The Context
Every child is a gift of God, which must be nurtured with care and affection by the family and society. But unfortunately due to socio-economic and cultural problems, the preference to “child importance” was replaced by neglect, abuse and deprivation, particularly in the poverty afflicted sections of the society, resulting in child labour and the related abuse of children. India has 20 million child labour between the age of 6 and 14 years. This is embarrassing for a country that dreams becoming a super power in the next decade or so.
Definition of Child Labour
(According to ILO)
The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.
Worst forms of child labour:
Whilst child labour takes many different forms, a priority is to eliminate without delay the worst forms of child labour as defined by Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 182:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
Labour that jeopardises the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, is known as “hazardous work”.
Causes of Prevalence of Child Labour
Poverty and lack of social security are the main cause of child labour. Around 37% of the urban population and 39% of the rural population is living in poverty. Poverty has an obvious relationship with child labour. The hardships arising out of extreme poverty coupled with vices like drugs and alcoholism compel illiterate families to initiate their children into back breaking work under tiring and sometimes dangerous conditions. The childhood of many children is shattered in the sinks of the city hotels, dusty construction sites, hazardous factories and in waste heaps.
In many Indian States poor peasants, who owe money to land owners, agree to give their children as bonded labour for long periods. In return they receive a onetime payment or waiver of their loans.
- Illiteracy : In rural India e.g. in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, etc. parents of children are uneducated and hence they do not understand the importance of empowering children with education. They think that children are sources of family’s earning. More members in the family are considered as asset by poor peasants as bigger the family, more are the hands to earn their livelihood.
- Migration of adult labour with their children to urban towns where construction work is booming and plenty of job opportunities exist for poor families including children is yet another reason for the increasing child labour population in India.
- Access to compulsory, free education is limited. In 2006, approximately 75 million children were not in school, limiting future opportunities for the children and their communities. A 2009 report by the United Nations estimated that achieving universal education for the world's children would cost $10-30 billion -- about 0.7% - 2.0% of the annual cost of global military spending.
Child labour distribution by branch of economic activity (5-17 years old)
The agriculture sector comprises activities in agriculture, hunting forestry, and fishing.
The industry sector includes mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities (electricity, gas and water).
The services sector consists of wholesale and retail trade; restaurants and hotels; transport, storage, and communications; finance, insurance, real-estate, and business services; and community as well as social personal services.
The occupation wise distribution of children engaged in hazardous occupations as per Census of India 2001 shown below.
The major occupations engaging child labour are Pan, Bidi & Cigarettes (21%), Construction (17%), Domestic workers (15%) and Spinning & weaving (11%).
As per census 2001, Uttar Pradesh (15.22%) recorded the highest share of child labour in the country, followed by Andhra Pradesh (10.76%), Rajasthan (9.97%), Bihar (8.82%), Madhya Pradesh (8.41%), and West Bengal (6.77%).
Impact of Exploitation of Children
Child labour keeps children out of school and is a major barrier to development. Many middle and upper class families in the urban areas do not hesitate to engage young boys and girls to help them with household chores. The middle class family feels, by employing a child below 14 years, they are helping poor families to increase their earning for daily livelihood.
There are two aspects linked with child labour: the economic and the social impact. While the social impact revolves around what the people think and how they react towards this problem and what action they take against it, the economic aspect mainly revolves around major problems like poverty, unemployment, etc.
There are various ill effects which prove that child labour is a burning problem and must be looked into seriously, not only for the welfare of the child but for the welfare and development of the whole nation. Some of the ill effects of child labour in India are listed below:
a) Many children in hazardous and dangerous jobs are in danger of injury, even death.
b) Most of the children involved in child labour are devoid of their education and turn up as illiterate and ignorant citizens.
c) Working in dangerous and poisonous areas like mines and factories cause detriment to their health.
d) Working of children as sex slave is another threat to our society and its morals.
e) Working of child at such a tender age results in psychic and/or physical disorders and the child is deprived off glory of childhood.
f) One of the offshoot of employment of children as child labour is that they get involved in criminal activities easily, which is dangerous for the society.
