Wal-Mart Uses Volunteer Child Labour

Mexican youth work in stores just for the tips they may receive.

Wal-Mart is a big player on the Mexican retail scene. They currently have 893 retail establishments in that country - and plan to add another 125 new stores and restaurants during 2007.

The company has nearly 150,000 paid staff on its payroll - plus an additional 19,000 children between the ages of 14 and 16 who work after school in hundreds of Wal-Mart stores without receiving one cent or a single benefit from the company. The company doesn't try to hide the fact that many of the young workers in the stores are 'volunteers'. Signs in the stores tell people as much and suggest that the customers who are assisted by the children should give them a gratuity.

The use of unsalaried youths is legal in Mexico because the kids are said to be 'volunteering' their services to Wal-Mart and are therefore not subject to the requirements and regulations that would otherwise apply under the country’s labor laws. It's obvious, however, that Wal-Mart is just trying to pinch pennies at a time when its Mexican operations have never been more profitable.

"These kids should receive a salary," says Mexican Labor Undersecretary Patricia Espinosa Torres. "If you ask me, I don't think these kids should be working, but there are cultural and social circumstances [in Mexico] rooted in poverty and scarcity."

"There is no doubt that Wal-Mart in its usual way, has taken the exploitation of child labour to a whole, new level," says MFL President Darlene Dziewit. "Wal-Mart should be ashamed of itself, but that's probably asking too much, since feeling shame requires the presence of a conscience."