The alternative is to pursue a double track policy, namely to simultaneously abolish the extreme forms of child labour and to offer education besides children's work. Opinions are divided. At the national level, the use of child labour in great numbers slows down economic growth and social development. Child labour that hampers school attendance is also in conflict with the UN convention entitled the Right of the Child. The ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138 explicitly links the minimum age for admission to employment with the age of completion of compulsory schooling.
Many employers see that children are a cheap and docile labour force.
Furthermore, child labour drives down adult wage levels, impoverishing families and keeping families under- or unemployed. Child labour eradication is not solely about removing children from the workplace and placing them immediately into schools. Most working children belong to the poor. The negative effects of combating child labour mainly fall upon the poor families who simply can not permit to send their children to school. Even when public primary schools exist and charge no tuition, the associated expenses can be burdensome.