## Step 2 - Reading

#### Child labour

You are going to read a text about child labour.

- Scan the text.
- Do assignment 1.
- Read the text and do assignment 2.

Child labour Child workers, some as young as 10, have been found working in a textile factory in conditions described as close to slavery to produce clothes that appear destined for one the major high street retailers. Speaking to a British newspaper, the children described long hours of unpaid work and threats and beatings. The company said it was unaware that clothing intended for its stores had been improperly outsourced to a sweatshop that used child labour. It further announced it had withdrawn the garments involved until it had investigated the alleged breaches of the ethnical code it imposed on manufacturers three years ago. The discovery of these children working in appalling conditions in the Shahpur Jat area of Delhi has renewed concerns about the outsourcing by some large retail chains of their garment production to India, recognised by the United Nations as one of the worlds's hotspots for child labour. According to one estimate, over 20 per cent of India's economy is dependent on children, which comes to a total of 55 million youngsters under 14 working. Consumers in the West should not only be demanding answers from retailers about how their goods are produced but also should be looking into their consciences at how they spend their money and whether cheap prices in the West are worth the suffering caused to so many children.

#### Questions

1. What kind of child labour is the subject of this text?
2. How are the children treated?
3. In which country do these children work?
4. What ages of children are mentioned in his text?
5. How can this problem be solved?