There are four major types of child abuses, namely, physical, sexual, emotional and neglect, child labour falls under neglect exploitation and emotional abuse. Neglect is a different concept to exploitation and constitutes a failure to provide for a child’s basic need. Physical neglect includes inadequate provision of food, housing and clothing, denial of medical care and inadequate hygiene. Educational neglect is the failure to enroll a child at mandatory school age in school. Emotional neglect is the lack of emotional support such as the failure to provide psychological care, domestic violence and allowing a child to participate in drugs and alcohol abuse. In India, under child trafficking, the children are taken to overseas countries on the pretext of employment on handsome salaries and other lavish facilities, which later prove to be fake and total fraud.
A child worker becomes alienated from the rest of the family, has low self esteem, and is likely to engage in self destructive behaviour. He or she is likely to have impaired psychological development and develop anti-social behaviour including lying and living with fear complex.
Measures by the Government
- The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 outlines where and how children can work and where they cannot. The act calls for the establishment of a Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee (CLTAC) who is responsible for advising the government about additions to the Schedule lists.
- National Child Labour Policy, 1987 envisages the strict enforcement of the provisions of the child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and other related legislation. A Child labour Technical Advisory committee had been set up to advise the central Government on addition and processes to the schedule contained in the child labour (prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
- In a recent significant move to curb the rampant spread of child labour across the country, the Government of India is set to ban all forms of child labour under the age of 14 years, making the employment of children below 14 years a criminal offense. Child & Adolescent Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2012 places a blanket ban on employing anybody below 18 years in hazardous occupation. This is a crucial step by the Government towards ending child labour following more than a decade of sustained efforts by “Bachpan Bachao Andolan” and the “Global March Against Child Labour” to pursue complete abolition of child labour in India.
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) act, 2000 - to consolidate and amend the law relating to juveniles in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, by providing for proper care, protection and treatment by catering to their development needs, and by adopting a child-friendly approach in the adjudication and disposition of matters in the best interest of children and for their ultimate rehabilitation through various institutions established under this enactment.
- The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 mandates free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that 25 percent of seats in every private school must be allocated for children from disadvantaged groups and physically challenged children.
Role of Judiciary
The Indian judiciary has made its contribution towards protecting rights of children, specifically in the case of child labour. The Supreme Court of India, in its decision in the M.C. Mehta Vs State of Tamil Naidu, has given certain directions regarding the manner in which children working in the hazardous occupations are to be withdrawn from work and rehabilitated, and the manner in which the working conditions of children working in non-hazardous occupations are to be regulated and improved. The Apex Court directed for withdrawal of children working in hazardous industries and ensuring their education in appropriate institutions; contribution of Rs. 20,000 per child to be paid by the offending employers of children to a welfare fund to be established for this purpose; employment to one adult member of the family of the child so withdrawn from work, and if that is not possible a contribution of Rs.5000 to the welfare fund to be made by the State Government; financial assistance to the families of the children so withdrawn to be paid out of the interest earnings on the corpus of Rs.20,000/25,000 deposited in the welfare fund as long as the child is actually sent to the school.
Regulating hours of work for children, between the age of 14 to 18 years, for working in non-hazardous occupations so that their working hours do not exceed six hours per day and education for at least two hours is ensured. The entire expenditure on education is to be borne by the concerned employer. As a follow up of the directions of the Supreme Court, all the State Governments were sent detailed guidelines on December 26, 1996 indicating the manner in which the directions of the Supreme Court were to be implemented. As per the Ministry of
Suggestions regarding elimination of Child Labour
Eliminate Poverty
International financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund contributed to the rise in child labour when they called on countries heavily indebted to them to reduce public expenditure on health care and new jobs. These structural adjustment programmes have resulted in increased poverty and child labour. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund should rethink their loan plans to developing countries in an effort to increase social expenditure rather than reduce it.
