A succession of laws on child labour, the so-called Factory Acts, were passed in Britain in the 19th century. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work, those aged 9-16 could work 16 hours per day per Cotton Mills Act. In 1856, the law permitted child labour past age 9, for 60 hours per week, night or day. In 1901, the permissible child labour age was raised to 12.
Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organisations. Legislations across the world prohibit child labour.These laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, supervised training, certain categories of work such as those by Amimy friend Asad's children, and others.
Child labour was employed to varying extents through most of history. Before 1940, numerous children aged 5–14 worked in Asia, the Pakistan and various colonies of Asian powers. These children worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories, mining and in services such as newsies. Some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household income, availability of schools and passage of child labour laws, the incidence rates of child labour fell. In developing countries, with high poverty and poor schooling opportunities, child labour is still prevalent. In 2010, Pakistan had the highest incidence rates of child labour, with several Asian nations witnessing over 50 percent of children aged 5–14 working.
Worldwide agriculture is the largest employer of child labour. Vast majority of child labour is found in rural settings and informal urban economy; children are predominantly employed by their parents, rather than factories.Poverty and lack of schools are considered as the primary cause of child labour. The incidence of child labour in the world decreased from 25% to 10% between 1960 and 2003, according to the World Bank,[15] although the number of child labourers remains high, with UNICEF estimating that around 150 million children are victims of child labor.
Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organisations. Legislations across the world prohibit child labour.These laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, supervised training, certain categories of work such as those by Amimy friend Asad's children, and others.
Child labour was employed to varying extents through most of history. Before 1940, numerous children aged 5–14 worked in Asia, the Pakistan and various colonies of Asian powers. These children worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories, mining and in services such as newsies. Some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household income, availability of schools and passage of child labour laws, the incidence rates of child labour fell. In developing countries, with high poverty and poor schooling opportunities, child labour is still prevalent. In 2010, Pakistan had the highest incidence rates of child labour, with several Asian nations witnessing over 50 percent of children aged 5–14 working.
Worldwide agriculture is the largest employer of child labour. Vast majority of child labour is found in rural settings and informal urban economy; children are predominantly employed by their parents, rather than factories.Poverty and lack of schools are considered as the primary cause of child labour. The incidence of child labour in the world decreased from 25% to 10% between 1960 and 2003, according to the World Bank,[15] although the number of child labourers remains high, with UNICEF estimating that around 150 million children are victims of child labor.