child labor and education essay

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Essay on Child Labour in 1000 Words in English for Students

• Updated on  
• Mar 4, 2024

Essay on Child Labour: In a 2021 study called “Campaign Against Child Labour,” it was found that over 12.67 million child labourers exist in India, with Uttar Pradesh contributing over 85% of the country’s total.

Child labour refers to the forceful employment of children at shops, domestic places and even hazardous places like factories and mines. Child labour exploits children for their basic childhood rights and affects their physical and mental growth. According to the International Labour Organization, the minimum age for work is 15 years. However, some countries have set the minimum working age at 14 years.

In India, the Ministry of Labour & Employment makes all the laws against child labour and protects children of their childhood rights. This ministry launched the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) scheme for the rehabilitation of child labourers.

Table of Contents

• 1.1 Poverty and Unemployment
• 1.2 Lack of Access to Education
• 1.3 Lack of Enforcement Laws
• 1.4 Debt Bondage
• 1.5 Ignorance and Lack of Awareness
• 2.1 Education Deprivation
• 2.2 Impact on Physical Health
• 2.3 Impact on Mental and Emotional Health
• 2.4 Cycle of Poverty
• 3 What is the Global Perspective?
• 4 Child Labour in India
• 5 Steps to Eradicate Child Labour
• 6 10 Lines to Add in Child Labour Essay

“The Best Way to Make Children Good is to Make Them Happy” – Oscar Wilde

Master the art of essay writing with our blog on How to Write an Essay in English .

Child Labour Causes

There are several causes of child labour, some of which are region-specific. Understanding all the causes of child labour is very important to eradicating it.

Poverty and Unemployment

Poverty and unemployment are the primary causes of child labour. Families living in extreme poverty force their children to work and meet basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare. On top of this, employees take advantage of their poverty and pay them low wages.

Lack of Access to Education

Children belonging to poor families have limited access to education due to inadequate infrastructure, insufficient resources and social discrimination. Due to this reason, children are pushed towards labour instead of attending school.

Lack of Enforcement Laws

A lot of countries do not have strict laws against child labour. Unethical employers are not afraid because the laws against child labour are not strict. Child labour is persistent because employees do not fear the law. In some cases, insufficient coordination among government agencies, NGOs, and international organizations leads to gaps in the enforcement of child labour laws.

Debt Bondage

Debt bondage or bonded labour is a type of child labour where individuals are forced to work to repay a debt or a family loan. These impoverished people have no other option but to work as bonded labourers in domestic places. 

Ignorance and Lack of Awareness

The lack of awareness becomes an important cause of child labour, as these people have no idea about the long-term consequences of child labour. 

Impacts on Children

Child labour can have serious impacts on a child’s physical and mental growth. However, the impacts of child labour are not limited to children only. 

Education Deprivation

Child labour deprives children of their right to education. In India, the Right to Education is a basic Fundamental Right and is also a Fundamental Duty. The Indian Constitution says that any person, who is a parent or a guardian, must provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the ages of six and fourteen years.

Also Read: Child Labour Speech

Impact on Physical Health

Children who consistently work in dangerous or tough conditions sometimes get hurt, and sick, and can face long-term health issues. Children working in factories and mines are exposed to harmful chemicals, pollutants and dust. Prolonged exposure can lead to respiratory problems, skin disorders, and other health issues.

Impact on Mental and Emotional Health

Working for long hours in hazardous conditions is a deadly combination. These conditions can contribute to high levels of stress and anxiety, affecting the mental well-being of children. In addition to this, these children are denied the right to education, which limits their cognitive development and prospects.

Cycle of Poverty

Children are supposed to go to school and study, not work in factories or as domestic helpers. Child labour perpetuates the cycle of poverty. The cycle of poverty can only end if child labour ends. 

Also Read: Essay on Peer Pressure in 100, 200 and 350 Words

What is the Global Perspective?

According to UNICEF, 1 out of 10 children are subjected to child labour worldwide and some are forced into hazardous work through trafficking. Child labour is a complex issue with its regional challenges. In 2020, around 16 crore children in the world were subjected to child labour. 

International organisations like the ILO, UNICEF, etc. are constantly fighting against children. They collaborate with different governments, NGOs, and private organisations, where the root causes of child labour, such as poverty, lack of access to education, cultural norms, armed conflict, and economic pressures are discussed. It is very important to address these factors for effective solutions.

Child Labour in India

In India, there are five major sectors where child labour is most prevalent. These sectors are:

• Agriculture – The largest number of children are employed in the agricultural sector and related activities. Children in rural areas are employed in sugarcane, wheat and rice farms, where they are forced to work for long hours in scorching heat.
• Brick Kilns – For ages, the brick kiln industry has been employing children at low wages. In several brick kilns, children work for long hours with their parents and are exposed to toxic fumes and pollutants.
• Garment Industry – The Indian garment industry constitutes a large portion of child labour. Most of the Indian garment industries are managed by local start-ups, who hire children at low wages to preserve their profit margin.
• Fireworks – Firework factory owners hire a significant number of children at low wages. Children working in fireworks factories work in cramped conditions and are exposed to toxic fumes and hazardous chemicals, which hampers their physical and mental health.
• Unorganised Sectors – The unorganised sector includes local dhabas, food and tea stalls, vegetable and fruit vendors, etc. These people employ children as helpers and servants. 

Also Read: Essay on Discipline

Steps to Eradicate Child Labour

• Raising awareness about child labour can be the first step to eradicating child labour. If people, especially parents, are aware of the consequences of child labour, they might not force their children to work in hazardous places. 
• Traffickers prey on vulnerable children, especially those who come from poor families and are not aware of child labour. Awareness ensures growth and opportunities in education, employment and career.
• There is an urgent need for stringent laws against child labour. Strict laws against child labour can bring long-lasting social changes. In India, child labour is a crime. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act of 1986, children below the age are prohibited from working. However, this law is not strictly enforced.
• Today, various NGOs are working in collaboration with local and state governments to implement pro-child laws.
• Education must be made compulsory and accessible to all. In India, the Right to Education is a fundamental right. Yet, a lot of children are deprived of this basic constitutional right. Strict laws and easy access to education can bring a big change, ending child labour in the country.

Also Read: Essay on Summer Vacation in 100, 250 and 350 words

10 Lines to Add in Child Labour Essay

Here are 10 lines on child labour. Feel free to add them to your child labour essay or similar topics.

• Child labour deprives children of their right to a proper childhood.
• It involves children working in harmful environments. 
• It Disrupts their physical and mental well-being.
• Poverty is a major factor pushing children into the workforce at an early age.
• Lack of access to education often perpetuates the cycle of child labour.
• Children engaged in labour are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
• Hazardous conditions in factories and mines pose serious health risks to working children.
• Child labour hinders the development of necessary skills and knowledge for the future.
• Long working hours and limited leisure time impact a child’s social and emotional growth.
• Addressing the root causes, such as poverty and lack of education, is crucial in the fight against child labour.

Ans: Child labour refers to the practice of employing young children in hazardous places like factories and mines. Child labour exploits children for their basic childhood rights and hampers their physical and mental growth. According to the International Labour Organization, the minimum age for work is 15 years. However, some countries have set the minimum working age at 14 years.

Ans: Poverty and Unemployment, Lack of Access to Education, Law of Enforcement Laws, Debt Bondage, etc. are some of the primary causes of child labour.

Ans: Child labour is banned in India. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, of 1986, no child below 14 years of age is allowed to work in hazardous or domestic places, like factories, mines or shops.

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Essay on Child Labour for Students and Children

500+ words essay on child labour.

Child labour is a term you might have heard about in news or movies. It refers to a crime where children are forced to work from a very early age. It is like expecting kids to perform responsibilities like working and fending for themselves. There are certain policies which have put restrictions and limitations on children working.

The average age for a child to be appropriate to work is considered fifteen years and more. Children falling below this age limit won’t be allowed to indulge in any type of work forcefully. Why is that so? Because child labour takes away the kids opportunity of having a normal childhood, a proper education , and physical and mental well-being. In some countries, it is illegal but still, it’s a far way from being completely eradicated.

Causes of Child Labour

Child Labour happens due to a number of reasons. While some of the reasons may be common in some countries, there are some reasons which are specific in particular areas and regions. When we look at what is causing child labour, we will be able to fight it better.

Firstly, it happens in countries that have a lot of poverty and unemployment . When the families won’t have enough earning, they put the children of the family to work so they can have enough money to survive. Similarly, if the adults of the family are unemployed, the younger ones have to work in their place.

Moreover, when people do not have access to the education they will ultimately put their children to work. The uneducated only care about a short term result which is why they put children to work so they can survive their present.

Furthermore, the money-saving attitude of various industries is a major cause of child labour. They hire children because they pay them lesser for the same work as an adult. As children work more than adults and also at fewer wages, they prefer children. They can easily influence and manipulate them. They only see their profit and this is why they engage children in factories.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Eradication of Child Labour

If we wish to eradicate child labour, we need to formulate some very effective solutions which will save our children. It will also enhance the future of any country dealing with these social issues . To begin with, one can create a number of unions that solely work to prevent child labour. It should help the children indulging in this work and punishing those who make them do it.

Furthermore, we need to keep the parents in the loop so as to teach them the importance of education. If we make education free and the people aware, we will be able to educate more and more children who won’t have to do child labour. Moreover, making people aware of the harmful consequences of child labour is a must.

In addition, family control measures must also be taken. This will reduce the family’s burden so when you have lesser mouths to feed, the parents will be enough to work for them, instead of the children. In fact, every family must be promised a minimum income by the government to survive.

In short, the government and people must come together. Employment opportunities must be given to people in abundance so they can earn their livelihood instead of putting their kids to work. The children are the future of our country; we cannot expect them to maintain the economic conditions of their families instead of having a normal childhood.

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Child Labor Essay: Thesis, Examples, & Writing Guide [2024]

Children have always been apprentices and servants all over human history. However, the Industrial Revolution increased the use of child labor in the world. It became a global problem that is relevant even today when such employment is illegal.

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The principal causes of child labor are as follows:

• Poverty, as kids have to work to support their families.
• Lack of access to education or its low quality.
• Culture, as some countries encourage kids to earn their pocket money.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy.

The information you will find in this article can help you write a good child labor essay without any problems. Our professional writers gathered facts and tips that can help you with a paper on this topic. Nail your essay writing about child labor: thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion.

• 📜 How to Write
• ❓ Brief History
• ⚖️ Laws Today

🔗 References

📜 child labor argument essay: how to write & example.

Let’s start with tips on writing a child labor essay. Its structure depends on the type of your assignment : argumentative, persuasive, for and against child labor essay.

There’s nothing new in the essay structure: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, you should pay close attention to your thesis statement about child labor as the subject is quite delicate.

Below you’ll find the essential information on what to write in your assignment:

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

• The introduction may present the general meaning of the term “child labor.” In this part of your child labor essay, you may say that child labor means the work of children that aims at exploiting and harming them.
• The thesis statement should reveal your position on the issue. It’s the central idea of the paper. It may sound like “Not every kind of child labor is supposed to be exploitive.” Think about the phrasing of your child labor thesis statement.
• What are the reasons for the issue today? In this part of your essay, you have to present why child labor is widely-spread nowadays. Are there some positive factors for it?
• What jobs can be done by children? Give a list of possible careers, and present short descriptions of the duties children have to fulfill. Explain your job choice.
• How can we reduce child labor? Elaborate on why taking care of our young generation is crucial. What would you offer to reduce child labor?
• The conclusion of child labor essays should summarize everything that was said in the body. It should present the final idea that you have come up with while conducting your research. Make a point by approving or disapproving your thesis statement about child labor. Don’t repeat the central idea, but rather restate it and develop. If you’re not sure about what to write, you can use a summary machine to help you out.