Government organizations and industries should be pressured to act in a socially responsible manner and to put an end to child labour or to provide children with better working conditions. Boycotting is not the solution because it forces children, who otherwise have no specific training, to quit their jobs and return to the streets or to more dangerous activities.
Encourage Education
Children need to learn how to read and write. They need social and professional skills that only school and a nurturing environment can provide.
Some countries have compulsory schooling and some provide free public schooling. However, in many countries, particularly for those where structural adjustment lending has led to the privatization of schools-the cost of teaching, books, and uniforms makes it impossible for children to get an education. Furthermore, for education to become a solution to child labour, schools must be located close to where these children live.
Education must be free and compulsory up until the minimum legal age for employment.
Enforce Labour Laws
Most countries have laws against child labour; however, some governments support child labour (regardless of existing laws) as a way of gaining a competitive market advantage.
Rehabilitate and Protect Working Children
(Encourage NGO participation)
Preventing children from working is not necessarily the best solution; children may end up in worse situations and their families may become even poorer.
Some NGOs fight to protect working children by providing them with information on their rights or by guaranteeing them safer working conditions. Other NGOs help children in the transition from work to school by building centres where they are provided with healthcare and a tailored education. The children leave these centres only when they have learnt to be independent.
Abolish Child Trafficking
Everywhere in the world, there are adults who earn a living by buying and selling children. The governments of all countries must take harsh measures against child trafficking.
Promote Fair Trade
There is a worldwide rise in commercial agreements-which must include norms for guaranteeing basic human rights and respect. Implementing these fair trade norms helps prevent child labour.
The new labelling campaigns-like Rugmark or the equitable commerce label-guarantee that the products consumers buy are not manufactured by children and that fair commercial practices have been employed. The label also reminds companies that young consumers should also be aware of commercial practices.
Fair trade practices guarantee a fair price to small-scale producers. In 44 developing countries, fair trade helps keep 550 co-operatives in business. These co-operatives consequently provide goods to 5 million people and often reinvest profits in the community, where the money is used to build schools, medical clinics, wells, etc.
Replace Child Workers by Adult Workers
There are 800 million unemployed adults in the world; and yet, the number of working children is estimated to be at over 300 million.
Replacing these working children with their mostly unemployed parents would result in higher family incomes (since adults are generally paid better), and the resulting rise in production costs would have little impact on exports sales.
Conclusion
Child labour is a significant problem in India. Its prevalence is shown by child work participation rates which are higher in India than in other developing countries.
The major cause of child labour is poverty. Even though children are paid less than adults are, whatever income they earn is of benefit to poor families. In addition to poverty, the lack of adequate and accessible sources of credit forces poor parents to use their children as bonded child labourers. Some parents also feel that a formal education is not useful, and that children learn work skills through working. Another cause is poor access to education. In some areas, education is not affordable, or is found to be inadequate. With no other alternatives, children inevitably spend their time working.
The Constitution of India clearly states that child labour is wrong and that measures should be taken to end it. The government of India has set a minimum age of employment. This Act does not make all child labour illegal. Despite policies enforcement is a problem. If child labour is to be stopped in India, the government and those responsible for enforcement need to start doing their jobs. Policies without enforcement are useless.
Education in India also needs to be improved. High illiteracy and dropout rates reflect the low quality of the educational system. Poverty plays a role in the ineffectiveness of the educational system. Dropout rates are high because children are forced to work in order to support their families. The attitudes of the parents also contribute to the lack of enrolment. Compulsory education may help in regard to these attitudes. The examples of Sri Lanka and Kerala show that compulsory education has worked in those areas. Hopefully the future will show that progress will be made towards universal education, and stopping child labour.
Child labour cannot be eliminated by focusing on one cause, for example education, or by strict enforcement of child labour laws. The government of India must ensure that the needs of the poor are filled before attacking child labour. If poverty is addressed, the need for child labour will automatically be reduced. Children grow up illiterate because they are working and not attending school. A cycle of poverty is formed and the need for child labour is constant from one generation to the next. India needs to deal with the underlying causes of child labour and the enforcement of laws. Only then will India succeed in the fight against child labour.
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