In July, Bolivia passed a new child labor law that attracted a great deal of international attention. The South American country made it legal for children who are at least 10 years old to go to work. This goes against a United Nations convention which, for the most part, sets 14 as the minimum age at which one can start to work.
Supporters of the legislation say that some children in Bolivia are already in the workforce before they turn 14 as part of the country's informal economy. Recognizing their status as workers allows them more legal rights than they had before, they say. But, critics of the law say the first priority for children should be education and safety, not employment, and that the law should be repealed.
We look at the law in Bolivia, what effects it has had thus far, and discuss the state of child labor worldwide.
Our guests:
- Sara Shahriari, a freelance journalist based in La Paz, Bolivia
- Simon Steyne, the International Labor Organisation's head of social dialogue and partnerships for the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor
- Sarah Bachman, the co-director of photo4change.org
http://youtu.be/wwBIujFvlFs