We hope that now you have some ideas on what to write about. Nevertheless, if you still need some help with writing , you can check the child labor essay example:

For more facts to use in your essay, see the following sections.

❓ Brief History of Child Labor

The involvement of child labor became increasingly popular during the Industrial revolution . The factories ensured the growth in the overall standard of living, a sharp drop in the mortality rate in cities, including children. It caused unprecedented population growth. And with the help of machines, even physically weak people could work.

Operating power-driven machines did not require high qualification, but the child’s small height often was a better option. They could be installed quite closely to save the factory space. Some children worked in coal mines, where adults couldn’t fit.

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Thus, child labor has become an indispensable and integral part of the economy.

Even special children’s professions were formed. For example, there were scavengers and scribes in the cotton factories:

• Scavengers had to be small and fast. They crawled all day under the spinning looms, collected the fallen pieces of cotton, inhaled cotton dust, and dodged the working mechanisms.
• Scribes walked around the shop and sorted the threads that ran along with the machine. It was estimated that the child was passing about 24 miles during the working day.

Needless to say, that child labor conditions were far from perfect. The situation began to change in the early 1900s during social reform in the United States. The restricting child labor laws were passed as part of the progressive movement.

During the Great Depression , child labor issues raised again because of lacking open jobs to adults. The National Industrial Recovery Act codes significantly reduced child labor in America.

What about today?

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Child labor today in wealthy countries accounts for 1% of the workforce. At the same time, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) , the highest ranges of working children are in Africa (32%), Asia (22%), and Latin America (17%).

🧒 Causes of Child Labor

Speaking about child labor, you should understand the factors that lead to children employment:

• Poverty . According to ILO, it is one of the significant causes of child labor. Children have to work to support their families. Sometimes up to 40% of a household income is the child’s salary.
• Lack of access to education . An absence of school or its distant location and low quality of education affect children around the globe. Unaffordable tuition in local schools drives children to harmful labor.
• Culture . In some developing countries, it is common for children and adolescents to help their parents in a family business. They earn their pocket money because people believe such work allows children to develop skills and build character. Other cultures value girls’ education less than boys, so girls are pushed to provide domestic services.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy. This macroeconomic factor explains acceptability and demand for child labor.

⚖️ Child Labor Laws Today

Don’t forget to mention current labor laws and regulations in your child labor assignment. You can mention slavery and human trafficking linked to the issue even today. You may refer to international laws or analyze legislative acts in different countries.

For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act determines age restrictions, jobs allowed for teenagers, and necessary paperwork.

Other acts, programs, and initiatives you should mention are:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
• Minimum Age Convention
• Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention
• Australia’s and UK’s Modern Slavery Acts
• National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020
• International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
• Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1993

When writing about child laws against child labor, you may also explore the best and worst countries for children’s work conditions.

You may also mention child labor incidents:

• UNICEF’s report on using enslaved children in cocoa production.
• Child labor in Africa’s cobalt, copper, and gold mines.
• GAP, Zara, Primark, H&M’s products made with cotton, which may have been picked by children. You can also find extra information on companies that use child labor.
• Child labor in silk weaving factories.

Child Labor Essay Examples

• Child labor’s negative impact on human development . 
• Child labor and social worker interventions . 
• Child labor in the fashion industry . 
• Child labor, its forms, and disputable issues . 
• Child labor in Ghanaian and Bangladeshi industries . 
• Ethics in business: child labor in the chocolate industry.  
• Massive industrialization and modern child labor . 
• Child labor’s role in the global economy . 
• Samsung and child labor: business ethics case . 
• Child labor’s role in westernization and globalization . 

Child Labor Essay Topics

• Analyze the connection between poverty and child labor. 
• Discuss the reasons for the high trafficking of children rates.  
• Explain why child labor is among topical issues in the modern world.  
• What can be done to reduce child trafficking rates?  
• Explore the ways labor unions help to fight child labor.   
• Describe the child labor laws around the world and evaluate their effectiveness.  
• Analyze the cases of child exploitation in sweatshops in developing countries. 
• Discuss the social issues connected with child labor .   
• Examine the impact of child labor on children’s physical and mental health.  
• The role of UNICEF in the abolition of child labor and exploitation.  
• Child trafficking as a primary human rights issue.  
• The absence of adequate punishment is the reason for increased child slavery rates. 
•  Analyze if current measures to prevent child exploitation are sufficient enough.  
• Discuss how social media platforms facilitate child trafficking .   
• Examine the social impact of child exploitation and trafficking .  
• Describe how the attitude towards child labor depends on the specifics of the country’s culture.  
• Explore how Zara’s use of child labor influenced its public image.  
• What organizations deal with commercial child exploitation prevention?  
• What can a healthcare professional do to help the victims of child exploitation ?  
• Analyze the urgency of creating an effective program for the recovery of child trafficking victims .  
• Discuss the laws regulating child labor in different countries.  
• Explain the connection between the level of education in the country and child labor rates.  
• The role of parents in the success of child labor and exploitation prevention.  
• Explore the history of child labor.  
• Can labor be the way to teach children about basic life skills?  
• The disastrous effect of child trafficking on the mental health of its victims.  
• Discuss the problems connected with child trafficking and exploitation investigation. 
• Examine the cases of using child soldiers in modern armed conflicts.  
• Analyze the role of international organizations in saving child soldiers .  
• The use of abducted children as frontline soldiers in Uganda.  
• What can be done to overcome the issue of child soldiers in the near future?  
• Discuss what fashion brands can do to prevent the use of child labor in overseas sweatshops .   
• Explain why young workers are more vulnerable to exploitation compared to adult workers.  
•  Explore the issue of child labor and exploitation in the Industrial Age .  
• Analyze how child labor affects the education of children . 
• Describe the business ethics of child labor.  
• Who is responsible for the use of child labor at tea plantations?   
• Examine the reasons for using child labor in mining in the 19 th century . 
• Employing child labor as one of the most widespread violations of children’s rights .  
• Discuss the motives that push children to participate in labor.  

How old were you when you got your first job? Was it hard? Share with us your experience and advice in the comments below! Send this page to those who might require help with their child labor essay.

• Child Labor Issues and Challenges: NIH
• Child Labor: World Vision Australia
• Essay Structure: Harvard University
• Child Labor: Human Rights Watch
• Child Labor: Laws & Definition: History.com
• Child Labor: Our World in Data
• History of Child Labor in the United States, Part 1: Little Children Working: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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ESSAY REVIEW: Child Labor and Education: New Perspectives and Approaches

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Child Labor Issue According to the Human Rights Essay

Introduction, the effects of child labor, child labor and long working hours, child laborers and stolen childhoods, a risk to children’s mental and physical development, recommendations.

Bibliography

The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines child labor as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development” 1 Being a United Nations (UN) agency, ILO is well conversant with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is part of the human rights conventions of the UN. The Convention on the Rights of the Child went on record for being ratified by the greatest number of UN party states in 1999, when 191 states ratified it. 2

Unfortunately, the massive ratification by UN member states is not a reflection of how well individual countries have supported the very children’s rights that the Convention indicates. In fact, it has been noted that the children who enjoy the rights advocated for by the Convention are only a minority when compared to millions of others whose childhood is taken away from them through child labor. 3

The Convention aside, it is important to note that children are just children; in their purest state, they are innocent, helpless, and clueless. 4 The foregoing statement forms the basis of the argument that children need to be protected, and where parents, communities, and governments are not willing to fulfill their respective mandate to protect such children, the UN needs to come in and assume the role of advocate and protector of the young lives.

Child labor issues are important because, without advocacy, children will continue being the subject of child labor and exploitation by the adult population. The worst form of child labor is where the subject children are treated as human objects for sexual and physical exploitation. Some children may not be subjected to extreme cruelty through child labor, but the fact that they are denied a chance to get an education means that they are caught in a web of unending poverty. Notably, regulating child labor is a difficult undertaking for any community or government, mainly because much of child labor occurs in the informal sector.

This report proposes that the absence of political goodwill from governments, and concerted efforts by community members have so far led to the perpetuation of child labor. This report, therefore, suggests that the UN bodies such as UNICEF and ILO can work with governments, communities, and parents to create the goodwill needed to end child labor. Such UN bodies can create such goodwill through creating the necessary awareness regarding the negative effects of child labor, and by working with the most critical stakeholders in this issue, to ensure that child labor is ended.

The necessity of working with stakeholders, most especially the parents to child laborers, is underscored by statistics which indicate that 62 percent of all child laborers were inducted into work by their own parents. 5 Working with stakeholders is also advocated for by some scholars, who argue that proper “programs should be directed towards…the poor, the minorities, and those people at the margins of society” since it has been found that people in these categories are more likely to allow or even encourage their children to work. 6

Child Labor and Education

Children who are subjected to child labor miss out on education opportunities. Article 32 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights recommends that children should be protected from hazardous work, from jobs that are likely to interfere with their education, and from exploitation that is of an economic nature. 7 In this report’s opinion, child laborers may try to attain a balance between work and school, but in the end, their school attendance and performance always suffer.

It is possible that such children eventually drop out of school, either because they are too tired to balance learning and work, or because their parents convinced that they are better workers than learners, often pull them out of school. Incidentally, it has been argued that poverty is one of the leading causes of child labor; 8 unfortunately, whenever a child drops out of school or fails to pay enough attention to school work in order to pursue short-term economic gains, they end up compromising their chances of ever breaking free from poverty.

Unfortunately, most such children are not aware of the harm they occasion to themselves when they pull out of school. It would, therefore, take the intervention of adults for them to be informed of how important education is. The adults in the children’s lives are the same adults who may have encouraged them to take up paid work. The UN can ideally mobilize such adults, in order to inform them of the need to encourage children to go to school, and why education is important.

Changing parents’ perceptions regarding schooling and its importance in a child’s life is an important step towards fighting child labor because it has been argued that parents usually have a firm control of their children, and as such, parents who do not perceive school as important encourage their children to take up child labor and in some cases, drop out of school. 9

Child Labor and Poor Remuneration

Child laborers are generally inadequately compensated. 10 Some of the reasons they are not paid as well as their adult counterparts are that they do not have the skills or expertise to work specific jobs. Additionally, children often lack the negotiation skills to petition their employers to increase their pay. Moreover, children do not have any representation.

For example, they do not have labor union membership, and as such, the unions cannot petition their employers for better pay. In an exemplary case, children working in tobacco farms in Malawi are so poorly compensated that Plan International found out that their earnings did not make any “significant contribution to the needs of their households” 11 In other cases, child laborers were not paid anything; instead, they helped their parents in contractual work, and a result, their parents were paid on their behalf. 12

The foregoing situation in Malawi suggests that child labor does not benefit children; if anything, it makes their long-term welfare worse. It is also important to note that children do not make significant contributions to the well-being of their families. This, therefore, means that they need not be exposed to child labor in the first place. Notably, only eight percent of child laborers chose to work; the rest (i.e. 92 percent) are encouraged or even forced to work by their parents, relatives, or guardians. 13 This report, therefore, submits that child labor is, in most cases, forced labor.

Some employers are cruel. Such cruelty has catastrophic effects when used on docile child laborers who are made to work long hours, sometimes with no breaks. Even more disturbing is that children do not know how to champion their own rights in the workplace. An example of the foregoing is indicated by an interview that a researcher had with a child laborer in India, where the child indicated that they could work as long as they were able to stand on their feet. 14 To make matters worse, the child was paid a pittance, and sometimes, he would be beaten up by the employer for not being fast enough at work. In this report’s opinion, children especially in Africa and Asia are treated like slaves because in addition to the long hours, some are not even allowed to rest or leave their current employer.

