labor33

But poverty forces children and juveniles to look for work on the orange
plantations. Their income is often necessary for the survival of their families.
Because of the unjust distribution of goods, unemployment among adults and
extremely poor wages cause poverty; this is the basis for child labour.
According to the accounting of the rich, working children offer many advantages.
Their work is much cheaper than that of adults, they are controllable and cannot
fight back. No one knows for sure how many children and juveniles work. The
unions think that every third seasonal worker is below 14 years old. Around 5
o'clock in the morning the workers begin their day, taking a bus in order to go to
the orange plantation. Sometimes it is 8 o clock in the evening before they return
home. The work of the orange pickers is very dangerous. They are standing on
top of high, shaky ladders carrying bags on their shoulders that weigh up to 25
kilograms. For up to 10 hours a day they are handling oranges in the thorny
bushes. These fruits have been treated from their Blossoming until the time of
ripening of the fruit with dangerous pesticides several times. But the orange
collectors have also to be aware of snakes, aggressive bees and wasps.

Next to insect bites and poisonings, bone fractures are very common due to
accidents on the ladders. Eye damage, inflammations from the scratches of
thorns, and damage to the vertebrae from the carrying of heavy loads, in addition
to stomach infections due to lack of hygienic conditions on the plantations and
the unhealthy working conditions all afflict the workers.
A full bag of oranges weighs 25 kilograms. For one load a worker receives a
salary of 2.- ATS.-. To fill such a bag takes up to 10 hours, without any rest. On
Sundays and holidays, in bad weather conditions and when the worker is sick the
collectors don t earn anything. This is seasonal work and can only be done six
months a year. The money earned has to last a whole year.