Work versus labour.

The United Nations Children's Fund differentiates between child labour and child work, saying that the former inhibits a child's physical, mental, social, emotional, and cultural development. Exploitative child labour prevents a child from attending school and enjoying a reasonable a,mount of recreation. Along with the International Labour Organization, Unicef says child labour is harmful not only when it robs children of an education, but also when it undermines their dignity and self-esteem 

Nevertheless, Unicef officials reported in 1996 that banning the sale of goods produced by children in countries such as Bangladesh could hurt not help them. Just the threat of doing so has led to mass dismissals of children from garment factories. The schools couldn't absorb them and they ended up in more exploitative, more dangerous, and lower paying work.

Unicef surveyed more than 2,000 garment factories that employed about 12,000 children in Bangladesh. It found that almost 90% of the children were from single-parent households and homes where there had been a death or disability. More than 50% of the children were the sole supporters for their families.

Often, the children were girls who accompanied their mothers to the garment factory. It was safer for them to be working alongside their mothers than to be home alone in a Muslim country where it's not acceptable for girls to be alone.

After its survey, Unicef created a program together with the Bangladesh government that asks garment factories not to hire new children under the age of 14. Those there now will keep their jobs or be replaced by adult members of their family so there will be no loss of income.

The government also is opening more schools and Unicef is giving children money to attend school rather than work.

A recent article in the New York Times cites Honduras as another example of Western values missing the mark. The article points out that "what rich countries see as exploitation can seem a rare opportunity to residents of a poor country such as Honduras, where per-capita income is $600 (U.S.) a year and the unemployment rate is 40%. Such conflicts of standards and perceptions are becoming more common as the global economy grows more intertwined, and they have set off a heated debate about international norms of conduct and responsibility.

"A decade ago, Honduras had virtually no assembly plants, and poor people had few options. Now, the factories have absorbed so many workers that they are creating labour shortages that have helped drive up wages for workers in other sectors, including agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing, and even domestic work, traditionally the worst-paid and most abusive."

And, projects to help developing countries should include protection for children by requiring such things as day-care centres and primary schools as well as a clearly stated bans on child labour. These requirements could enhance projects such as the one organized by the World Bank in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. Designed to help women develop silk-rearing businesses, the project led to an increase in child labour: many of the women, who were paid based on how much they produced, put their children to work in the silk business as well.