Child labor is arguably the worst kind of denial to children. It prevents them from becoming children and enjoying the joys childhood. In most cases, child labor catapults children into the adult world without preparing them mentally or physically. 15 Elizabeth B. Browning captures the cruelty of stolen childhood in the poem below:

“Do you hear the children weeping, O my brothers? Ere the sorrow come with years…they are weeping in the playtime of the others, in the country of the free…‘How Long’, they say, ‘how long, O Cruel Nation, Will you stand, to move the world, on a child’s heart?’” 16

The above poem explains that where children are free, they play. Where their state of freedom is compromised, they get engaged in laborious work that their immature bodies can barely handle. The poem further suggests that in countries where child labor is the norm, children weep when they should be playing. Arguably, the work burden placed on them is too heavy for them to bear comfortably.

During childhood, children get an education, which acts a foundation for their future. When they do not acquire education because they have to work, child laborers are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Without an education, child laborers do not develop skills and competencies, and subsequently, they face diminished chances in life and more risks of poverty in the future.

In the work place, children are abused, harmed and discriminated against. 17 Ideally, a child needs protection since they lack the capacity to protect themselves. They also develop gradually and before full development is attained, they usually depend on adults. Being underage, children do not have the full legal standing, something that makes them susceptible to age-based discrimination. In some cases, children are forced to work in hazardous environments, with no protective clothing and this affects their physical development. 18

Even more disturbing is that some child laborers are denied proper nutrition and this means that they are at risk of suffering stunted growth as well as mental torture from the cruelty meted on them. Research has found that children are more sensitive to ionizing radiation, silica and lead toxicity, heat and noise, all which are to be found in some workplaces where children work. 19 The strain that work has on the physiology is also worth mentioning especially since straining their growing joints and bones have been found to result in stunted growth and spinal injuries. 20

So far, there is no internationally agreed definition of child labor. 21 While countries have varying minimum age restrictions for which children should not be working, child labor remains an ambiguous concept. 22 The ambiguous nature of child labor hence makes it hard to deal with and abolish. On its part, the UN being an intergovernmental organization can formulate policies that specifically define child labor and indicate the age limit for which no child should work. This could be done together with UN member countries.

Notably, policy formulation and enactment on itself is not enough; from the speed with which UN member countries ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the dismal treatment of child labor-related issues by the same UN-member countries, it is clear that policy documents will not achieve much. This paper therefore suggests a different approach from what has been done in the past.

First, it is important to acknowledge that tentative statistics indicate that 62 percent of all child laborers were inducted to the labor market by their parents. 23 This means more awareness creation and desensitization needs to target parents, who sacrifice their children’s future for short-term gains. In most cultures, the child is not only the responsibility of his or her parent, but of the larger community as well. As such, communities also need to be targeted with information relating to the dangers of child labor and the importance of educating children in those communities. The UN can intervene by rolling out awareness campaigns (together with local governments and institutions) in specific countries where child labor is most prevalent.

The foregoing intervention measures should ensure that child labor is not a legal issue only, but also a social issue that needs social solutions. In some countries, child labor is embedded in local cultures, and unless such cultures are discredited, children will continue suffering at the hands of the same people who are supposed to nurture and care for them. The UN would thus need a strategy to work with each culture in order to ensure that the children are given the opportunities and care they need to develop physically, mentally and emotionally without the burdens imposed on them by child labor. The UN is the most suitable organization to fight child labor because of its close diplomatic connections with most of the developing countries where child labor is prevalent. Notably, most national governments may lack the political goodwill to run such campaigns while others are short on funding, hence the need for UN’s intervention.

Arat, Zehra F. “Analyzing child labor as a Human Rights Issue: Its Causes, Aggravating Policies, and Alternative Proposals.” Human Rights Quarterly 24, no. 1 (2002): 177-204

Baradaran, Shima and Stephanie Barclay. “Fair Trade and Child Labor.” Columbia Human Rights Review 43, no.1 (2011): 1-63.

Basu, Kaushik. “Child Labor: Cause, Consequence, and Cure, With Remarks on International Labor Standards.” Journal of Economic Literature 37 no.9 (1999): 1083-1119.

Brown, Gordon. “Child labor & Education disadvantage- Breaking the Link, Building Opportunity.” The Office of the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, London, (2012): 1-78.

D’Avolio, Michele. “Child Labor and Cultural Relativism: From 19 th Century America to 21 st Century Nepal.” Pace International Law Review 16, no. 1 (2004): 109-145.

Hindman, Hugh D. The World of Child Labor: a Historical and Regional Survey. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2011.

ILO. “A Future without Child Labor.” International Labor Conference, 90 th Session (2002): 1-138.

International Labor Organization (ILO). “What is Child Labor?” ilo.org. 2014. Web.

Oloya, Opiyo. Child Soldier: Stories from Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013.

Plan International. “Hard Work, Long Hours and Little Pay: Research with Children Working on Tobacco Farms in Malawi.” Plan International Malawi (2009): 1-81.

Siddiqi, Faraaz and Harry Anthony Patrinos. “Child Labor: Issue, Causes and Interventions.” Human Capital Development and Operations Policy Working Papers 56, no. 1 (2001): 1-14.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Annex 2, (1989): 110-139.

• International Labor Organization (ILO). “What is Child Labor?” Ilo.org. 2014. Web.
• Zehra F Arat. “Analyzing Child Labor as a Human Rights Issue: Its Causes, Aggravating Policies, and Alternative Proposals.” Human Rights Quarterly 24 , no.1 (2002): 177.
• Arat, “Analyzing Child Labor” 177.
• Opiyo, Oloya. Child Soldier: Stories from Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 2013), 178.
• Faraaz, Siddiqi, and Harry Anthony Patrinos. “Child Labor: Issues, Causes, and Interventions.” Human Capital Development and Operations Policy Working Papers 56, no. 1(2001): 5.
• Michele D’Avolio. “Child Labor and Cultural Relativism: From 19 th Century America to 21 st Century Nepal.” Pace International Law Review 16, no.1 (2004):141.
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Annex 2, (1989): 127.
• Shima, Baradan, and Stephanie Barclay. “Fair Trade and Child Labor.” Columbia Human Rights Review 43, no.1, (2011): 14.
• Siddiqi and Patrinos, “Child Labor,” 7.
• Plan International. “Hard Work, Long Hours, and Little Pay: Research with Children Working on Tobacco Farms in Malawi.” Plan International Malawi (2009): 58.
• Plan International, “Hard Work, Long Hours and Little Pay,” 58.
• Siddiqi and Patrinos, “Child Labor,” 5.
• Kaushik, Basu. “Child Labor: Cause, Consequence, and Cure, with Remarks on International Labor Standards.” Journal of Economic Literature 37 (1999): 1087.
• Gordon, Brown. “Child labor & Education disadvantage- Breaking the Link, Building Opportunity.” The Office of the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, London, (2012): 4.
• Brown, “Child Labor & Education Disadvantage,” 4.
• Hugh Hindman. The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey. (New York: M.E Sharpe, 2011), 10.
• Hindman, “The World of Child Labor,” 15.
• ILO. “A Future without Child Labor.” International Labor Conference, 90 th Session (2002): 12.
• ILO, “A Future without Child Labor,” 12.
• Baradan and Barclay, “Fair Trade and Child Labor,” 41.
• Faraaz and Patrinos, “Child Labor,” 5.
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• Child labour

Nearly 1 in 10 children are subjected to child labour worldwide, with some forced into hazardous work through trafficking.

Economic hardship exacts a toll on millions of families worldwide – and in some places, it comes at the price of a child’s safety.

Roughly  160 million children were subjected to child labour at the beginning of 2020, with 9 million additional children at risk due to the impact of COVID-19. This accounts for nearly 1 in 10 children worldwide. Almost half of them are in hazardous work that directly endangers their health and development.

Children may be driven into work for various reasons. Most often, child labour occurs when families face financial challenges or uncertainty – whether due to poverty, sudden illness of a caregiver, or job loss of a primary wage earner.

The consequences are staggering. Child labour can result in extreme bodily and mental harm, and even death. It can lead to slavery and sexual or economic exploitation. And in nearly every case, it cuts children off from schooling and health care, restricting their fundamental rights.

Migrant and refugee children – many of whom have been uprooted by conflict, disaster or poverty – also risk being forced into work and even trafficked, especially if they are migrating alone or taking irregular routes with their families.

Trafficked children are often subjected to violence, abuse and other human rights violations. For girls, the threat of sexual exploitation looms large, while boys may be exploited by armed forces or groups .

Whatever the cause, child labour compounds social inequality and discrimination. Unlike activities that help children develop, such as contributing to light housework or taking on a job during school holidays, child labour limits access to education and harms a child’s physical, mental and social growth. Especially for girls, the “triple burden” of school, work and household chores heightens their risk of falling behind, making them even more vulnerable to poverty and exclusion.

UNICEF works to prevent and respond to child labour, especially by strengthening the social service workforce . Social service workers play a key role in recognizing, preventing and managing risks that can lead to child labour. Our efforts develop and support the workforce to respond to potential situations of child labour through case management and social protection services, including early identification, registration and interim rehabilitation and referral services.

We also focus on strengthening parenting and community education initiatives to address harmful social norms that perpetuate child labour, while partnering with national and local governments to prevent violence, exploitation and abuse.

With the International Labour Organization (ILO), we help to collect data that make child labour visible to decision makers. These efforts complement our work to strengthen birth registration systems, ensuring that all children possess birth certificates that prove they are under the legal age to work.

Children removed from labour must also be safely returned to school or training. UNICEF supports increased access to quality education and provides comprehensive social services to keep children protected and with their families.

To address child trafficking, we work with United Nations partners and the European Union on initiatives that reach 13 countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Learn more about child labour

COVID-19 and child labour

A time of crisis, a time to act

Child labour and responsible business conduct

Guidance to businesses, policy makers and other stakeholders to advance progress towards SDG Target 8.7 on eradicating child labour by 2025

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell's remarks at the World Day Against Child Labour High-Level Side Event

Charting the course

Embedding children's rights in responsible business conduct

Related resources

Action against child labour | case studies, child labour: global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward, child labour: unicef data, inter-agency coordination group against trafficking in persons, unicef child protection advocacy brief: child labour, iom handbook for protection and assistance for migrants vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse, guidelines to strengthen the social service workforce for child protection.

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• Child Labour Essay

What is Child Labour?

Child Labour means the employment of children in any kind of work that hampers their physical and mental development, deprives them of their basic educational and recreational requirements. A large number of children are compelled to work in various hazardous and non-hazardous activities such as in the agriculture sector, glass factories, carpet industry, brass industries, matchbox factories, and as domestic help. It is a blot on our society and speaks immensely about the inability of our society to provide a congenial environment for the growth and development of children. 

Childhood is considered to be the best time of one’s life but unfortunately, this does not hold true for some children who struggle to make both ends meet during their childhood years. According to the Child Labour project and 2011 census, 10.2 million children are engaged in child labour in India, out of which 4.5 million are girls. 

Earlier, children helped their parents in basic chores in agriculture such as sowing, reaping, harvesting, taking care of the cattle, etc. However, with the growth of the industries and urbanization, the issue of child labour has increased. Children at a very tender age are employed for various inappropriate activities and they are forced to make hazardous stuff using their nimble fingers. They are employed in the garment factories, leather, jewellery, and sericulture industries. 

Contributing Factors of Increasing Child Labour

There are a number of factors that contribute to the rise of this peril. 

Poverty plays a major role in the issues of child labour. In poor families, children are considered to be an extra earning hand. These families believe that every child is a bread-earner and so they have more children. As these children grow up, they are expected to share their parents’ responsibilities. 

