Challenges to a Successful Remediation

Remediation is a complicated process involving many different parties with possible conflicting interests and , in many cases , broken families and insufficient social systems to support the child . From the auditors ’ perspectives , the most common obstacles for successful remediation come from the child and his / her family , such as “ child prefers to earn more by working than participating in the remediation program ” ( Figure 16 ). This challenge seems to be much more prominent in China than in other countries ( 19 % difference ). It is also interesting to see that the systemic “ lack of professional child labor remediation implementation and monitoring service providers ” is comparatively bigger for China , while quite negligible for other countries .

If we look at the reasons why the child or the family refuses to cooperate in remediation , we can see that it is not a problem that can be solved by simple persuasion . The amount of money that the child receives from the remediation varies depending on the brand and the factory . As far as we know , in many cases , the remediation does not pay the full wage until he / she reaches the minimum age ; thus , the child and / or the family refuses to follow through with the remediation plan . When auditors were asked how they would react under such circumstances , 57 % of them said they would recommend alternative options such as vocational school . In theory , it seems to be the best solution for young people who have no interest or are not in the best position to continue high school . However , in practice , it is not without its challenges .

• If the child ’ s full wage is not paid , it can become a major hurdle to a successful remediation process

Figure 16 :

80 70 60 50 40 30 20

67 %

48 %

Top challenges to a successful remediation

49 %

50 %

41 %

38 %

33 %

38 %

Others China

32 %

“ The factory will only finance child laborer ’ s tuition until he / she turns 16 . However , most study programs in vocational schools are 2-3 years , which the child laborer ‘ s family would not want or cannot afford to continue paying . So sometimes , the child laborer disappears after a factory pays a certain period .” - An auditor from China .