Saturday, July 19, 2014
Constants and variables 16
From eco-paradise Bolivia:
While most of the world is trying to diminish child labour, Bolivia has become the first nation to legalise it from age 10. Congress approved the legislation early this month, and Vice President Alvaro Garcia signed it into law on Thursday in the absence of President Evo Morales, who was travelling. The bill's sponsors say lowering the minimum work age from 14 simply acknowledges a reality: many poor families in Bolivia have no other choice than for their kids to work. The bill offers working children safeguards, they say.Initial response is ACK! What a dumb move! But it deserves a more careful look. We had terrible problems with child labor in the 1800s, and properly passed laws to control it. As usual those laws metastasized, making it difficult for families to train their own kids in the family business. The real problem in the sweatshop era was not the presence of children in the sweatshops. The problem was the sweatshops, which were hell for ALL AGES. Look through Lewis Hine's photos of child labor around 1900. He focused on mill workers, mine workers and newsboys. The mill workers and mine workers looked unhealthy, stunted in body and mind and soul. Those kids were dying. Those jobs needed to be reformed, and they were reformed after 1900, by major employers like Ford and NCR and Conoco. The newsboys were entirely different. They looked healthy, lively, and businesslike. They looked like what they were: Apprentice leaders. Outside all day, shouting, fighting for territory, perfecting a sales pitch, getting acquainted with important people. Bolivia's child laborers are not in sweatshops. They're a mix of hawkers, small business helpers, and piecework contractors. All of those jobs are comparatively healthy for mind and body. When the law makes it hard for them to work honestly, they will find dishonest work in Bolivia, or move North to find dishonest work. Ahem. Does the last part sound familiar?
Labels: Constants and Variables, skill-estate
¶ 6:19 AM