Illiteracy is an important factor that contributes to this problem. The illiterate parents think that education is a burden because they need to invest more in comparison to the returns that they get in the form of earnings from their children. Child labourers are exposed to unhygienic conditions, late working hours, and different enormities, which have a direct effect on their cognitive development. The tender and immature minds of the children are not able to cope with such situations leading to emotional and physical distress. 

Unethical employers also prefer child labourers to adults because they canextract more work from them and pay a lesser amount of wage. Bonded child labour is the cruellest act of child labour. In this type of child labour, the children are made to work to pay off a loan or a debt of the family. Bonded labour has also led to the trafficking of these impoverished children from rural to urban areas in order to work as domestic help or in small production houses or just to lead the life of street beggars. 

Role of the Government

The government has a very important role to play in the eradication of child labour. As poverty is the major cause of child labour in our country, the government should give assurance to provide the basic amenities to the lower strata of our society. There should be an equal distribution of wealth. More work opportunities need to be generated to give fair employment to the poor. The various NGOs across the nation should come forward and provide vocational training to these people in order to jobs or to make them self-employed. 

This lower stratum of our society should understand and believe in the importance of education. The government and the NGOs should reach out to such people to raise awareness and initiate free education for all children between the age group of 6-14 years. The parents must be encouraged to send their children to schools instead of work. 

Educated and affluent citizens can come forward and contribute to the upliftment of this class of society. They should spread the message about the harmful effects of child labour. Schools and colleges can come up with innovative teaching programmes for poor children. Offices and private and government institutions should offer free education to the children of their staff. 

Moreover, awareness of family planning needs to be created among these people. The NGOs and the government must educate them about family planning measures. This will help the family to reduce the burden of feeding too many mouths.

Child Labour is a Crime 

Despite the strict law about child labour being a crime, it is still widely prevalent in India and many other countries worldwide. Greedy and crooked employers also lack awareness of human rights and government policies among the people below poverty. 

Children in certain mining operations and industries are a cheap source of labour, and the employers get away with it because of corruption in the bureaucracy. Sometimes low-income families may also ignore basic human rights and send their children to earn extra money. It is a systemic problem that needs to be solved by addressing issues at many levels. 

However, to protect young children from such exploitation, the Indian government has come up with a set of punishments. Any person who hires a child younger than 14, or a child between the ages of 14 and 18 in a dangerous job, they are liable to be imprisoned for a term of 6 months-2 years and/or a monetary penalty ranging between Rs.20,000 and Rs.80,000.

Eradicating Child Labour 

Eradication of child labour will require support from multiple aspects of society. The government programs and government agents can only go so far with their efforts. Sometimes, poor and uneducated families would be reluctant to let go of their familiar ways even when better opportunities are provided.

That’s when normal citizens and volunteers need to step up for support. NGOs supported by well-meaning citizens will have to ensure that the government policies are strictly enforced, and all forms of corruption are brought to light.  

Education drives and workshops for the poor section of the economy need to help raise awareness. Parents need to understand the long-term benefits of education for their children. It can help in developing the quality of life and the potential to rise out of poverty.

The harmful consequences of child labour mentally and physically on the children need to be taught in the workshops. Government petitions can also encourage schooling for younger children by offering nutritious meals and other benefits. 

Education about family planning is also critical in helping to control the population. When low-income families have more children, they are also inclined to send them for work to help float the household. Having fewer children means that they are valued, and parents focus on providing for their nourishment, education, and long-term well-being. 

Having fewer kids also makes them precious, and parents will not send them to hazardous working environments in fear of permanent injury or death. The government should introduce incentives for families with one or two children to encourage poorer families to have fewer children and reap the benefits while providing a good life.

Government Policies

The Indian Government enacted many laws to protect child rights, namely the Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986, the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. 

As per the Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation), 1986, children under the age of fourteen years old could not be employed in hazardous occupations. This act also attempts to regulate working conditions in the jobs that it permits and emphasizes health and safety standards. 

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 mandates free and compulsory education to all children between the age group of 6 to 14 years old. 

A nation full of poverty-ridden children cannot make progress. It should be the collective responsibility of society and the government to provide these impoverished children with a healthy and conducive environment, which will help them to develop their innate capabilities and their skills effectively.

FAQs on Child Labour Essay

Q1. What do you understand by Child Labour?

Child Labour means the employment of children in any kind of work that impedes their physical and mental development, deprives them of their basic educational and recreational requirements.

Q2. What factors lead to Child Labour?

Poverty, illiteracy, no family control lead to Child Labour. Even the growth of industrialization and urbanization play a major role in the Child Labour. The exploitation of poor people by unethical employers on account of failing to pay their loans or debts, lead to child labour.

Q3. What measures should be taken to eradicate Child Labour?

The government, NGOs should raise awareness about family control measures among the weaker section of the society. The government should provide free amenities and education to children between the age group of 6-14 years. The government should generate more employment opportunities for them. The schools and colleges can come up with innovative teaching programs for them.

Q4. Which policy has banned the employment of Children?

 The Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986 has banned the employment of children under the age of 14 years.

Q5. What are the causes of child labour? 

Child labour is mainly caused by poverty in families from the underprivileged section of the economy. Poor and uneducated parents send children to work under unsupervised and often dangerous conditions. They do not realise the damage it causes for children in the long run. Child labour is also caused by the exploitation of poor people by crooked employers. The problem is also fueled by corruption at the bureaucratic level, which ignores worker and human rights violations.

Q6. How to prevent child labour? 

Child labour can be prevented by education programs supported by the government and also NGOs. Volunteers have educated low-income families about the dangers of child labour and the benefits of education. Government laws should be reformed and enforced more rigorously to punish people who employ underage children.

Q7. What are the types of child labour?

There are mainly four types of child labour: 

Domestic child labourers:   These are children (mostly girls) who wealthy families employ to do the household chores.

Industrial child labourers:   Children are made to work in factories, mines, plantations, or small-scale industries. 

Debt Bondage:   Some children are forced to work as debt labourers to clear the inherited debts of their families. 

Child Trafficking:   Child trafficking is when orphaned or kidnapped children are sold for money. They are exploited the most without regard for their well-being. 

Essay on Child Labour

Students are often asked to write an essay on Child Labour in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Child Labour

Introduction.

Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood and is harmful to their physical and mental development.

The main causes of child labour include poverty, lack of education, and inadequate laws. When families struggle financially, children are forced to work to support their families.

Child labour has serious effects. It deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially, and morally harmful.

We can combat child labour by spreading awareness, improving education, and strengthening legal frameworks to protect children.

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250 Words Essay on Child Labour

Child labour, a deeply embedded social issue, is a manifestation of the profound socio-economic disparities that exist in our society. It is a practice that not only infringes upon the rights of children but also hampers their overall development and future prospects.

Understanding Child Labour

Child labour is defined as the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful. It is a complex issue, intertwined with factors like poverty, lack of educational resources, and systemic social and economic inequalities.

The Global Scenario

Globally, an estimated 152 million children are engaged in child labour, with nearly half involved in hazardous work. Despite international agreements and national laws against child labour, the practice remains widespread, particularly in developing countries. It is a direct violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Consequences of Child Labour

Child labour robs children of their potential, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and exploitation. It hinders their cognitive and physical development and often exposes them to dangerous conditions, leading to long-term health issues. Moreover, it deprives them of the fundamental right to education, limiting their opportunities for upward social mobility.

Addressing child labour requires a multifaceted approach, focusing on poverty alleviation, access to quality education, and strict enforcement of child labour laws. It is crucial to break the cycle of poverty and exploitation to ensure a better future for these children. It is not just a legal and moral obligation, but also a necessary step towards sustainable development and social justice.

500 Words Essay on Child Labour

Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially, or morally harmful. Despite global efforts to eliminate it, child labour continues to be a significant challenge in many countries.

The Prevalence of Child Labour

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), an estimated 152 million children worldwide are engaged in child labour, with nearly half involved in hazardous work. The majority of these children work in Asia and Africa, often in agriculture, mining, and domestic service. The persistence of child labour is often rooted in poverty and lack of access to quality education.

Child labour has far-reaching effects on individual children, their families, and society at large. It deprives children of their childhood and potential, impeding their physical and mental development. It also perpetuates the cycle of poverty, as these children often grow up without the necessary skills or education to secure better-paying jobs in adulthood.

Legal and Ethical Aspects

Child labour violates international law and standards, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and ILO conventions. Ethically, it infringes on the rights of children to have a safe and nurturing childhood, free from exploitation. Businesses have a responsibility to ensure their supply chains are free from child labour, and consumers can play a part by making ethical purchasing decisions.

Efforts to Combat Child Labour

Efforts to combat child labour range from governmental policies and regulations to non-governmental organization (NGO) initiatives and corporate social responsibility programs. These include enforcing minimum age requirements for employment, improving access to education, and providing social protection for vulnerable families. However, these efforts often face challenges due to limited resources, corruption, and lack of enforcement.

Role of Education

Education is a powerful tool in the fight against child labour. Providing access to quality education can break the cycle of poverty that often drives child labour. Education equips children with the skills they need for a prosperous future, reducing their vulnerability to exploitation.

Child labour is a complex issue that requires a multi-faceted approach. While significant progress has been made, much work remains to be done. It is incumbent upon governments, businesses, NGOs, and individuals to work collaboratively to eliminate child labour. Only then can we ensure that every child has the opportunity to experience a safe and productive childhood, free from exploitation.

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Essay on Child Labor

Child labor refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful. This essay delves into the causes, effects, and possible solutions to eradicate child labor, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue for students participating in essay writing competitions.

Child Labor

Child labor is a global phenomenon affecting millions of children worldwide. Despite numerous laws against it, child labor continues to persist, undermining children’s rights and exposing them to various forms of exploitation. The roots of child labor are deep and multifaceted, ranging from economic and social to cultural factors.

Causes of Child Labor

• Poverty : The most significant driver of child labor is poverty. Families struggling to meet basic needs may depend on the income generated by their children. In such scenarios, children are often compelled to work to contribute to the family’s survival.
• Lack of Access to Quality Education : In areas where education is either inaccessible or unaffordable, children are more likely to enter the workforce at a young age. The absence of educational opportunities leaves children with few alternatives to labor.
• Cultural Factors : In some cultures, child labor is considered a norm where children are expected to contribute to the family’s work from an early age. This cultural acceptance perpetuates the cycle of child labor.
• High Demand for Cheap Labor : Industries that rely on low-skilled labor often exploit children as a source of cheap labor. Children are less likely to demand higher wages or better working conditions, making them attractive to unscrupulous employers.
• Limited Enforcement of Labor Laws : In many regions, labor laws that prohibit child labor are poorly enforced. This lack of enforcement encourages employers to continue exploiting child labor without fear of legal repercussions.
• Armed Conflicts and Disasters : In regions affected by war, natural disasters, or civil unrest, the breakdown of social and economic structures can lead to an increase in child labor. Children may be recruited by armed forces or forced into labor to survive.
• Trafficking and Exploitation : Children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Traffickers often deceive parents with promises of education or better opportunities for their children, only to force them into labor or prostitution.
• Agricultural Dependence : In rural areas where economies are heavily dependent on agriculture, children often work alongside their families on farms. Seasonal employment peaks can lead to increased demand for child labor.
• Urbanization and Migration : Urbanization and migration can exacerbate child labor, as displaced families in urban areas may rely on their children to work. Children in migrant families are particularly vulnerable to exploitation due to their unstable living conditions and lack of access to education.

Effects of Child Labor

Health issues.

Child laborers are often exposed to hazardous conditions, leading to serious health problems. Working in mines, factories, or agriculture exposes children to toxic substances, extreme temperatures, and physically demanding tasks, resulting in chronic illnesses or injuries.

