The lives of children in Indian society has always been a topic less spoken or discussed. The reason for the same can be traced back to the socio-cultural background of the country. Children are considered the greatest gift of God to humanity and childhood is an important stage of human development as it holds the potential for the future of any society. Whatever we learn in our childhood days remains with us forever, it is scientific fact.
Children brought up in an environment that is helpful to their intellectual, physical and social development go on to become responsible and productive parts of society. Thus, every society links its future to the present status of its children. And if we want to know what will be the condition of a country after some time, we can look at the condition of the children there and the kind of education they are getting.
This paper attempts to summarise the different meanings of the word child and give a brief overview of the magnitude of the issue from an Indian perspective. An attempt has been made to study the government policy document and list down the actions as proposed and implemented by the Indian government in the 11th five-year plan that ended in 2012. It is estimated that India has the largest number of child labourers in the world.
Today, children have been defined differently by different agencies and there is a large gap and many contradictions in these definitions. The International Labour Organisation states that the term ‘child labour’ is best defined as work that deprives children of their childhood. The UNICEF defines child labour as the work done for money by children between the age of 5 to 11 years.
This paper identifies that a lot of policy plans have been worked but there is an urgent need for a social movement for this issue to get addressed and resolve the great problem to the nation especially India which is suffering the most from child labour.
Introduction
Child labour in India is the so-called employment to the children in any work or any sector that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. In India, child labour is unlawful to even then the number of children who are in child labour is the highest.
The legislation across the world prohibits child labour. Child labour in India is addressed by the Child Labour Act 1986 and the National Child Labour Project. Today in India, there are more than 10.12 million children who are spending their time in rag picking, carpet weaving, bangle making, etc. What is actually child labour? It means labouring or earnings instead of going to a school or other educational institutions.
Child labour is that which harms children from many aspects socially, educationally, mentally, etc. The International Labour Organisation estimates that 215 million children between 5-17 years currently work under conditions that are considered illegal, hazardous or extremely exploitative.
Child labour can be found in nearly every industry. Almost 60% of child labour instances occur in agriculture, fishing, hunting and forestry. There are no restrictions in any field for children to work because of chief labour they are, more than 10 hours they are working. It is a serious issue because India is a developing country if the children or the future of India not getting quality education then how it will develop? There are so many laws against child labour but they are not properly in use.
Child Labour is suffering a high illness and injury rate in mining areas and those chemical and cement industries. It is a hazardous thing that is happening not only in India all over the world. It is a global issue. No doubt there are so many agencies’ laws and other things which are working upon in this issue but whether are successful.
Causes Of Child Labour
Poverty, social inequality and lack of education are among is the main cause of child labour. According to a UNICEF report, in rural and impoverished parts of the world, children have no real and meaningful alternative as schools and teachers are not available. Many communities, particularly rural areas, do not have adequate school facilities, even the availability and quality of schools are very low.
Also, the low-paying informal economy thrives upon the low cost, easy to hire, easy to dismiss labour in the form of child labour. After the unorganised agriculture sector which employs 60% of child labour, children are employed in unorganised trade, unorganised assembly, and unorganised retail work. Other contributory factors to child labour include inflexibility and structure of India’s labour market, size of the informal economy, the inability of industries to scale up, and lack of modern manufacturing technologies.
Hypothesis
Child labour is most prevalent in Asia and particularly in India. Child labour is the employment of minors in any labour industry, particularly when it is illegal or exploitative. It is hazardous work that affects the health, safety or morals of children. It includes slavery, the use of child soldiers, prostitution and drug trafficking.
It is not a good practice in every nation because it slows down the country’s economy and development. It affects children’s health and destroys their abilities. It is illegal and punishable by law. It should be banned and rules should be made stronger and more effective.
Objectives
We are surveying child labour to find that it is legal or is there any existing law that is effective and is being implemented. Child labour is common but people are ignorant about the cruelty faced by the child, so this project aims to promote awareness among the people, see the impact of child labour on nation’s economy, compare child labour in India to that of the rest of the world and study the effects of children’s physical and mental health due to child labour.
Consequences Of Child Labour
Child labour inflicts damage to a child’s physical and mental health. A child labourer has no basic rights to education, development and freedom. Children employed as laborers work in unsafe environments where there is a constant danger of fatal accidents. They are forced to lead a life of poverty, illiteracy and deprivation.
They are required to perform gruelling and physically demanding tasks and in return receive only meagre wages. Poor working conditions cause severe health problems to such children. A child labourer not just suffers physical and mental torture but also becomes mentally and emotionally mature too fast, which is never a good sign.
