CHILD LABOUR EXPLOITATION

BUSINESS ETHICS

Arranged by:

ANNISA ROUDLOTUL JANNAH

C1I017012

MINISTRY OF RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION

JENDERAL SOEDIRMAN UNIVERSITY

ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS FACULTY

PURWOKERTO

2019
 INTRODUCTION

Every human being has the same rights in the law, especially regarding child protection.
However, in reality, there are currently so many violations of children's rights, which are currently
being seen on several major city streets, children who are exploited by their own families to do work
they should not do, such as selling newspapers, begging or even cleaning car windows that stop when
the red light with the duster he carried. In the world there are 168 millions children who are engaged
in child labor and 85 millions in hazardous work (ILO, 2013).

Millions of children around the world are trapped in child labour, depriving them of their
childhood, their health and education, and condemning them to a life of poverty. Most children labor
because their families are poor and their labour is necessary for their survival.

Many factors trigger children to work when they are supposed to enjoy good times. For many
children, school is not an option. Education can be expensive and some parents feel that what their
children will learn is irrelevant to the realities of their everyday lives and futures.

DISCUSSION

In a concept, child labor can be distinguished between child working with child labor. A
working child will do a light job where he still respects his rights as a child and only works at any
time and legal. Meanwhile, child laborers usually carry out heavy and dangerous work so that they
tend to cause exploitation where in their work they no longer care about their rights as children from
the right to education to their health and with relatively long working hours and illegal.

Child labor is children aged 4 to 18 years who work in various fields of sustainable work and
confiscate almost all of their time as children so they cannot go to school like other children normally.

The problem of child labor exploitation and also the rights of children that are threatened, so
that parents, families, as well as the community must provide protection to them in accordance with
the Child Protection Act No. 23 Article 20 of 2002 states "Countries, governments, communities,
families, and parents are obliged and responsible for the implementation of child protection." The
implementation of this protection is held with the aim that every child is able to develop his potential
and grow naturally.

I disagree that child labor is always wrong. It all depends on the condition of their parents, if
indeed their parents can still work, then it is wrong, because they should not child labor exploitation.
And indeed the task of parents is to provide for their children, give affection, also provide good

1
education. Likewise, on the contrary, if indeed the condition of the parent does not allow him to work,
generally the child also does not mind doing so. They feel that they deserve to do the work, and they
feel responsible for their parents conditions, which do not allow them to work. And however, there
are still impacts that will be received by the child, such as:

a) Don't have free time to play

b) The disruption of the child's growth process

c) Impaired physical and mental health of children

d) Feeling inferior in association

e) Vulnerable to discriminatory treatment

f) Susceptible to workplace accidents

g) Vulnerable to the treatment of violence and persecution

The several factors that can underlie the reasons for parents exploiting child labor include:

1. Economics Factor

The main problems faced by the lower classes such as those who carry out exploitation are
economic or financial problems. Life in a big city that is very hard and strong competition makes
people who are unable to do so will be eliminated from the social selection process. It cannot be
denied that life in the cities is a reason for the weak economic life. This results in problems for those
who are not able to go through the selection process. One of them is street children worker and parents
who exploitation the child themselves.

I think, to face this hard life makes the lower layers face it in various different ways. Starting
from earning a living in a halal way to the unclean. There are also those who use roads that are
practical for earning a living, such as begging on the streets. Only by asking for the money they make
is almost the same as working hard day and night.

Like parents of street children are forced to send their children to the streets for economic
reasons. Actually these parents also have the desire to see their children go to school. However, the
conditions they face are not possible. The way they are parents is indeed a deviant behavior in the
eyes of the community. Society considers exploiting minors is not a good example, because indirectly
these activities make the child experience psychological shock.

On the other hand this deviant act carried out by parents is also unavoidable. Economic
demands can make other people do whatever they can to fulfill their needs. This is a fact that cannot
2
be denied anymore. Although according to the definition of the community the exploitation of
children is inappropriate, but this activity is carried out by parties involved with very clear reasons
according to them.

We also cannot blame these parents fully, because there are some parents who are already
physically disabled. His physical condition made him unable to make a living to support his two
children. she claimed that her husband had left her. Therefore, he went abroad to the capital to try his
luck.

Physical disability is an obstacle for someone to indulge in his life, let alone to make a living.
Outsiders may assume that it is inappropriate for parents to exploit their children. When viewed from
the point of view of the Orangta itself, we can see that they cannot find alternatives other than to let
their children take to the streets.

