Child Labor in Brazil

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that “to force a child to work is to steal the future of that child” (COHA). Child labor is a major problem known in Brazil and even though there are efforts trying to reduce child labor, the reasons why certain children are being forced to work is a very difficult problem to solve. Children working in Brazil in the pineapple industry may come across dangerous chemicals, operating hazardous tools, working extensive hours, and carrying heavy loads. Normal production of pineapple includes fertilizing and pesticide spraying also has a harmful effect on child labors. Children additionally do normal intense labor agricultural activities, such as planting and harvesting. After the pineapple is harvested, the pineapple is shipped to processing plants or is put out to be sold as fresh fruit. Fresh Del Monte is a major company that owns 11,800 acres in Brazil for pineapple, melon, and banana cultivation. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), about 2.5 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 work in Brazil. The majority of children are in the 12 to 17 age range, but some are as young as five or six. Brazil has seen an increase in child labor between the ages of five to nine with almost 80,000 children in this group working. About 90 percent of child workers are girls, but boys may share up to 50 percent. Over 60% of domestic child workers are of African descent, and about 50 percent are from families with a household income of less than half of Brazilian's minimum monthly wage which is about 240.1 in their money and about $58.36 in U.S. dollars (Global Policy Forum).

The children are more likely to work when their parent’s income is low and there are living in poverty to help out their family. It is a norm that when the adult members in the household cannot make enough money, the children are expected to do work. Sometimes the parents work with their kids because in some occupations they are paid on the output rather than the time. Besides poverty, society’s traditions play a role on child labor. In the northern areas of Brazil, it is common that the people who are parents now started working before they were eight years old to because it was their belief that it was okay to work at that age. The concept of working at a young age was a common behavior, so the parents now do not see the problem with making their children work. Another reason why parents send their children to work is because of the conditions in the public schools. In rural areas, primary schools are located far from each other and the secondary schools are only located in the bigger areas. The schools in rural areas usually lack the required funding needed to be equipped for students and it allow the children to not have the best education environment. Education is required for children aged seven to fourteen, but it is not very strict. Connecting to the poverty argument, these parents cannot afford the proper school equipment to help them succeed in their education. Ninety percent of children working in rural areas attend school for less than four years and instead they work.

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Compared to the United States, Brazil's children are making little to none. There was not much evidence that was said about children making money, but there was something that stated that they make money off their output rather than time. No matter what, in the United States, workers will always make a certain page for their time, even if nothing was being produced. The child labor provisions that the U.S. and Brazil have are a somewhat similar because they do not allow, or they restrict work for minors under 16. The difference for this labor condition between the two countries is that in the U.S. the restriction include lists of hazardous occupations for minors and they need to be at least 16 to work with hazardous work while Brazil’s age is 18 to work with hazardous work.

Brazil has been classified as a Tier 2 which means that they do not fully meet the minimum standards, but they are attempting to. Government officials are increasing their efforts by increasing the overall number of investigations and convictions. They are also improving the data collection and initiating restitution proceedings for victims. They are still considered to be a Tier 2 because the investigation and prosecution efforts remain not up to date to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights standard, reports of official complicity and corruption were largely unaddressed, foreign victims were penalized for crimes committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking, and assistance to victims remained weak and inconsistent. Brazil is violating the international norms of Article 5 because Article 5 states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (IFSW). Working in hazardous conditions is endangering children to cruel and harsh punishment. Especially at such a young age, allowing or forcing children to work in a potentially dangerous environment is going to cause future health and medical problems, that can never be fixed. Additionally, Brazil is violating Article 24, which states “everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay” (IFSW). Some of these children are working 15 hours a day and that is not healthy for anyone let alone a child. There is no time to rest or have leisure if children are too focused on working to provide for their families in harsh conditions.

Brazil is lacking in the standard of the human right to life and the human right to social responsibility. A social worker could easily come and help Brazil decrease their numbers of child labors by focusing on the human right to life. A social worker could advocate for these child laborers, which could provide them a better life. There should be more focus on education in Brazil for children, because in rural areas people are more focused on child labor, instead of education, which many people do not believe is wrong, especially because it puts children in dangerous situations. Social workers need to promote human dignity to produce a quality life for families. Many studies have proven that the earliest people in the labor market in any type of job, affects their health outcomes in adulthood, especially decreasing the health status and indirectly affecting their education. If children are being forced to work at a young age, it is going to hurt their health later in their lives. Social workers, with dealing with the human right to a good quality of life, could also advocate and find more resources to make education a higher priority. Children attending good schools regularly, allows the children to not fall in the cycle of child labor and it helps them provide a life for themselves and for their future. The other human right that a social worker could work on in Brazil is the social responsibility. A social worker helping families with social responsibilities helps families and communities recognize their resources and responsibilities to help them get the advancement of their human rights. This is an important right because a lot of the children are working due to living in poverty. If a social worker would come in, they could help the families find resources to better equip the families in need. There is a program in Brazil currently that is financial assistance for families in need, which is helping Brazil head in the right direction, but it does not focus enough on the education reform which plays a big part in child labor. Overall, social workers would be able to excel in Brazil by working with all the people, but mostly people living in poverty to try to get them out, so their children would not fall into the child labor cycle.

I have learned so much about child labor in general and specifically in Brazil and on pineapple. I never knew that Brazil was such a dangerous country that produced such hazardous conditions for children since when I think of Brazil, I assume they are one of the higher economical countries that they would not have so many problems with child laborers. This was the same way I felt after watching the video in class. I always knew that there was child labor in countries, but I did not know the extent of it, especially the effect it had in Brazil. One of the companies I enjoy, the Living Company, recently stopped selling their clothing until they find a suitable fabric that follows their social justice efforts. The topic is becoming a lot more common and talked about and it makes me realize a lot more that I need to look into the products I am buying and see how the little things I buy affect people in different countries. I did not realize how much product I buy come may come from child laborer, so I need to be more proactive about buying certain items from quality places. Brazil seems like a progressive country in Latin America, so I did not realize how common child labor is in Brazil. Brazil has the most dangerous child labor working conditions, especially in the production of pineapple, due to its political, economic, and social stance. Brazil is trying to cut down those numbers by forcing more strict laws. Social workers are very needed in Brazil today due to the breaking of the international norms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.