how long has child labor been going on
Child labour Child labour has existed to varying extents, through most of history. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, many children aged 5â€“14 from poorer families still worked in Europe, the United States and various colonies of European powers. These children mainly worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories, mining and in services such as news boys. Some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household income, availability of schools and passage of child labour laws, the incidence rates of child labour fell.[9][10][11]
Labour Day The first march for a nine-hour day by the labour movement occurred in Melbourne on 21 April 1856.[2] On this day stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as being among the first organised workers in the world to achieve an 8-hour day, with no loss of pay.[3]