2023-05-28 04:17:11
Former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich warned on Saturday that corporate greed will destroy nearly a hundred years of success in child labor.
“Companies are currently using the labor shortage as an excuse to bring back child labour,” Reich said in a tweet.
“This is part of a terrifying trend that began in 2015, when child labor violations increased by about 300 percent,” the former Minister of Labor added, explaining, “These are the violations that were monitored by government agencies.”
“Are corporate profits really more important than the safety of children?” Reich asked. “The Department of Labor is currently investigating about 600 possible child labor violations.”
The former minister revealed that “major companies such as Ford, Wal-Mart and General Mills are involved in child labor.”
“The reason why this happens is greed. Companies have problems hiring the workers they want according to the salary they want to pay,” Reich said. “Instead of cutting their profits and offering adults higher salaries, companies exploit children.”
The former Minister of Labor noted that “some of these children are doing some of the toughest types of work” at the present time.
This takes us back before the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, Robert warned. Now, he said, “the business lobby and some of their supporters within the Republican Party are seeking to destroy nearly a century of progress on child labor.”
The former minister cited the example of Arkansas, where children between the ages of 14 and 15 are no longer required to obtain a work permit before applying for a job.
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