo district, in Malawi, found that children between 6 and 14 years account for 8 per cent of all regularly working household members in male-headed households and 29 per cent in female-headed households

20 per cent of all children under 15 years were reported by their parents as working full-time and a further 21 per cent were working part-time. For children 10 to 14 years, the proportion working full-time and part-time were 46 and 32 per cent respectively. Children under 10 years of age were also found working alongside their parents as full-time workers in almost all the tasks of tobacco cultivation. About 43 per cent of the estates have children as direct laborers, and 46 per cent as casual laborers. The proportion of owners and managers providing wage rates for child employees was 8 per cent in the case of children working as direct laborers and 15 per cent where they were employed as casual laborers. There seems to be no discrimination between male and female children as far as child labor is concerned.

Tobacco grower employers expecting the working children to clean tobaccos and other crop plantations, make brakes, building tobacco drying sheds, prepare tobacco nurseries, sow tobacco seedlings, water tobacco seedlings, transplant tobacco seedlings and tilling tobacco ridges, Fertilize tobacco plants, weed tobacco and other crops, cut poles and logs of firewood, carry poles and logs of firewood from forests, pluck tobacco leaves, hang tobacco leaves on poles in tobacco drying sheds, smoke tobacco leaves, plait tobacco leaves, grade tobacco leaves, tie tobacco leaves in bundles, sell tobacco, burn tobacco stems and harvest other crops.

Before you light that cigarette, think your not only killing yourself, your also killing the child who sets your death.

Cut the ---- Coke in El Salvador

Within one state, thousands of people can drink 57,983,026,785,314,980,859 cans of soda per year. Coca-Cola supplies soda to over two hundred countries. Have you ever wondered, what goes on behind the scenes?

In an article edtitled, "Coca-Cola Under Fire for Exploiting Child Labor in El Salvador," we read that Coca-Cola continually digs itself into their public relations hole. Coke, accused of privatizing and monopolizing Africa's natural water supply and sucking up India's vital groundwater sources. By doing such its harming the country's agricultural industry and food supply by polluting El Salvador's remaining water and soil. Coke in addition indirectly condons Salvadoran child labor, which violates local and international laws. Another article states coke violates child labor from El Salvador's sugar cane field, they are indirectly benefiting from the use of child labor in sugarcane fields in El Salvador. It is said that more or less seventeen and a half thousand Salvadoran children as young as eight are working in these plantations, where they can be severely hurt from the conditions there. The injuries are a problem because he children would have to pay for their own medical treatment. These children are also required to miss several months of school each year in order to work on these farms. Even thought Coca- Cola does not own any of the plantations or buys the can directly, they buy the sugar milled from the cane from El Salvador's largest sugar mill, which still holds them accountable.

Even thought under Salvadoran law the minimum age, for working is fourteen. Coca-Cola buys from the supplier mill, the company is aware that the sugar it refines is harvested in part by child labor, which is stated by HRW. These children are called helpers not employees. Can you see now the process of soda, particularly Coca -cola in these articles? Many enjoy these soft drinks and other products, which we buy unknowingly of what is behind the process of all the ingredients in these products.

GAP In India

Gap Inc. owns thirty-one hundred stores worldwide, in comparison that's only one ninth to McDonald's twenty-eight thousand restaurants worldwide. Founded in 1969, Gap Inc. remains the largest apparel retailer in the United States, under the five main brands, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and the namesake Gap banner. In the year 2006, Gap become as "part of the solution" advertising for the global fund, Product (Red). Product (Red), according to their website, (www.joinred.com) "has become the dominant financier of programs to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria, with fifteen billion dollars for programs in 140 countries." Gap became very involved by selling Product (Red) t-shirts between the price range of fifteen dollars to thirty dollars, accessories, and suggesting customers to become Sneake(Red). A little less than a year since Gap was inspi(red), an article entitled "Child sweatshops [threatened] Gap's ethical image" was written for public viewings. It was brought to the attention of the public that children as young as ten years old in India were working in illegal sweatshops for Gap. In India, child sweatshop labor has risen so much that it has become the world capital for child labor in the last decade. Child labor contributes an estimated twenty percent of India's gross national product, over 55 million children aged from five to fourteen are employed across the business and domestic sectors, according to the United Nations. Prior to The Observer's investigation and article entitled, "Child sweatshop threatens Gap's ethical image," by Dan McDougall, Russ McBee's blog states that it isn't Gap's first time being caught using child labor. "In 2004, when it launched its social audit, it admitted that forced labor, child labor, wages below the minimum wage, physical punishment and coercion were among abuses it had found at some factories producing garments for it. It added that it had terminated contracts with 136 suppliers as a consequence," McBee exclaims. Alongside Gap, the British equivalent to the United States Wal-mart, Tesco pays Indian garment workers only half a living wage, about $3.00 a day. In the Eight Oscar award winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire, Jamal, in a childhood flashback is captured along with other children by Maman, "who pretends to run an orphanage so that he can ultimately train them to beg for money." Maman ends up doing more harm then anticipated, by burning the eye of a child because he says, "blind singers get paid double."