63 children found working for long hours in sorrowful situation in a vegetable packing packaging company. Image Courtesy – http://graphics.latimes.com
In northern part of Mexico, 63 children found working for long hours in sorrowful situation in a vegetable packing packaging company. Officials told that ages of the children were between 8 and 17 years.
The state government in Coahuila, which outskirts Texas, said the minors told the authorities that every week they had only 1 half-day off from their work and were paid 100 pesos (about $6) a day, somewhat higher than the lowest pay permitted by law of around 70 pesos ($4).
They professedly were given two suppers a day and they used to sleep on thin mats on the floor at the property close to Ramos Arizpe. It was situated around 40 miles (70 kilometers) southwest of the city of Monterrey.
Read: Elisabeth Bing, Co-founder of Lamaze International passed away at 100
The state authority kept the children to a shelter along with several other adults and caught six people during their raid. Prosecutor Yezka Garza disclosed in a local Television that authorities took the action on the basis of a complaint. The complaint was made by a man who could not took her daughter with him only because she had not yet completed her ‘quota’ in the company. Yezka Garza made an allegation that the children were being forced to work for 15 hours a day.
Garza told that they were collecting statements from each and every child and also from adults to make a ‘well-prepared’ case to file against the company. He also told that they were searching for similar properties throughout the area.
Mexican administration allows children of 14 to 16 years to do jobs. But a report revealed that approximately 870,000 of the children out of millions in Mexico are under 13 years of age. The total amount of the children work in countryside is nearly twice than the children work in cities. In Mexico, not only ‘Chihuahua’ where only 1.4% of the children work, another place is there named ‘Guerrero’ where 12% of the minor population work.
Read: Mass-killing of foreign tourists in Tunisian museum left 17 dead and 22 injured
The situation reflects that more specific action should be initiated regarding the problem of child labour complementing education and ‘conditional cash transfers’. Mexican ‘lawmakers ’ are trying hard to combat the challenge of child labour in association with development programs.
The World Bank is working together with Mexico on issues like social assurance, by offering an entire exhibit of money related items, giving loan for projects, providing ‘technical assistance’, and by uniting key partners.
