31–40 of 65 posts
Children used to work in coal mines. They can handle delivering curry to an apartment building by bicycle. Children were the original riders back when they delivered newspapers to homes, on bikes.
You could have picked example of child employment that does not harm, but somehow you picked the one that had done significant damage to them.
The BBC seems to be up in arms about substitution. But the workers are self-employed, independent contractors and they have every right to use a substitute to do their work for them in the UK. If they did not have this right, they'd be classed as workers and eligible for minimum wage, a pension and SSP. https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/24/22548504/deliveroo-self-e... Whoever owned the account and decided to engage a s…
The end situation is that these delivery apps are providing a back-door route to work for vast numbers of people without that right. It's very easy to say "it's the contractor who didn't do diligence at blame" - but when there's thousands of contractors and the barrier of entry to become a "contractor" is almost nothing, you have a systemic problem.
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But no, I do not remember 12 years old being called young men, ever, except by cutesy scout leaders.
Ridiculous editorializing with the "This teenager was allowed to work and now he's dead" part. As if non-working teenagers don't also ride bikes on roads. Should just be made legal, at least they're trying to do something legal when drug dealing is always an option. Used to be completely normal for teenagers to work these sort of jobs.
Sure they do, but we all know that you drive differently and in different places when you aren't doing it for payment and dealing with those sorts of constraints (if I'm not fast enough, I'll get bad ratings/tips, for example).
It also used to be normal to not finish high school, not allow women to get a bank account without a man's signature, and to beat your kids. Segregation was normal, too. Just because something used to be normal doesn't mean we should still be doing it.
And I'll point out that folks would deal drugs even while working was normal. Heck, some folks (including teenagers) use jobs as a way to deal more drugs. It isn't work or drugs. I'm not sure why teenagers need to do anything other than learning about the world and going to school. School often already takes the time of a full time job.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. > Children working as riders for food delivery apps > The family of a 17-year-old who died while working as a Deliveroo rider... A 17-year-old is not a child. He's a minor, yes, and it's possibly illegal to have him work some jobs (although not all jobs, not everywhere), but calling them "children" is disgraceful.
Apprenticeships are open to 16 year-olds - in much more dangerous professions. Metalworking, construction, mining, etc. And of course if it is deemed too dangerous for them to join any of these professions, your local military recruitment center, acceptong applicants aged 16 and above, is right this way...
Do you seriously think it's acceptable to just hand a child tools that can easily get them hurt or killed, with zero supervision or training, and expect them to be fine? It is already a nightmare for commuter cyclists in metropolitan areas who prioritize safe routes and dedicated cycle paths. You think people this young have the ability to effectively manage the risks of working on the road whilst under time pressure?
Ridiculous editorializing with the "This teenager was allowed to work and now he's dead" part. As if non-working teenagers don't also ride bikes on roads. Should just be made legal, at least they're trying to do something legal when drug dealing is always an option. Used to be completely normal for teenagers to work these sort of jobs.
Agreed. > Children working as riders for food delivery apps > The family of a 17-year-old who died while working as a Deliveroo rider... A 17-year-old is not a child. He's a minor, yes, and it's possibly illegal to have him work some jobs (although not all jobs, not everywhere), but calling them "children" is disgraceful.
We define a child as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. This is in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and civil legislation in England and Wales.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/case-management-guidance/definit...
... so? I was working at Pizza Hut when I was 14, kids in the UK have paper-rounds, does it really matter if a 17-year-old is doing this? The account-lending scheme is weird though.
Paper rounds? In 2023?
Ridiculous editorializing with the "This teenager was allowed to work and now he's dead" part. As if non-working teenagers don't also ride bikes on roads. Should just be made legal, at least they're trying to do something legal when drug dealing is always an option. Used to be completely normal for teenagers to work these sort of jobs.
Agreed. > Children working as riders for food delivery apps > The family of a 17-year-old who died while working as a Deliveroo rider... A 17-year-old is not a child. He's a minor, yes, and it's possibly illegal to have him work some jobs (although not all jobs, not everywhere), but calling them "children" is disgraceful.
1. continue to A/AS-level taking 1 to 2 years, and then optionally onto collage or university;
2. do apprentiships or traineeship that take 1 to 5 years;
3. part-time employment and education/training.
From http://www.gov.uk/child-employment:
1. children aged 13+ can perform part-time work except in television, theatre, and modelling;
2. from age 16 to 18 (if not in education) you must spend 20 hours working or volunteering;
3. from age 18 you are elligible for full-time work.
Therefore, it is perfectly valid for the 17 year old to be working as a driver and the BBC is trying to incite outrage against food delivery apps with this.
Why don't they just allow children to work legitimately through the application, but add some safe-guarding controls and potentially notification to or authorisation by parents? This seems like a much better idea than to have a level of uncontrollable fraud that allows it through the backdoor and enriches rent-seekers.
I understand the theory but the reality would just be more children dying on the road.
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I remember 30 years old criminal defendants being called and treated like kids by media. But no, I do not remember 12 years old being called young men, ever, except by cutesy scout leaders.
Source in German:
https://www.pei.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/newsroom/veroeffe...