Laws For Children In India
Legislations
When in the 20th Century, child labour became so prominent that news of factory hazards and mishappenings taking innocent children’s life, flashed all around in the newspapers, that was a time when we needed legislation and statutes were felt to prohibit the malpractice of child labour.
Today, there are sufficient statutes condemning and prohibiting child labour such as:
The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The law also placed rules on whom, when and how long can pre-adults aged 15-18 years be employed in any factory.
The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. Mining is one of the most dangerous occupations, which in the past has led to many major accidents taking the lives of children is completely banned for them.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law. The list was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous employment or bondage. This Act provides punishment to those who act in contravention to the previous acts by employing children to work.
Article 24: This Article of the Indian constitution says: “No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine engaged in any other hazardous employment.”
The Judicial Decision On Child Labour
As we all know, law is a dynamic concept and it is always evolving. The response of legislature, executive and judiciary in the field of child labour is commendable. These organs played an important role in drafting laws against child labour in India. Justice Subba Rao, the former Chief Justice of India, rightly remarked:
“Social justice must begin with the child. Unless a tender plant is properly nourished, it has little chance of growing into a strong and useful tree. So, the priority in the scale of justice should be given to the welfare of children.”
In India ,we all know that the judiciary is the custodian of our rights and our constitution. That’s why the judiciary made laws against child labour in India. This is known as judicial activism. There are so many cases related to child to child labour that are a landmark for child labour in India.
In Peoples Union for Democratic Rights v Union of India, commonly known as ‘Asiad workers case’, it was brought to the notice of the Supreme Court that children below 14 years of age were employed in the construction work. It was held that construction work is a hazardous occupation and it is essential that the employment of children under the age of 14 years must be prohibited in every type of construction work. Justice PN Bhagavathi and Justice Bahrul have held that there should be a total prohibition of children in the hazardous industry or the worksite.
In Labourers, Salal Hydro Project v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, Bhagavati J with RSPathak and Amarendra Nath Sen JJ, delivered another valuable decision to protect the interest of a large number of child labourers working in the construction of the Salal Hydro Project, a hazardous work. The Court was constrained to remark that the problem of child labour is difficult and it is purely an account of economic reasons that parents often want their children to be employed to be able to make both ends meet. The Court said that this is an economic problem and it cannot be solved merely by legislation. So long as there is poverty and destitution in the country, it will be difficult to eradicate child labour.
Child labour is such a concept in which the children are not involved by themselves to some extent. Whether girls or boys, they are labouring for food or the family’s basic requirements. It is well known to everyone that for survival, education is not that much important than food and shelter.
The Court conceded that having regard to the prevailing socio-economic conditions, it is not possible to prohibit child labour altogether and in fact, any such move may not be socially or economically acceptable to large masses of people. That is why Article 24 limits the prohibition against employment of child labour only to factories, mines or other hazardous employment.
The Central Government was directed to persuade the workmen to send their children to a nearby school and arrange not only for the school fees to be paid but also provide free of charge, books and other facilities such as transportation, etc. The Court also suggested to the Central Government that:
“Whenever it undertakes a construction project which is likely to last for some time it should provide that children of construction workers who are living at or near the project site should be given facilities for schooling and this may be done either by the Central Government itself or if the Central Government entrusts the project work or any part thereof to a contractor, necessary provision to this effect may be made in the contract with the contractor.”
Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966: To protect child labour, the Apex Court suggested that:
“Tobacco manufacturing has indeed health hazards. Child labour in this trade should therefore be prohibited as far as possible and employment of child labour should be stopped either immediately or in a phased manner to be decided by the State Governments… the provisions of the Child Labour Act, 1986 should be strictly implemented.”
The Court further admitted that the exploitation of labour is rampant in the beedi trade and suggested that ‘given the health hazard involved in the manufacturing process, every worker including children if employed, should be insured for a minimum amount of Rs 50,000 and the premium should be paid by the employer.
There are so many cases in different states related to child labour and there are so many cases that are pending in many high courts and other courts also. Justices are making laws or strict rules and regulations and these rules are helping in decreasing child labour but there is no total abolishment of child labour in India. MC Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu and others, popularly known as ‘Child Labour Abolition Case’ has held that the children below the age of 14 years cannot be employed in any hazardous industry, mines or other work.
In Sheela Barse v. Union of India, it was held that a child is a national asset and the state must look after the child to assure full development of its personality. Judicial institutions have played a significant role not only in resolving disputes but also have always endeavoured to expand and develop the law to respond to the hopes and aspirations of the people who are looking to the judiciary to give life and content to law.
