Facts about Child Labor

Michael Jordan's line of Nike sneakers are made by children in Indonesia working for 19 cents an hour.

Estimates by human rights experts are that there are as many as 200 million children under the age of 14 who are working full-time. Because these children are paid little and do not receive an education, they have little chance of breaking the cycle of poverty in which they are caught.

Children are typically paid one-half to one-third what is paid to adults doing comparable work. The children are often exposed to significant health hazards and subjected to extreme physical, verbal and even sexual abuse. While many children work to add to the family income, others are literally sold into bondage by their parents in return for money or credit.

In these countries children are widely employed in restaurants, canteens, garages, tanneries, and brick kilns where they work for up to 15 hours a day, without leave for months together. Those working as household help are just slightly better off.
Children begin work at the age of nine or ten, and enter full-time waged labour after leaving primary school at the age of 12 or 13. Most children work full-time, seven hours per day, and six days a week. In general, children are paid 6,000 to 9,000 Indonesian rupiahs (approximately $3.40 - $5.10) per week.

At the age of 4, Iqbal was sold into bonded labour by his father for $12. For six years he was forced to work 16 hours a day in a carpet factory.

Children are used extensively in the carpet and soccer ball industries because their small hands and nimble fingers enable them to become particularly adept at weaving and stitching. Although Pakistan has put laws in effect to restrict the use of child labour, the government lacks the resources to enforce them. The lack of any federal requirement for compulsory education is also a major factor contributing to the continued use of child labour.