The proportion of child workers is higher in rural communities than in urban centres. The hazards of child labour. Millions of children world-wide, working in a variety of settings under exploitative conditions, are exposed on a daily basis to health and safety hazards which can devastate their health and cause irreversible damage to their physiological and psychological development. And because child workers have not fully matured mentally, they are less able to appreciate occupational risks or the need for protective measures. The reasons for child labour.
Children work primarily for economic reasons, to supplement low family income.
Child labour flourishes because of economic forces that give rise to a continuing demand for cheap labour. Poverty and underdevelopment are clearly contributing factors. But child labour also contributes to the cycle of poverty, as a working child grows into an adult whose only prospects are unskilled and badly paid jobs or, even worse, no jobs at all. Many children work because they cannot afford the cost of going to school, or they are prevented from attending due to discrimination based on caste or religion. Part Two Child Labour as a Trade Union Issue.