Educational Deprivation

Child labor severely limits a child’s access to education. Juggling work and school is challenging, and many children drop out of school to work full-time, significantly diminishing their future prospects.

Psychological Impact

The burden of work at a young age can have profound psychological effects on children. They may experience depression, stress, and a sense of helplessness, impacting their overall mental and emotional development.

Solutions to Eradicate Child Labor

Strengthening laws and enforcement.

While most countries have laws against child labor, enforcement is often weak. Strengthening legislation and its enforcement can deter employers from exploiting child labor. Penalties for those violating child labor laws must be severe enough to act as a deterrent.

Improving Access to Education

Ensuring that all children have access to free, quality education is crucial in combating child labor. Educational programs must be relevant and accessible, especially to marginalized communities. Additionally, offering financial incentives to families can encourage them to keep their children in school.

Economic Support and Social Security

Providing families with economic support and social security can reduce the need for children to work. Initiatives like cash transfers, food security programs, and employment schemes for adults can help alleviate poverty and reduce reliance on children’s earnings.

Awareness and Advocacy

Raising awareness about the harmful effects of child labor and advocating for children’s rights can lead to societal change. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media, and educational institutions play a crucial role in sensitizing communities and policymakers about the importance of eradicating child labor.

International Cooperation

Child labor is a global issue that requires international cooperation. Sharing best practices, resources, and support can help countries develop effective strategies to eliminate child labor. International organizations like the United Nations and the International Labour Organization play a pivotal role in coordinating these efforts.

In Conclusion , Child labor is a complex issue rooted in poverty, lack of education, and cultural norms. Its eradication requires a multifaceted approach that includes strengthening laws and enforcement, improving access to education, providing economic support to families, raising awareness, and fostering international cooperation. By addressing the root causes of child labor and implementing comprehensive solutions, we can protect children’s rights, ensure their well-being, and pave the way for a brighter future where every child has the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve their potential. Eradicating child labor is not only a moral imperative but also a crucial step towards achieving social justice and economic development for all.

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Child Labour Essay

Many children are forced to labour in a variety of dangerous and non-hazardous occupations, including agriculture, glass manufacturing, the carpet and brass industries, matchbox manufacturing, and household labour. Here are some sample essays on child labour.

• 100 Words Essay On Child Labour

Child labour is defined as the employment of children for any type of work that interferes with their physical and mental growth and denies them access to the fundamental educational and recreational needs. A child is generally regarded as old enough to work when they are fifteen years old or older. Children under this age limit are not permitted to engage in any sort of forced employment. Because child labour denies children the chance to experience a normal upbringing, receive a quality education, and appreciate their physical and emotional wellbeing. Although it is prohibited in certain nations, it has still not been totally abolished.

200 Words Essay On Child Labour

500 words essay on child labour.

Children are preferred for employment in many unorganised small industries because they are less demanding and easier to handle. Sometimes the children's own families force them into child labour because they lack the funds or are unable to provide for them.

These kids frequently live in poor, unsanitary circumstances with little access to school or medical care. These kids are also forced to live in seclusion and aren't permitted to play, engage socially, or make friends. Such a toxic workplace is difficult for kids and frequently contributes to mental illnesses like depression. These kids frequently use drugs and other substances, which worsens their physical and mental health.

Why Is Child Labour Prohibited?

The employment of children in a manner that denies them the chance to enjoy childhood, receive an education, or experience personal growth is known as child labour. There are many strong laws against child labour, and many nations, like India, have standards of imprisonment and fines if a person or organisation is found to be engaging in child labour.

Even while there are rules in place to prevent child labour, we still need to enforce them. Children are compelled to work as children owing to poverty and to help support their families.

Child labourers are either trafficked from their home countries or originate from destitute backgrounds. They are fully at the power of their employers and have no protection.

Causes Of Child Labour

Here are some reasons that lead to child labour:

Poverty | Child labour is a problem that is greatly influenced by poverty. Children in low-income households are viewed as an additional source of income. These kids are expected to help out with their parents' duties when they get older.

Illiteracy | One significant component that fuels this issue is illiteracy. Because they must invest more than they receive in return in the form of wages from their children, the illiterate parents view education as a burden. Children who work as labourers are subjected to unsanitary circumstances, late hours, and other hardships that have an immediate impact on their cognitive development.

Bonded Labour | Unethical businesses like using children as labourers over adults since they can get more work done from them and pay them less per hour. Children are forced to work in this sort of child labour in order to pay off a family loan or obligation. Due to bonded labour, poor children have also been trafficked from rural to urban areas to work as domestic help, in tiny manufacturing houses, or simply to live as street beggars.

How To Protect Children From Child Labour?

Multiple facets of society will be required to support efforts to abolish child labour. The effectiveness of government initiatives and its personnel is limited. Therefore, we ought to come together and channelize our efforts in the right direction to stop child labour. Here are some of the ways to stop child labour–

Notice | Be cautious when eating at a neighbouring restaurant or shopping at a neighbourhood market. Inform local authorities or call CHILDLINE 1098 if you see any children working as child labourers.

Know The Law | The first step in preventing child labour is to understand the constitution's role in child protection. Knowing the laws gives you the knowledge you need to combat the threat and alert those who use child labour.

Educate And Aware | Child labour may be avoided by educating others about its negative impacts, especially business leaders and employers. Discuss with them how child labour affects children's physical and emotional health, and tell them what the laws and punishments are.

Conversation With Parents | If you are aware of a parent in your area who is forcing his or her child to work as a youngster, speak with that parent and explain the dangers that child labour poses to the future of their offspring and highlight how education and skill building may protect their child's future.

Enrolment In Schools | In your community, you may establish a setting that encourages learning for street kids. You may assist disadvantaged youngsters in learning and self-education by raising money to create libraries and community learning centres in your area. Additionally, you may help the parents enrol their kids in school.

A country cannot advance if its children are living in abject poverty. To stop the exploitation and employment of children in certain industries, it is essential to identify these sectors and create the required legislation and laws. This should be society's and the government's shared duty.

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Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or  MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.  

Corporate Executive

Are you searching for a Corporate Executive job description? A Corporate Executive role comes with administrative duties. He or she provides support to the leadership of the organisation. A Corporate Executive fulfils the business purpose and ensures its financial stability. In this article, we are going to discuss how to become corporate executive.

Multimedia Specialist

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Process Development Engineer

The Process Development Engineers design, implement, manufacture, mine, and other production systems using technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. They use computer modeling software to test technologies and machinery. An individual who is opting career as Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing cost-effective and efficient processes. They also monitor the production process and ensure it functions smoothly and efficiently.

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

Information Security Manager

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

ITSM Manager

Automation test engineer.

An Automation Test Engineer job involves executing automated test scripts. He or she identifies the project’s problems and troubleshoots them. The role involves documenting the defect using management tools. He or she works with the application team in order to resolve any issues arising during the testing process. 

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Essay on Child Labour: Meaning, Causes, Effects, Solutions

Category: Essays and Paragraphs , Social Issues On February 19, 2019 By Victor

Introduction:  A child should not be subjected to work at the expense of his or her education and dreams. Child labour robs minors of the opportunity to enjoy their childhood, go to school, and have a decent shot at success.

It condemns them to a life of limited opportunities. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure that every child is protected and not exploited for cheap labour.

It is not just the responsibility of the parents to eliminate child labour but also that of the government and the society. In India, the total number of child labourers, aged between 5 and 14, is estimated to be at 10.1 million. (source: wikipedia )

Child labour refers to the use of children as a source of labour while depriving them of their fundamental rights in the process. Such rights include the opportunity to enjoy their childhood, attend school regularly, have peace of mind, and live a dignified life.

Child labour can also refer to the practice of exploiting children for financial gain. Some industries employ children in order to cut down on labour costs since their wage demand is low.

Work that places children in a situation that is socially, mentally, physically, or morally harmful and dangerous is also defined as child labour because it ignores the well-being of such children.

When children are made to perform work that is legally prohibited to be performed by children of a certain age group, such type of work is also referred to as child labour.

According to wikipedia , Child Labour is the practice of having children engage in economic activity, on a part- or full-time basis. The practice deprives children of their childhood, and is harmful to their physical and mental development.

Child labour is caused by several factors. Some of them include:

1. Poverty:  This is the single biggest factor contributing to the children working hard in factories or shops or construction sites rather than playing and getting an education. Families do not have enough resources and children often become the means for more income, even if it means having to forego the privileges of childhood. Children who come from poor families may be forced to work to support their siblings and parents or supplement the household income when expenses are more than the parents’ earnings. It is a huge problem especially in developing countries where parents are unable to generate income due to the lack of employment opportunities or education. Children can be found employed in mines or hawking in the streets to earn money that is used to provide basic necessities such as food and clothing for the family. Children may also be employed in factories to generate income for the family instead of attending school. Some children have left orphans or abandoned due to poverty. Such children do not have anyone to take care of them and end up working to feed themselves unless taken up by orphanages. Such a practice is a common phenomenon in poverty-stricken regions with large factories set up by international companies.

2. Low Aspiration: It is important for parents and children to understand that they can work hard and make something great of themselves. Low aspirations by parents and children is a major cause of child labour because in such a situation, being employed in a local factory, or selling grocery in the streets is the normal way of life. To these types of children and parents, success only belongs to a certain region or group of people. They do not aspire to become professionals in the society or great entrepreneurs. It is a mindset that forms the very foundation of child labour.

3. Huge demand for unskilled labourers: The demand for unskilled labourers is another cause of child labour. Children are mostly unskilled and provide a cheap source of labour, making them an attractive option for many greedy employers. Child labour, by virtue of being cheap, increases the margin of profits for such entrepreneurs whose only objective is profit maximization even if it comes at the expense of ethics and good business practices. These types of employers can also force children to work under unfavorable conditions through manipulation or blatant threats.

4. Illiteracy: A society with many educated people understands the importance of going to school and pursuing dreams. Children have the ability and time to become whatever they aspire to be. Illiteracy , on the other hand, makes it difficult for many people to understand the importance of education. Illiterate people view education as a preserve of the privileged in the society. They will therefore not provide support to children so that they can go to school and build solid foundations for future success. The same view of life is seen among illiterate parents who prioritize children contributing to the upkeep of the family over going to school.

5. Early Marriages: Marrying at an early age is a major contributing factor to overpopulation. Having many children with little or no resources to support them leads to child labour. Older children are forced to work in order to help their parents support the family.

6. High cost of education: Quality education is expensive. To many parents who live in abject poverty, priority is given to providing food for the family because education is too expensive to afford especially when there are many children to pay school fees for. Instead of letting children stay at home because there is lack of money to send them to school, parents opt to have them working as unskilled labourers to help support the family. Some parents can also only afford basic education which means that children will be forced to look for work since they cannot pursue their education further.

7. Gender discrimination:  Often girls are required to quit school and take up work to supplement family income until they are suitably married off. This too is an observation in typically vulnerable classes.

8. Family tradition:  Many families with businesses or traditional occupations like arts, etc. expect the children to work to be able to pass on the traditional arts or business only by experience.

Consequences / Effects:

Child labour has several negative impacts. Some of them include:

1. Loss of Quality childhood: It is important for human beings to enjoy every stage of their development. A child should play with friends and make memories for a lifetime. Youths should explore life and form strong foundations that would define their adult lives. Child labour, therefore, leads to loss of quality childhood as children will be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the amazing experiences that come with being young. Children are often encouraged to play because it helps in their growth and development. A child forced to work will miss many of the good things associated with childhood.

