The use of Child Labour in a Global Economy

Question: Evaluation of the use of use of child labour in a global economy using three principles of the Global Business Standard Codex. Answer: Introduction The use of child labour in the arena of global economy has been an ethical issue of interest since long. Child labour refers to the employment of children under the age of 14. Though the use of child labour mostly confines to domestic and agricultural fields, it is not uncommonly seen in some industries like the apparels industries (Wolfe et al., 2002). This report evaluates the use of child labour in global economy based on the three principles of dignity, transparency and fairness from the Global Business Standard Codex (GBSC). While the advantages and disadvantages of the use of child labour in global economy may be discussed, the ethical side of the issue has to be explored as well. The purpose of GBSC is to offer companies carefully constructed conduct guidelines for them to assess their code of conduct or formulate a new one. Analysis The dignity principle emphasises on the need of respecting the dignity of all people. The principle highlights the protection of health, ensuring of safety, privacy and other human rights, avoiding coercion and implementing practices that augment human development at work, marketplace and in the community. The transparency principle deals with the business conduct having to be a transparent one, honest and open in its dealings, avoiding deception and secrecy in practices and acts, maintenance of accurate records and information disclosures on time, while obliging to confidentiality and privacy. The fairness principle is another crucial one because it focuses on the fair dealings, fair competitions, fair treatment of all with non-discrimination and equal opportunities and practice of fair processes (Paine et al., 2005). Recently, there has been incidents reported that uncovered developed western Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) using child labour in their sectors in their developing markets. The main topic of this issue that has been widely researched and discussed is the minimum age of employment and how it is related to child labour. The manufacturing units of these MNCs are based mostly in Asian countries, where the consumers are arguably forbearing regarding the employment of child labourers in the industry. This tolerance is less compared to the consumers of the developed nations. The dilemma emerges because of the difference in the ethical practices in the developed countries owning the MNCs and the host countries like India, China, Bangladesh etc. (Flanagan, 2006). The wide range of markets that the MNCs are exposed to in business with lowered standards of ethics in the host nations they chose to enhance their businesses poses the risk of ethical breaching. The standards often fail to meet the interests of all stakeholders (Gupta et al., 2010). The codes of conduct required in the issue of child labour are to be broad rather than severely restrictive. The restrictive codes of conduct would not address the root causes of child labour in the countries concerned. Instead, it would drive them to more hazardous work environments. The eradication of child labour is not realistic in the developing economies (Wolfe et al., 2002). However, while employment of children above the age of 13, sometimes, above 12, can be financially beneficial to the children and their families, in cases of light and safe work environments, some scenarios are hazardous and abusive to children. This can adversely affect the host countries and calls for serious interventions (Lieten Nederveen Meerkerk, 2011). The importance of code of ethics and code of conduct among the MNCs become more relevant. But according to Kolk and van Tudler (2002a), the interaction between the business and the government is not enough to formulate acceptable code of conduct in the case of child labour. It requires the involvement of all the stakeholders in the concerned issue. The code of conduct is usually country-specific because the concerns vary in different host nations. A universal code of conduct is not possible in case of child labour. The minimum age requirement for employment is the most relevant item in the code of conduct and determines the specificity of a code. Most conduct codes do not mention a specific minimum age, so as to enhance the universality. Further, the monitoring provisions and procedures are generally vague, and the sanctions that are stringent would assist in deteriorating the situation in cases of firing the child labourers. Every code of conduct should clearly mention the strategie s that would be used to compensate the effect sanctions may have on the host economies since it adds to the problematic side of child labour (Kulk van Tudler, 2002b). Following these studies, it is clear that a code of conduct that is impressively based on a code of ethics is needed in an issue like child labour in the matter of global economy. This is where the importance of the GBSC principles of dignity, transparency and fairness comes in. Child labour is an issue with huge variables including political, cultural, economical and ethical. The developed nations owning the MNCs and their host nations have a bunch of crude disparities. The ethics of place includes the moral self-righteousness and economical superiority of developed nations that would cause harm (Hindman Smith, 1999), and this requires the buffering that the dignity principle and fairness principle can offer in the code of conduct. The transparency principle can ensure the fair treatment of the employees and encourage more productivity with great behaviour. The transparency principle will offer a comfortable work environment for the employees, increased feeling of empowerment, security and faith in the system (Nelson, 2015). This is an important aspect for the smooth functioning of the enterprises and the good relationship between the MNCs and their employees. The companys best interests should not sacrifice the respect and dignity of the employees involved. The dignity principle will ensure that children under the minimum age required are not exploited through child labour for the purpose of cost cutting (Watkins, 2011). Conclusion Thus, the dignity principle and fairness principle ensure a safe and fair work environment for the employees from the host nations. The code of conduct will benefit the developed countries by an increased work performance, proving to be advantageous for their enterprise, meanwhile considering the employees and developing economies as well. Child labour, as an inevitable need in some economies, if carried out with ethics, can prove to be a tolerable issue. References Flanagan, R. (2006).Globalization and labor conditions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gupta, S., Pirsch, J. and Girard, T. (2010). An Empirical Examination of a Multinational Ethical Dilemma: The Issue of Child Labor. Journal of Global Marketing, 23(4), pp.288-305. Hindman, H. and Smith, C. (1999). Cross-cultural ethics and the child labor problem. Journal of Business Ethics, 19 (1). Kolk, A., Van Tulder, R. (2002a). Ethics in international business: multinational approaches to child labor. Journal of World Business 3 (9). Kolk, A., Van Tulder, R. (2002b). 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