To the Controversy: Child Labor Laws Child labor laws need to be enforced more because governments pay little attention to those who abuse the laws; so children are abused physically for long hours and financially for low pay. Farmers and many businesses in third world countries are accused of taking great advantage of these laws. This topic is highlighted as one of the most controversial issues in labor policy. Child labor is a major problem in countries such as Africa, Argentina and Bangladesh. In Africa, for example, some children do the work of an adult man for as little as a dollar a day. On the other hand, in the United States some studies show that child labor is a more serious problem than in some third world countries (Barta and others). Many farmers are facing a huge problem; the government is trying to stop children from working long hours on family farms. A survey conducted every four years states that there was less child labor in countries like India and Morocco than in the United States (Barta and others). Some companies abroad have strict policies against child labor; for example, a toy factory in China does not accept children to work because it believes that children should not be forced to do forced labor for any amount of money. On the other hand, in some places child labor is a huge problem, such as in Africa and some parts of Asia. For example, in Bangladesh several workers under 18 were found working in Rana Plaza, and a 15-year-old worker died in a factory accident in May, according to Kate O'Keeffe of the Wall Street Journal. O' Keeffe also writes: "There is concern that child labor will get worse rather than better, especially if Western economies recover stronger." time is self-explanatory, the cost of labor had risen along with the prices of everything else, and child labor was remarkably cheap (3-4). Children were sent into the fields twelve to thirteen hours a day to pick fruit, cotton, and tobacco. Some children delivered the newspaper on bicycles, which is still a common job today, only back then the children did it tirelessly for hours and hours. Although the Industrial Revolution occurred nearly 200 years ago (1820-1870), the influence it had on America is significant; imagine if children would have stayed in school during that time instead of going out and working long hours in the fields or factories. Do you think that if children had never been exposed to harsh work environments back then, child labor would be a problem today? Many think that our ancestors are to blame and others say that children have been working since the time of the Egyptians.