Rise in child labour reports in U.S.

100 kids were working in 13 meatpacking facilities in eight states.

“The children were working the night shift and they were cleaning machinery on the processing floor, and they were using pressure hoses which are quite dangerous, and they were using caustic cleaning agents,” he said.

Along with the damning federal reports in 2023, the New York Times released an extensive investigation into child labour in March, forcing the issue to the forefront.

In response, federal agencies say they’re stepping up investigations and enforcement, expanding support for newly arrived migrant children, and strengthening the vetting process of adults who sponsor migrant kids.

“We see every day the scourge of child labour in this country, and we have a legal and a moral obligation to take every step in our power to prevent it,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh in a statement.

“Too often, companies look the other way and claim that their staffing agency, or their subcontractor or supplier is responsible… This is not a 19th century problem; this is a today problem,” said Walsh.

CHILD labour in the United States is far from a thing of the past, and experts says they’re not surprised to hear the U.S. Department of Health and the Department of Labor have seen a 69 per cent increase in companies illegally employing children under the age of 18 to do high-risk jobs and work long hours.

“It’s very concerning that kids are working in factory settings,” says Reid Maki, director of Child Labor Advocacy for the National Consumers’ League and the coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition.

Maki attributes the jarring statistic to a genuine increase in instances of unlawful child labour, combined with better enforcement of child labour laws under U.S. President Joe Biden.

The rise of child labour comes as the country is witnessing an influx of children from Latin America who, fleeing violence and poverty, are crossing into the United States without a parent, according to both Maki and government reports.

“Those kids are under a lot of pressure to send money home,” said Maki. “So, they’re desperate for work. And these seem to be the kids that are ending up in these illegal jobs in the factories, in the meatpacking plants.”

One of the most disturbing investigations from the federal agencies found that more than

The health and labour departments also called on Congress to increase fines to companies illegally employing kids. The current maximum penalty per infraction is just over $15,000 U.S. – “not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies.”

“We’ve never not had a child labour problem,” explains Michael Hencock, a lawyer who spent 20 years working at the Department of Labor in the division responsible for child labour.

“I don’t know if there’s some sort of myth out there that we solved child labour and now it’s coming back,” said Hencock. “We never solved the child labour problem.” who continue to experience high levels of distress.

“The biggest barrier to accessing home care in this province is how much we charge you for it,” said Mackenzie at a press conference, where she also called for the elimination of fees.

We Must Do Better calls for a comprehensive review and fundamental restructuring of home support services with five key recommendations, including eliminating financial barriers to access; increasing respite care for family caregivers; standardizing and set- ting targets for service delivery; modernizing care plans; and measuring, monitoring and reporting on performance.

New law will require pay transparency

To help close the gender pay gap in British Columbia, legislation was introduced this spring requiring employers to include salary ranges on job postings, and banning employers from asking applicants for pay history.

The new law prohibits employers from punishing employees who disclose their pay to coworkers or potential job applicants, and it requires B.C. employers to publicly post reports on their gender pay gap.

All employers must comply by November 2024 if they have more than 1,000 employees, November 2025 for employers with 300 employees or more, and all employers with more than 50 employees by November 2026.

Currently, B.C. is tied with Alberta for having the largest gender pay gap in Canada. In 2022, Statistics Canada found that

Working Together To Win

Last fall, Interior Health launched a rural retention incentive program to attract and retain health care workers. But the “retention bonuses” were only available to some job classifications.

This left many workers feeling devalued and demoralized about their contributions to the health care team.

Members of HEU’s Boundary local decided to take action to highlight the program’s unfairness, and to push for changes.

The local mobilized support and solidarity across health facilities, from both HEU and non-HEU members. And they generated strong support in the Grand Forks area.

Local members also met with BC NDP MLA Roly Russell to explain how this policy was impacting morale and creating division in the health care team.

Within a few months, HEU members received welcome news that the rural incentive program would be extended to all regular full-time and part-time staff. The local’s tenacity and community-building efforts had paid off.

“There is still work to be done,” said Boundary local member Jodi Manson at HEU’s Interior Regional Conference. “Our casual team members are still not part of this bonus, and we intend to keep pushing until that’s changed. But our work family is starting to heal.”

THI VU