A CRACKDOWN on bosses who use child labour in Blackburn is being planned after a shock report commissioned by town hall leaders and backed by the GMB union revealed child employment is rife in the borough.

A survey found unscrupulous bosses prefer to employ youngsters because they can pay them lower wages than adults.

Blackburn Council will urge employers to register any child workers and at the same time run a publicity campaign to warn parents about the growth of the problem in the borough.

Around 2,300 pupils from three secondary schools in the borough took part in the research and completed a detailed questionnaire, with almost 40 per cent claiming they had held down a job outside the home.

But even though the law states working children have to be officially registered, just four per cent claimed to have held a permit.

On average, youngsters are paid £1.97 an hour but in same cases wages were as low as 35 pence per hour.

And many bosses regularly break rules and employ children for more than ten hours per work. Education chiefs believe youngsters working more than ten hours each week have problems keeping up with school work.

Worryingly, one in five children has been injured at work with children doing delivery jobs the most at risk.

A council report says many employers in the main seem unconcerned or unaware of both local and national legislation concerning the employment of children.

It points out employers could be putting children and fellow workers at risk by making children carry out inappropriate tasks.

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