2. Environmental Factor

The situation in the surrounding environment is also a driving factor for the exploitation of
these underage children. In accordance with anthropology which examines that humans live
collectively. Therefore the patterns of human behavior and behavior are the result of the learning
process. Humans interact with their surroundings. This continuous interaction process will shape
one's personality.

In general, the authors conclude that these street children live in a slum environment and the
people are irregular. This irregular society has a bad influence on those who live in the area. Usually
beggars live in the same area. When there is a lower layer of family that enters the area, they will
indirectly be affected by the environment around their residence.

3. Social Factor

Every human being has a status that is only obtained in accordance with his business, namely
the status achieved (achieved status). This status can change according to human effort. For example,
a farmer can change his status to an entrepreneur if he tries. But for the lower classes, they find it
difficult to mobilize status, because the gap between the top layer and the bottom layer is very far.
Even the lower layers feel pessimistic about being able to change their status. The status of each
person makes this person different from others. This differentiation of community members based on
their status is called social stratification.

In discussing the motives of parents to exploit their children, the concept of social
stratification is a quite influential reason in these activities. The farther the gap created by the upper

3
classes made the lower layers worse and finally made the lower classes unwilling to touch the road
to the upper layer. The lower classes are only circling in their own area.

Parents who carry out exploitation activities claim that this is the way they should be. They
consider the lower strata will never be able to ride class. For that they think there is no point in sending
their children to school if in the end they will have the same fate as them.

These parents do not have the right thoughts, they think that the mobility to ride social classes
is closed so they prefer to let their children go down to the streets to help make a living. We cannot
avoid that lower-class thinking tends to be shorter because of the educational factors they receive.
This is an obstacle for the government to overcome the exploitation of children by these parents. The
traditional pattern of thinking of parents makes programs that will be implemented by the government
to not work properly.

4. Cultural Factor

Some cultural factors that contribute to increasing the number of child labor include:

a. The role of women in the family

Although cultural norms emphasize that women are at home as wives and mothers, it is also
recognized that women are often additional / supplementary breadwinners for family needs. A sense
of responsibility and obligation to make many women migrate to work in order to help their families.
There are several possibilities here. First, the village community who are still pressured by customs
considers that women can be married as soon as possible when it is considered sufficient time, even
though they are not yet physically and physically mature. This resulted in many underage girls bearing
the burden of being adult women as wives. As explained earlier, women are also often recognized as
complementary breadwinners for families. There are two variables at once here, underage girls are
exploited to behave like adult women as a wife and help provide additional income for the family.

b. Early marriage

Early marriage has serious implications for girls including health hazards, dropping out of
school, limited economic opportunities, personal developmental disorders, and often, early divorce.
Divorced girls are legally considered adults and are vulnerable to trafficking due to their economic
fragility.

c. The role of children in the family

4
 Compliance with parents and the obligation to help families make children vulnerable to
trafficking. Child laborers, children migrate to work, and child labor because debt bondage is
considered as acceptable family financial strategies to support family financial life.

CONCLUSSION

Child labor exploitation in several major city streets is selling newspapers, begging or even
cleaning car windows that stop when the red light with the duster he carried.

Factors that cause exploitation of child laborers start from economic factors, environmental
factors, social factors and cultural factors. Cultural factors that encourage child labor being a
newspaper seller, beggar and even a car glass mop that stops at a red light that is a cultural factor
brought by the family or parents of the child laborer themselves.

And it can be concluded that behind child labor there are several reasons that are the
complaints of the lower classes. There is something that makes the parents of child labors forced to
carry out these deviant behaviors. So, if we see a phenomenon, do not give our judgment on that
phenomenon from one side only. We must be able to see the reasons behind it, then we can find out
whether the action is right or wrong. But, however, child labor exploitation will have negative impacts
on children, both physically and mentally.

REFERENCES

Rohman, Muhammad Saifur. 2013. Child Labor Papers. Probolinggo: Panca Marga University

Child Protection Act No. 23 Article 20 of 2002

Ahmad H. 2017. Ekploitation of Children Workers under Age as Form Social Deviation (Case
Study of A Child selling newspapers Around A Red Light Bandar Lampung). Skripsi.
Not Published. Social Science and Political Science Faculty. Lampung University:
Lampung.

Sulastri, Dewi. 2016. Factors Causing Exploitation of Child Labor at the Traditional Gold Mine
in Kelian Dalam Village in Tering District. eJournal Sosiatri-Sociology. Vol 4(2): 256.