2. Health issues: Child labour can also lead to health complications due to undernourishment and poor working conditions. It is highly unlikely that people who employ children also have the moral capacity to ensure that they have good working conditions. Working in places such as mines and badly conditioned factories may result in lifetime health issues for children employed to work in these places. A child assigned physically demanding duties may suffer physical trauma that may scar him or her for life.

3. Mental trauma: It is not a pleasant experience to be kept working as a child while your age-mates are out playing and going to school. Children also lack the ability to shield themselves from most of the challenges that occur in the workplace. Issues such as bullying, sexual exploitation, and unfavorable working hours may result in mental trauma in these children. They will find it hard to forget the past and may become societal misfits because of bad childhood experiences. Child labour may also result in the lack of emotional growth and thus insensitivity.

4. Illiteracy: Children that are employed do not have the time to go to school. They spend a lot of time in their workstations as the days and years go by. The lack of education and illiteracy makes them individuals with limited opportunities as far as employment is concerned. Education also prepares a person for several challenges in the society and without it, one may turn out to lack the basic skills required to overcome many of life’s problems. An individual who has gone to school may be aware of how to approach certain situations in life without resorting to brute force. An illiterate person, on the other hand, considers force to be the only answer to nearly all of the challenges experienced.

How can child labour be reduced or completely eradicated?  Every child born has the right to have dreams and pursue those dreams. Even though the realization of some of these aspirations may be limited by several challenges, it is still possible to overcome them and achieve the highest levels of success.

There is need to involve various stakeholders to realize this objective. These are some of the ways in which the problem of child labour can be addressed:

1. Free education: Free education holds the key to eliminating child labour. Parents that do not have money for school fees can use this as an opportunity to provide their children with education. It has already proved to be a success in many places around the globe and with more effort, the cases of child labour will greatly reduce. Mid-day meals schemes can also be used as a motivating factor for children whose parents can barely afford a meal to learn. Even if they will be attending school because of the free meals, they will still be able to learn and create a good education foundation for themselves.

2. Moral Polishing: Child labour should not be entertained at all. It is legally and morally wrong. Children should not be allowed to provide labour at the expense of getting an education and enjoying their childhood. Factory owners, shopkeepers, and industries among others should not employ children. The society should be educated on the negative impacts of child labour so that it becomes an issue that is frowned upon whenever it occurs. This type of moral polishing would act as a deterrent to people who intend to employ children and use them as a source of cheap labour. Many of the ills that go on in the society do so because people turn a blind eye or fail to consider their moral impacts. With this kind of approach, cases of child labour will greatly fall among our communities.

3. Create demand for skilled and trained workers: By creating the demand for skilled and trained workers, child labour cases will reduce since almost all child labourers fall under the unskilled worker category. It will lead to adult employment as the demand for skilled labour rises. Establishing skill-based learning centers, vocational training centers, and technical training institutions improves literacy and contributes to the availability of skilled and trained workers in the job market. Creation of job opportunities by the government is also another way that cases of unemployment can be reduced and household income for the population increased. Such government policies improve living standards and eliminate the need for children to seek work in order to support their families.

4. Awareness: Creating awareness about the illegality of child labour can also help in stemming the practice. Parents should be made aware that sending their children to work has legal ramifications and the law would take its course if they are found to be aiding and abetting this vice. It is the ignorance among many parents and members of the society that makes them participate in child labour practices. Conducting a campaign to create awareness about its harmful effects would eliminate the practice. The government, together with non-governmental organizations and the civil society, can create a strategy to make such an initiative a success.

5. Empowerment of poor people: Poor people are the most affected by child labour. The poor living standards and financial constraints sometimes make them unwilling participants in this vice. Empowering poor people through knowledge and income generating projects would go a long way in reducing cases of child labour. Parental literacy also plays an important role in ensuring that the rights of children are upheld, and minors are not used as a source of labour. Empowering parents with this kind of knowledge can create a positive change in the society and encourage the shunning of child labour practices in communities.

Indian Laws relating to Child Labour

• As per the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, amended in 2016 (“CLPR Act”), a “Child” is defined as any person below the age of 14, and the CLPR Act prohibits employment of a Child in any employment including as a domestic help. It is a cognizable criminal offence to employ a Child for any work. (source: wikipedia )
• In addition, various laws in India, such as the Juvenile Justice (care and protection) of Children Act-2000, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act-1986 provide a basis in law to identify, prosecute and stop child labour in India. (source: wikipedia )
• : The Factories Act of 1948  prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The law also placed rules on who, when and how long can pre-adults aged 15–18 years be employed in any factory. (source: wikipedia )
• The The Mines Act of 1952  prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. (source: wikipedia )

Child labour should never exist. However, it is still noticeable that people around the country hire children so that they will have the benefit of paying low wages to them. One should do not encourage child labour, and neither one should let any other to hire a child to any job.

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Child Labor during the Industrial Revolution

This essay about child labor during the Industrial Revolution discusses the complex dynamics of technological advancement and its social repercussions. It highlights how the era’s rapid industrial growth led to the widespread employment of children in factories and mines, often under dangerous and exploitative conditions. Despite the economic benefits these practices brought to industrialists, the ethical implications and the human cost of utilizing child labor became increasingly apparent. The essay outlines the grueling work environments, the physical and psychological impacts on the children, and the slow but eventual societal shift towards reform, spurred by social reformers and changing public opinion. It concludes by reflecting on the lessons learned from this period, emphasizing the importance of balancing innovation with social justice and the lasting influence of the Industrial Revolution’s darker aspects on contemporary labor laws and workers’ rights.

How it works

The Industrial Revolution, an epochal period characterized by monumental technological progress and profound societal metamorphosis, wrought myriad transformations, catapulting humanity into the realm of modernity. Yet, within this epoch lurked somber facets, among them the specter of child labor. The utilization of children to satisfy labor exigencies in factories, mines, and other industrial milieus unveils a disquieting aspect of industrial advancement, one that underscores the convoluted nature of progress.

During the twilight of the 18th and dawn of the 19th centuries, as industries burgeoned, the hunger for labor surged precipitously.

This demand found partial satiation through the enlistment of children, deemed ideal laborers for sundry reasons. They could be remunerated meagerly, were often more tractable than adults, and their diminutive stature facilitated traversal of the congested precincts of factories and mines. Consequently, it was not anomalous to encounter children as tender as five or six toiling arduously for protracted hours amidst perilous environs, with scant regard for their safety or well-being.

The toil exacted was arduous and perilous. Within textile mills, children operated gargantuan, intricate machinery, imperiling themselves to injuries or even fatalities should they become distracted or fatigued—a commonplace scenario given the exorbitantly protracted workdays. In coal mines, they toiled amidst stygian darkness, traversing cramped passages to convey coal. The corporeal toll was commensurate with the psychological repercussions, with myriad children deprived of the opportunity to partake in scholastic endeavors or relish a conventional childhood.

Notwithstanding the grim veracity of child labor, it required the passage of decades ere substantial reforms were effected. Nascent endeavors to regulate child labor encountered resistance from industrial magnates who reaped benefits from cheap labor and from some progenitors reliant on their children’s earnings for subsistence. It was not until the latter phases of the 19th century that public sentiment, galvanized by the endeavors of social reformers who laid bare the harsh vicissitudes encountered by working children, commenced to undergo transformation. Legislation was incrementally introduced to circumscribe the labor hours of children, institute minimum age requisites, and ultimately, to mandate educational pursuits.

The protracted struggle against child labor during the Industrial Revolution accentuates the intricate interplay between economic expansion and social equity. While the epoch was punctuated by unprecedented technological strides that laid the groundwork for contemporary industries, it also cast illumination on the imperative of ethical considerations amidst progress. The exploitation of juvenile laborers stands as a poignant testament to the human toll exacted by industrialization and the imperative of shielding vulnerable cohorts.

Upon retrospection of this era, it becomes imperative to acknowledge both the triumphs and lapses of the Industrial Revolution. The utilization of child labor underscores the murkier underpinnings of rapid industrial progress, serving as a poignant reminder of the imperative for equilibrium between innovation and societal well-being. Presently, the insights gleaned from this epoch continue to reverberate within labor statutes and workers’ rights, attesting to the enduring resonance of yesteryears upon contemporary and forthcoming policies.

In summation, the specter of child labor during the Industrial Revolution furnishes a paradox of advancement, emerging as a poignant exemplification of how industrial breakthroughs can engender social regressions. The ordeals endured by juvenile laborers during this epoch cast illumination on the bleaker facets of economic expansion and the exigency of ethical reflections in developmental trajectories. As humanity traverses the trajectory of advancement, recollection of the lessons of yore can serve as a bulwark, ensuring that future progress does not exact a toll upon human dignity and welfare.

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Sunjeev Sahota: ‘I’ve always been in labour movements – but I’m critical of identity politics’

The Booker shortlisted novelist on writing his first significant non-working-class character, the literary critics who inspired him and why he’s not on Facebook

S unjeev Sahota, 43, was born and raised in Derbyshire. Named one of Granta’s best young British novelists in 2013, he made the Booker shortlist two years later with his second novel, The Year of the Runaways , an “epic of immigration... that brings to mind the great realist chroniclers” (the New Yorker ). In 2021 he was longlisted for the same prize with his third novel, China Room , drawn on family history and set partly in 1920s Punjab. His new book, The Spoiled Heart , turns on a vicious leadership contest between two British Indian trade unionists divided by age, sex and class. Sahota, who teaches literature at Durham University, was speaking from his home in Sheffield. Where did this book begin? This is my first time writing a novel set entirely in the UK – for once the story doesn’t go back to India at all. It’s also my first novel properly set in my home town of Chesterfield, which my parents left between my writing China Room and The Spoiled Heart . I’ve now got no reason to go back, which freed me to write about it. I’d been thinking about my childhood in this deindustrialised former mining town and the childhood my kids are having in the middle-class suburb I’m in now. It made me want to explore how the left does or doesn’t talk about class. I’m on the left – I’ve been in a union for years and I’ve always been in labour movements – but I’m critical of identity politics and believe much more in solidarity and economic justice. Did that make it tricky to write both sides of the quarrel at the book’s core? While I do think people like Nayan who believe in class-first politics – arguments very much in line with mine – are being set aside in favour of identitarians like Megha, I had to leave my prejudices at the door: you have to try open-heartedly to give life to your characters in the most enthralling way possible. Megha is the first significant non-working-class character I’ve written and probably the hardest character I’ve ever had to write. But the novel came quickly. China Room took three or four years because I was riven with doubt about the narrator’s right to tell his ancestor’s story; with this, I wrote with an urge to put down on the page things I feel strongly about.

