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Child labour in the EU
ŠÍSLOVÁ, Lenka
I choose the subject of child labour because this issue is of personal interest to me. During my social work studies at the Health and Social Faculty of the South Bohemian University in České Budějovice, I acquired additional information and became more familiar with the issue of child labour. I wished to become acquainted with this issue in detail and expand my current experience by theoretical knowledge. During discussions of the issue of child labour the opinion that children should work because work is beneficial is often heard. Yes ? working is beneficial for children ? if this work corresponds to the child?s age, if it expands the child?s horizons and skills and if it does not prevent the child from going to school, playing and experiencing a carefree childhood, as this is guaranteed by the Convention of the Rights of a Child, which was signed by nearly 200 countries worldwide, regardless of religion, culture or their development. The issue of child labour is frequently linked to less-developed countries. The possibility that child labour could exist in European Union states is heard less frequently. In many cases child labour in Europe is less visible than in other parts of the world. The current trend in international society, including European Union states, is elimination of child labour. The goal of my bachelor?s thesis was to establish the current situation regarding this issue in European Union states. The theoretical part of my work focuses on areas, which directly concern child labour. In the introduction I map information about what child labour includes, what worst forms of child labour we are aware of. With regard to the fact that my work focuses on the European Union I also give basic specifications about the European Union. I also mention key human rights, their sources and the possibility of international protection of children against child labour. I describe international treaties and conventions, which are devoted to the sphere of child labour, specifically the Convention of the Rights of a Child, the Declaration of the Rights of a Child, the International Convention for Prohibition and Immediate measures for Removal of the Worst Forms of Child Labour and the Minimum Age of Employment Convention. In the next part of my work I obtained and describe the legal regulations applying to child labour in selected European Union states ? I examined the laws of the Czech Republic, Finland and Germany. It is clear that even though the laws of individual countries are anchored in various laws, these laws are very similar in regard to the scope and form of employment of children and minors, with only minor differences. I chose theoretical preparation of the final work, I endeavoured to investigate the issue of child labour on a general level, perform a comparison of published sources and a comparison from the aspect of cultural and national differences. I also utilised secondary analysis of official documents from selected EU states and an analysis of the contents of available sources. During my work with foreign language literature I chiefly utilised available Internet sources. Within the scope of the European Union child labour is most frequently mentioned in relation to the worst forms of child labour, which include commercial sexual abuse of children, consequently I discuss this area in detail in my work. I specifically describe trade in children, child prostitution and child pornography, including cases, which actually took place. Fortunately there are not many of these cases and these actions are very heavily punished within the terms of criminal proceedings. In spite of this, news about the existence of these worst forms of child labour does appear from time to time, chiefly provided by the media. The conclusion of the bachelor?s thesis contains a summary of findings, in which my opinion of the aforementioned issue is published. I endeavour to propose possible solutions to this issue in the future.
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