Intending to safeguard the interest of bonded child laborers Supreme Court delivered a judgment with important observation in a leading case in Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India and others. On behalf of the Court, Justice Bhagwati remarked:
“It is a problem which needs the urgent attention of the Government of India and the State Governments and when the Directive Principles of State Policy have obligated the Central and State Government to take steps and adopt measures to ensure social justice to the have-nots and the handicapped. It is not right on the part of the concerned governments to shut their eyes to the inhuman exploitation to which the bonded laborers are subjected.”
It is, therefore, essential that every State Government should admit the existence of such bonded labour, and make all possible efforts to eradicate it. By doing so, it will not only be performing a humanitarian function but also discharging a constitutional obligation and strengthening the foundations of participatory democracy in the country.
Various Laws But No Implementation
Apart from the enactment of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, the Indian Constitution has incorporated various provisions against child labour such as the following:
- According to Article 24, no child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or any hazardous employment (but not in non-hazardous industries).
- As per Article 39(f), childhood and youth are to be protected against exploitation and moral and material abandonment.
- Article 45 stipulates that the state shall endeavour to provide within 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years.
The Factories Act of 1948 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The Mines Act of 1952 prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. Also, various laws and the Indian Penal Code such as the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act, 1986, seek to prevent the practice of child labour in India. Unfortunately, these laws and regulations have not been backed by effective and proper implementation and enforcement.
Suggestions
According to the survey that we have conducted, we got the different suggestions from the different people of different age groups:
- Review national laws regarding child labour.
- Check the age of your employees.
- Identify hazardous work.
- Carry out a workplace risk assessment.
- Stop hiring children below the minimum age.
- Remove children from hazardous work.
- It takes the happiness of a child and takes away the moment of his childhood.
- Must come up with a strict rule to ban child labour.
- Must help them by government.
- Give free education.
Everyone is responsible for it and instead of pointing fingers at each other, we should join hands to eradicate it. This problem should be dealt with for a much better world for the children in the world. Childhood is precious and it should not go to waste doing labour so government and every individual should try to get rid of child labour.
No doubt, that government is taking steps regarding child labour. But they are not so serious about this problem the government is the only one who can abolish child labour by providing the food two times to the poor people. Then India will be able to create a more bright future that might not be backed by effective and proper implementation and enforcement.
Initiatives Against Child Labour In India
In 1979, the Indian government formed the Gurupadswamy Committee to find out about child labour and the means to tackle it. A National Policy on Child Labour was formulated in 1987 to focus on rehabilitating children working in hazardous occupations. The Ministry of Labour and Employment had implemented around 100 industry-specific National Child Labour Projects to rehabilitate child workers since 1988.
The Indian government has enacted a plethora of acts, laws, organisations and institutions to combat the overwhelming prominence of child labour. Some of the initiatives include the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act that is a piece of legislation that prohibits the engagement of children in certain employment and regulates the conditions of work of children; the National Policy on Child Labour seeks to adopt a sequential approach with a focus on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and processes in the first instance, and the Ministry of Labour and employment functions to provide and supervise a range of policies concerning child labour in India.
Furthermore, as reported by Osment, NGOs such as Care India, Child Rights and You, Global March against Child Labour have been implemented to combat child labour through education and accessibility to resources. However, these efforts have been largely unsuccessful.
Non-Governmental Organisations
Many NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Child Fund, CARE India, Talaash Association, Child Right and You, Global March against Child Labour, RIDE India, ChildLine, etc. have been working to eradicate child labour in India.
Child labour has also been a subject of public interest litigations in Indian courts. In India, there are so many organisations and NGOs that are working upon child labour in different regions and we will or must say that the non-governmental bodies are more successful in achieving their target. We all have to help them for fulfilling the target. As the citizen of India, it is our duty to help the other Indians or the people of humankind it is our moral value we must say that which we got from our forefathers.
Conclusion
As I conclude this research work, I would like to thank my mentor for making me research important issues. Child labour has been there and is still the major problem that deprives the right of the children. It’s a major concern of the entire city and the government has accordingly been taking proactive steps to tackle this problem through strict enforcement of legislative provisions along with simultaneous rehabilitative measures.
State Governments, which are the appropriate implementing authorities, have been conducting regular inspections and raids to detect cases of violations. Since poverty is the root cause of this problem and enforcement alone cannot help solve it, government has been laying a lot of emphasis on the rehabilitation of these children and on improving the economic conditions of their families.
I am proud to say that I have acquired a lot of knowledge on child labour that is one of the major concerns of government and from where do the loopholes lie? By doing this research work I have understood what research is and how it is done.
Lastly, I would like to sincerely thank my mentor for sincerely guiding me to complete this research work. Without your help and efficient support, I would not be able to come up with such informative work on child labour. I am so grateful to you for your endeavour in completing this research.