Were you influenced by other novels about class? Nonfiction helped more. The American literary theorist Walter Benn Michaels crystallised so much for me. I read The Trouble With Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality when it first came out [in 2006]. In my early 20s I’d been thinking about race and class. Everyone was telling me that race was the thing that was going to have the largest impact on my life. Inside, I didn’t feel that to be true. I think a lot about his essay Going Boom , which says publishing has been concerned with historical novels about colonialism and slavery because [the culture] wants to feel good for no longer discriminating against people in those ways – while at the same time the gap between rich and poor is now as wide as can be. Internet pile-ons are pivotal to the plot . Do you use social media? No, I’ve never had a Facebook account or anything. I find it depressing for people on the left to indulge the mechanisms of neoliberal tech-bro billionaires who make huge profits from algorithms that enable a bearpit mentality. One of the reasons this denunciation culture has arisen is that the left currently lacks the belief that a different way of organising the world can actually happen. It reminds me of my kids: when they don’t have a project – building a den, say - they start finding ways to fight among themselves. Working out how to create a more egalitarian world is hard. It’s easier to point to some white yoga woman saying namaste and demand that her arse gets handed to her. Which novels have been important to you as a reader? In hindsight, reading Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers in my early 20s, having grown up around friends whose dads were former miners, made clear to me the pain of the job they did and weren’t able to do any more. In my teens I was completely taken over by Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance , about destitute characters in India during the 1970s. I tried it again recently and couldn’t get through the first few pages: my idea of what I want a novel to do has changed. Did you write in your teens? No. I never kept a diary, I wasn’t scribbling stories, I just read. I didn’t have a formal education in the humanities [Sahota studied maths]: reading was my education. A big thing was discovering literary criticism: Lionel Trilling, Edmund Wilson, Virginia Woolf’s essays, James Wood . I really enjoyed reading critics trying to make sense of how novels worked or didn’t. That’s what made me want to have a go at writing one myself [his 2011 debut Ours Are the Streets ] when I was 24 or 25. What do you recall reading as a child? Mine wasn’t a bookish household. My parents had a shop and I mostly just read magazines and newspapers waiting to do the paper round. I didn’t read any fiction that I can remember, but I was always reading – even shampoo bottles. I remember intently looking at the backs of cereal boxes, wanting to read every single word, fascinated by their sounds. Where do you write? My kids are all at school, so Monday to Friday between half nine and half two at my dining table, where I’m sat now. Name an author whose work you teach. [Thomas] Pynchon. If we’re to use terms like “political writer”, he’s the kind I like. His narrative structures allow us to achieve an understanding of the systems that harm the lives of the poor, an understanding that might illuminate the problem and not simply request pity for what the problem causes.

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Harold Wilson’s lessons for Labour

Keir Starmer would do well to study Wilson’s programme for national renewal.

By David Edgerton

How does Labour’s political culture help the party judge what its governments have done in the past? It does think with history, but a weird one. Clement Attlee is known for patriotism and the NHS; Harold Wilson for the Open University and social liberalisation measures; New Labour for Bank of England independence and the minimum wage, and changing the social composition of its members and supporters. Based on this history, Labour did surprisingly little to transform the country. The significant change came after 1979. As Keir Starmer put it in 2023, “Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism.” Attlee and Blair had places in his account, but not Wilson.

Nor does Harold Wilson occupy much of a place in the Labour pantheon. He is famous for the phrase the “white heat of the technological revolution”, which he did not actually say word for word, and for a misunderstood speech he gave in 1963, which did not include it. In received accounts he is always dealing with crises and is the butt of criticism from the revisionist right as well as the left. He is known as a devious political operator, at best a unifier. To general astonishment last it was revealed that he only found personal happiness in his last two years in office, the consequence of a love affair with his deputy press secretary, Janet Hewlett-Davies. As for his achievements, he is damned with faint praise.  

This is surprising. He won four general elections (if we cheat a bit), more than Attlee (two) and Blair (three). He was prime minister for eight years, more than Attlee (six), but less than Blair (ten). Like Attlee between 1950 and 1951, and unlike Blair, he raised Labour’s share of the vote in office, twice, and on average to higher levels than Blair. He was easily the most accomplished debater and speaker of any Labour prime minister (and indeed leader). Having acquired a theoretical critique of British capitalism – and an idea of how to change it – he was also the most intellectually interesting of all Labour leaders.

Writing in 1964, Perry Anderson wrote of “Wilsonism” that, “Perhaps for the first time in its history, the Labour Party now possesses a coherent analysis of British society today, a long-term assessment of its future, and an aggressive political strategy based on both. The contrast with Gaitskellism is arresting.”

Wilson, Anderson went on, “shows a relatively acute structural perception of British society. He is convinced that the present crisis of the governing class allows the Labour Party to split the Conservative bloc, detaching from it specific, crucial groups in the population. First and foremost among these is the ‘technical intelligentsia’: scientists, technicians, engineers, architects, managers, and professional workers, employed in both private and public corporations. Far from long-term occupational changes undermining Labour’s strength by making ‘less workers’, Wilson is confident that they can increase it by creating ‘more producers’. Thus his immediate target of winning the technical intelligentsia away from the Conservative bloc by playing on its antagonism to a demoralised aristocracy, is married to a long-term aim of including this pivotal, expanding sector of the population within the Labour alliance.

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“Untouched by anti-communist phobias, benefiting by the debacle of the Conservative economy, Wilson makes few concessions to consumer ideology. Instead, he continually attacks social imbalance in Britain, the real impoverishment of collective needs and the artificial inflation of private ones, and appeals to his audience as producers to change this, in the name of ‘a new Britain’. Finally, he offers an altogether new rationale for the degree of social intervention which this implies: instead of a calm, continuous future of ascending material well-being and contentment, he insists on the explosive technological and social upheavals of automation ahead.”

Anderson was right to underscore Wilson’s hostility to consumerism, to a straightforward embourgeoisement thesis, and his deep commitment to productivism.

He went on: “For the first time in its history, the Labour Party is now lead by a man who by any standards is a consummately adroit and aggressive politician. The long reign of mediocrity is over. MacDonald, Henderson, Attlee, Gaitskell – whether honourable or contemptible, the leaders of the Labour Party have always had in common political timidity, tactical incapacity and miserable intellectual vacuity… Now, suddenly this is over. The Labour Party has at last, after 50 years of failing, produced a dynamic and capable leader.”

Others on the left were less enamoured of Wilson, but that he should receive such an endorsement from Anderson is notable.

Wilson’s political and economic thinking certainly owed a good deal to Fabianism’s emphasis on experts and on reason as opposed to emotion; on the need for bureaucracy, organisation and planning, and a hostility to consumerism and to quick market fixes.

But declinism was central to Wilson’s arguments. That is surely why Anderson found them so interesting.

Wilson was nationalistic and committed to the poor commonwealth. A child of the industrial technical middle class, an economist by training, and someone who had worked in business in the 1950s, what also distinguished Wilson was his knowledge of, and desire to control, private industry.

The essence of Wilson’s approach was that government must influence not merely industry, but particular private non-nationalised firms. It had to have a direct link to firms, and in 1950, as president of the Board of Trade, he proposed to have government appointees to boards of large companies.

Wilson’s central concern was that the most important firms should work in line with the national interest. Private business was there in trust to the nation. If it failed it should be nationalised, as inefficient arms firms were during the Second World War.

Wilson was committed to production, exports and investment. The nation had to invest to produce, and produce to export, and to invest “in underdeveloped areas abroad, particularly within the Commonwealth”. Financial planning was not enough. “There must be a sufficiently purposive direction of the economy,” he wrote in 1957, “to ensure the main requirements of the nation are met – particularly exports and capital investment”.

What, then, were Wilson’s objections to Conservative policy? The Tories placed too much emphasis on monetary measures. With a few exceptions, the “fiscal weapon”, as he called it, had “not been used in a discriminatory manner”. But the view of the Labour opposition was “that they might be used to discriminate between ‘essential and less essential forms of investment’”. He noted that in 1955-56 “oil distributing companies were able to build vast numbers of quite inessential garages and petrol stations along the highroads of Britain to cash in on the profits of the boom in private motoring”. The Labour test, he claimed, was not whether investment was public or private but, “How essential is it?” Under Labour the ultimate investment decisions would be taken by “state servants under the direction of Ministers” not “bank managers”. 

The “white heat” speech on 1 October 1963 is remembered for being the first, perhaps, the only major British political speech about science and technology, and for inaugurating what is seen as a serious but failed attempt to put science and technology at the centre of national policy. But Wilson’s remarks that day have been misunderstood.

The speech was not just about science and technology. It was a powerful declinist speech. The problem of the British economy, Wilson argued, was the old elite, finance, the gentlemen who acted as if the world owed the UK a living (as it once had to British rentiers, whose overseas income paid for a big chunk of British imports). Wilson called for something new, more national, more scientific. The speed also evoked Wilson’s powerful criticisms of elite delusions in defence. It is little remembered that Wilson (and the 1964 Labour manifesto) argued that the new Polaris nuclear weapon system would be neither British, nor interdependent, nor a deterrent. Nor do people remember his opposition to selling frigates to Franco, or arms to South Africa.  

To the extent the white heat speech was about science and technology, it was not about prioritising them within the British state, but rather about fundamentally redirecting the state’s wasteful innovation away from military research and development and other prestige projects.

But the usual story of Wilson’s government goes like this: Labour started with grand plans to transform the state but things went wrong as the result of economic problems and an obstinate failure to devalue the pound. This story has an element of truth, but it misses a lot.

Wilson did not want to devalue because he thought it would decrease the pressure for much-needed structural change. Such change would come through the implementation of special policies for certain industries such as computers, as well as increased investment allowances, increased regional investment, and the creation of national industrial champions.

Such initiatives did not end in 1966 but became more radical. As the Labour manifesto of 1966 put it: “During the next five years we intend to carry through a massive programme for modernising and strengthening British industry.” The Industrial Reorganisation Corporation was established in 1966 to create more efficient and competitive businesses – it gave us General Electric Company, and British Leyland and ICL (Fujitsu). It was run by Frank Kearton, a senior industrialist with an Oxford chemistry degree. The shipbuilding industry was merged into a small number of firms such as Upper Clyde Shipbuilders and Scott Lithgow on the Clyde, and Swan Hunter on the Tyne. This was a much more radical government-led reorganisation of private industry than there had ever been. It was discriminatory.

But perhaps more important was the development of the Ministry of Technology into the most comprehensive industry in British history. In 1964 Mintech was novel, but by 1970 it was significant. In 1967 it took over the Ministry of Aviation, great procurers for the military in aviation and electronics, and the sponsoring department for civil aerospace. Wilson knew this was where expertise in industrial intervention lay, and where the technological strengths of the state were. To this he added the Ministry of Power, and some elements of the Board of Trade (shipbuilding, engineering, textile and chemicals, and weights and measures), and the residue of the Department of Economic Affairs, not least the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation. Nothing like Mintech ever existed or would exist again. It would have had more attention if it was called what it was – a Ministry of Production. It was at the core of Britain’s developmental state.

The key to this expansion was Wilson’s understanding that the defence supply departments always had enormous power and influence over industry. And central to Wilson’s vision was the extension of the discriminatory practices of the supply ministries to the civil sector.

The Ministry of Technology realised that British industry was not doing too little R&D, as so many had claimed. They learnt that national R&D did not lead to national growth, and that there were important deficiencies in management and investment which were more significant for growth. This informed the central point of Wilson’s white heat speech – that money should not be spent on prestige projects, but should go to bread and butter efforts more likely to succeed. In 1964 and 1969, Labour came close to cancelling Concorde. It cancelled many other projects. It started few large ones – no big aircraft projects were started under Labour or ever again. One that got away was the hugely expensive and very secret Chevaline project to build a re-entry vehicle carrying nuclear weapons, which was to be fired into space by Polaris missiles.

As Tony Benn, the minister of technology between 1966 and 1970 put it, there “is a movement away from the limited approach to growth implicit in the support of research and development to a more direct recognition that production technology – production itself and marketing – are at least as essential to the achievement of industrial strength. Formidable as our national research capability is – and it is formidable indeed – our commercial performance has not in the past been commensurate with the amount of money we spend as a nation on research and development.”

A key measure was the Industrial Expansion Act of 1968. As Benn introduced it, “The object of industrial policy, as we see it, is to pick winners and not to run an indiscriminatory ‘meals-on-wheels’ service for British firms whether they are efficient or inefficient.” The “government will not be limited in their capacity to stimulate industrial growth simply by the accident of history which has confined them to certain sectors and certain roles within each sector”. The act gave the minister huge discretionary powers of intervention and finance. A Tory called it “the groundnuts repetition scheme”.

If there were many narrow discriminations, there were also broader ones like the Selective Employment Tax to promote manufacturing at the expense of services. There were general measures such as the Redundancy Payments Act to promote structural change, the impact of which was significant in the 1960s, as employment fell in mining, railways and textiles. Government was changed too, with many of the recommendations of the 1968 Fulton report, a notably technocrat analysis of the civil service, implemented along the same lines as the Ministry of Technology.

The significance of nationalism to the Wilson doctrine was exemplified by the building of new aluminium smelters under the Industrial Expansion Act. Two were powered by new nuclear stations, the third by a coal-powered station, in Wales, Scotland and the north-east. Labour increased import controls in 1964, and sought to increase domestic food production. 

The enthusiasm for the commonwealth was found in many places and was associated with anti-consumerism. Wilson used to make disparaging anti-consumerist references to selling washing machines in Düsseldorf but celebrated making steam ploughs for the poor of Commonwealth (an idea discussed in the white heat speech). 

But things change, and there was a decisive shift to Europe, since it was recognised that the UK economy needed better access to European markets, and that British defence efforts should be concentrated in Europe. The UK asked again for accession to the European Economic Community in 1967. Owing to the extraordinary levels of defence expenditure, many wasteful procurement programmes were cut (including a plan to build new aircraft carriers); plans were made to withdraw from east of Suez and focus on defending Britain’s immediate neighbours. Labour changed things, and adjusted policy to reflect the UK’s real place in the world.

For both Attlee and Wilson, production trumped welfare. The approach was not tax and spend, but transformation. From the 1950s, Labour began rejecting the basis of the Beveridgean programme that it had expanded in the 1940s, and which dated back to the 1920s as the central organising principle of the welfare state. Its basis was the flat-rate contribution, a poll tax, and a flat-rate benefit, irrespective of need. The Beveridge system was based on a regressive tax, an automatic mechanism to keep contributions and benefits low (to subsistence or below level, and that only with a full record). But it was so inadequate that it could not work without an (expanding) national assistance scheme of means-tested benefits.  

Labour under Wilson rejected this austerity welfare state. It wanted to create the New Welfare State. The story is complex, but the essentials were straightforward. The idea was to replace the fixed rate/fixed contribution system with one in which National Insurance payments increased with income and benefits. Thus pensions would be at the level of half of an individual’s income (the traditional norm for occupational pensions, including public sector ones) rather than a fixed rate at a small percentage of average wages.

After 1964 Labour made pensions much more generous, and in 1967 introduced earnings-related unemployment and sickness benefit. But the big measure, the National Superannuation and Social Insurance Bill of 1970, which promised a graduated contribution, and graduated pension, fell. This presaged changes in the 1970s. From 1975-76, the National Insurance contribution ceased to be flat rate and became a percentage of income. A new State Earning Related Pension was enacted by Labour in 1975.

The changes in the pattern of state expenditure were important. By 1970, it was higher on social services, education, health, and lower on defence. The country went back to the 1930s ratio of military to welfare spending, and moved away from the bloated defence expenditures characteristic of the post-1945 warfare state, which reached well over 10 per cent of GDP.

These industrial and welfare measures are significant because, while they represented breaks with the past (not least with the policies of the 1945-51 Labour governments), they were also reversed. Margaret Thatcher liberalised the economy and was profoundly hostile to any sort of industrial policy, which she eviscerated. She ceased to believe that manufacturing was more important than anything else, and rejected the view that the balance of trade was a measure of national strength. All the ideological underpinning of economic nationalism was junked.

Thatcher also reversed many key changes in the welfare system. Earnings-related unemployment benefit, and the earnings-related pension were ended. Subsistence benefits were again the order of the day and means testing extended. Although National Insurance remained graduated, it remained regressive, and was hiked. The idea of a poll tax reappeared, in the notorious Community Charge, which replaced the tax rates, which were the only significant wealth tax. Thatcher represented the revenge of the 1950s on the 1960s and 1970s.

Wilson was the great hope of British social democracy, and his failure was its failure. He had a project, and one which involved a rare understanding of the nature of the British state and power in Britain. Wilson did much to change the Attlee legacy, not least to address its deficiencies in both industrial policy and in welfare. But his key initiatives did not survive. Yet it was under Wilson that Labour last wished to undertake a programme of national renewal while in office.

EP Thompson said of Wilson, in a crushing review of his memoirs, that he “never uses one cliché when two or three will suffice… What is more alarming is the growing conviction that the author apprehends the universe as cliché”. While a reasonable judgement of the book, this is not quite right about Wilson the thinker and transformer. The problem is, we have come to think of him in clichés.

This article is based on a lecture given on 27 January 2024 at the “How Labour Governs” conference organised by the  Labour History Research Unit  at Anglia Ruskin University.

[See also: The 2010s: a decade of revolutionaries without a revolution ]

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Business school teaching case study: can green hydrogen’s potential be realised?

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Jennifer Howard-Grenville and Ujjwal Pandey

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Hydrogen is often hyped as the “Swiss army knife” of the energy transition because of its potential versatility in decarbonising fossil fuel-intensive energy production and industries. Making use of that versatility, however, will require hydrogen producers and distributors to cut costs, manage technology risks, and obtain support from policymakers.

To cut carbon dioxide emissions, hydrogen production must shift from its current reliance on fossil fuels. The most common method yields “grey hydrogen”, made from natural gas but without emissions capture. “Blue hydrogen,” which is also made from natural gas but with the associated carbon emissions captured and stored, is favourable.

But “green hydrogen” uses renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis. And, because there are no carbon emissions during production or combustion, green hydrogen can help to decarbonise energy generation as well as industry sectors — such as steel, chemicals and transport — that rely heavily on fossil fuels.

Ultimately, though, the promise of green hydrogen will hinge on how businesses and policymakers weigh several questions, trade-offs, and potential long-term consequences. We know from previous innovations that progress can be far from straightforward.

Wind power, for example, is a mature renewable energy technology and a key enabler in green hydrogen production, but it suffers vulnerabilities on several fronts. Even Denmark’s Ørsted — the world’s largest developer of offshore wind power and a beacon for renewable energy — recently said it was struggling to deliver new offshore wind projects profitably in the UK.

Generally, the challenge arises from interdependencies between macroeconomic conditions — such as energy costs and interest rates — and business decision-making around investments. In the case of Ørsted, it said the escalating costs of turbines, labour, and financing have exceeded the inflation-linked fixed price for electricity set by regulators.

Business leaders will also need to steer through uncertainties — such as market demand, technological risks, regulatory ambiguity, and investment risks — as they seek to incorporate green hydrogen.

Test yourself

This is the third in a series of monthly business school-style teaching case studies devoted to responsible-business dilemmas faced by organisations. Read the piece and FT articles suggested at the end before considering the questions raised.

About the authors: Jennifer Howard-Grenville is Diageo professor of organisation studies at Cambridge Judge Business School; Ujjwal Pandey is an MBA candidate at Cambridge Judge and a former consultant at McKinsey.

The series forms part of a wide-ranging collection of FT ‘instant teaching case studies ’ that explore business challenges.

Two factors could help business leaders gain more clarity.

The first factor will be where, and how quickly, costs fall and enable the necessary increase to large-scale production. For instance, the cost of the electrolysers needed to split water into hydrogen and oxygen remains high because levels of production are too low. These costs and slow progress in expanding the availability and affordability of renewable energy sources have made green hydrogen much more expensive than grey hydrogen, so far — currently, two to three times the cost.

The FT’s Lex column calculated last year that a net zero energy system would create global demand for hydrogen of 500mn tonnes, annually, by 2050 — which would require an investment of $20tn. However, only $29bn had been committed by potential investors, Lex noted, despite some 1,000 new projects being announced globally and estimated to require total investment of $320bn.

Solar power faced similar challenges a decade ago. Thanks to low-cost manufacturing in China and supportive government policies, the sector has grown and is, within a very few years , expected to surpass gas-fired power plant installed capacity, globally. Green hydrogen requires a similar concerted effort. With the right policies and technological improvements, the cost of green hydrogen could fall below the cost of grey hydrogen in the next decade, enabling widespread adoption of the former.

Countries around the world are introducing new and varied incentives to address this gap between the expected demand and supply of green hydrogen. In Canada, for instance, Belgium’s Tree Energy Solutions plans to build a $4bn plant in Quebec, to produce synthetic natural gas from green hydrogen and captured carbon, attracted partly by a C$17.7bn ($12.8bn) tax credit and the availability of hydropower.

Such moves sound like good news for champions of green hydrogen, but companies still need to manage the short-term risks from potential policy and energy price swings. The US Inflation Reduction Act, which offers tax credits of up to $3 per kilogramme for producing low-carbon hydrogen, has already brought in limits , and may not survive a change of government.

Against such a backdrop, how should companies such as Hystar — a Norwegian maker of electrolysers already looking to expand capacity from 50 megawatts to 4 gigawatts a year in Europe — decide where and when to open a North American production facility?

The second factor that will shape hydrogen’s future is how and where it is adopted across different industries. Will it be central to the energy sector, where it can be used to produce synthetic fuels, or to help store the energy generated by intermittent renewables, such as wind and solar? Or will it find its best use in hard-to-abate sectors — so-called because cutting their fossil fuel use, and their CO₂ emissions, is difficult — such as aviation and steelmaking?

Steel producers are already seeking to pivot to hydrogen, both as an energy source and to replace the use of coal in reducing iron ore. In a bold development in Sweden, H2 Green Steel says it plans to decarbonise by incorporating hydrogen in both these ways, targeting 2.5mn tonnes of green steel production annually .

Meanwhile, the global aviation industry is exploring the use of hydrogen to replace petroleum-based aviation fuels and in fuel cell technologies that transform hydrogen into electricity. In January 2023, for instance, Anglo-US start-up ZeroAvia conducted a successful test flight of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft.

The path to widespread adoption, and the transformation required for hydrogen’s range of potential applications, will rely heavily on who invests, where and how. Backers have to be willing to pay a higher initial price to secure and build a green hydrogen supply in the early phases of their investment.

It will also depend on how other technologies evolve. No industry is looking only to green hydrogen to achieve their decarbonisation aims. Other, more mature technologies — such as battery storage for renewable energy — may instead dominate, leaving green hydrogen to fulfil niche applications that can bear high costs.

As with any transition, there will be unintended consequences. Natural resources (sun, wind, hydropower) and other assets (storage, distribution, shipping) that support the green hydrogen economy are unevenly distributed around the globe. There will be new exporters — countries with abundant renewables in the form of sun, wind or hydropower, such as Australia or some African countries — and new importers, such as Germany, with existing industry that relies on hydrogen but has relatively low levels of renewable energy sourced domestically.

How will the associated social and environmental costs be borne, and how will the economic and development benefits be shared? Tackling climate change through decarbonisation is urgent and essential, but there are also trade-offs and long-term consequences to the choices made today.

Questions for discussion

Lex in depth: the staggering cost of a green hydrogen economy

How Germany’s steelmakers plan to go green

Hydrogen-electric aircraft start-up secures UK Infrastructure Bank backing

Aviation start-ups test potential of green hydrogen

Consider these questions:

Are the trajectories for cost/scale-up of other renewable energy technologies (eg solar, wind) applicable to green hydrogen? Are there features of the current economic, policy, and business landscape that point to certain directions for green hydrogen’s development and application?

Take the perspective of someone from a key industry that is part of, or will be affected by, the development of green hydrogen. How should you think about the technology and business opportunities and risks in the near term, and longer term? How might you retain flexibility while still participating in these key shifts?

Solving one problem often creates or obscures new ones. For example, many technologies that decarbonise (such as electric vehicles) have other impacts (such as heavy reliance on certain minerals and materials). How should those participating in the emerging green hydrogen economy anticipate, and address, potential environmental and social impacts? Can we learn from energy transitions of the past?

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