Child Labour in India

Child labour can be defined as employment of children in economic activities to such an extent that it adversely affects their physical and mental growth. As per International Labour Organization, “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 and refers to the 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.”

UNICEF defines Child Labour differently. As per definition of UNICEF, children in the age category 5-11 are considered to be involved in child labour activities if during one week preceding the survey they did at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work. For the age group 12 to 14 years the criterion is 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours of economic activity and domestic work combined.

These children work in many sectors including agriculture, manufacturing units, domestic households and other sectors. Some of these occupations are of hazardous nature.  As per Census 2001 there were about 1.26 crores child workers. As per NSSO Survey for 21 major states for the year 2004-05 the number of child workers was about 90.75 lakhs and as per NSSO Survey for these states for the year 2009-10 the number of child workers was about 49.83 lakhs

Factors responsible for child labour

Poverty is the most important factor responsible for prevalence of child labour. A large number of families live below the poverty line. Going by the official estimates for the year 2011-12, the percentage of people below the poverty line is 25.7% for rural areas; 13.7% for urban areas and 21.9% for all India. Number of people below poverty lines as per these estimates is 26.9 crores. Considering the official poverty line  which is Rs.816 per capita per month for rural areas and Rs.1000 per capita per month for urban areas it can be safely presumed that life would be difficult not only for those below poverty line but even for those who are marginally above it. This forces the children from such families to go to work.  

Lack of awareness and education among the lower strata of population is also one of the contributing factors for child labour. People are not aware about of the benefits of education. They feel that sending their children to school would be of no use as education will not change their economic and social status. This coupled with poverty results in a situation in which every child is treated as an additional working hand and is expected to support the family by taking up some remunerative work. Another reason is that a child worker can be engaged at much lower wages than an adult and are hence economical for the businessman particularly in those industries/professions which do not require heavy manual work. In such cases child labour is seen as a cost cutting measure which is facilitated by poor implementation of labour laws.

Impacts of Child Labour

            In the first place the practice is inhuman as it takes away the childhood from the children and hampers their physical and mental growth. As children due to being physically and mentally weak are not to protest in same way as an adult their exploitation is much severe and in some extreme cases the child labour involves trafficking of children, enslavement, separation from families, exposure to hazards and left to fend for themselves in big cities.

            The practice is also harmful for the society as a whole. During his childhood, every child expects to live under care of his parents and acquire knowledge and skills which he can put to use in his adulthood. However, a child labour, on account of devoting his time and energy towards his work does not get opportunities to acquire these skills and is not able to achieve his full potential. This goes against the individual as well as the concept of a welfare state.

            Further, economic system needs educated and trained personnel who are competent to handle various jobs related with diverse economic activities. However, a child labour is not able to acquire education and other training to meet the requirements of diverse and complex nature of jobs coming up due to use of technology in almost every economic activity. Thus child labour adds to the untrained or meagerly trained labour force which is not suitable for growth of economy.

Legal provisions

·    The Constitution of India, in Article 24, provides that no child under the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in a factory, mine or in any other hazardous employment.

·       In Article 39 under the Directive Principles of State Policy, it has been stated that children should be given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity.

·   Factories Act prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in factories and also regulates the conditions of employment of persons in the age group 15-18 years in these units.

·        The Mines Act prohibits the employment of any person below 18 years in mines.

·    In order to make a comprehensive study on the issue of child labour, the Government formed the Gurupadswamy committee in 1979. The Committee felt that child labour is intrinsically related to poverty and as long as poverty continued, it would be difficult to completely eliminate child labour. Therefore, the best course would be to prohibit employment of children in hazardous areas and to regulate their employment in others. On the basis of the recommendations, the Government enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986.

·     The Act defines a child as a person who has not completed 14 years of age and prohibits employment of such children in hazardous occupations specified in schedule to the Act. Initially the schedule contained 6 occupations and 13 processes. The schedule has been reviewed from time to time. Presently, the list contains 18 occupations and 65 processes.

·     The Government formulated a National Child Policy in 1987. The policy outlined an action plan with three components. First aspect was regarding strict enforcement of the labour laws including the Child Labour Act. This included updating of the list of hazardous occupations by including additional occupations identified as detrimental to the health and safety of the children.  Second aspect was focusing on general development and covering needy people under poverty alleviation programmes. Third aspect was to start projects specifically targeting child labour.

·      The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000 prohibits procuring or employing a child in any hazardous employment or in bondage and provides punishment for the same.

·        Insertion of Article 21A in the Fundamental Rights and subsequent enactment of the Right of Child to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides for free and compulsory education to all children from 6-14 years.

·     National policy for Children adopted by the Government of India in April, 2013 also considers the need for protection of children under situations of labour.  

Programmes for benefit of child labour

·     National Child Labour Project (NCLP) scheme was launched in 9 districts. The scheme envisaged running of special schools for child labour withdrawn from work. In these schools, these children were provided formal/non formal education along with vocational training as well as a cash stipend of Rs.100/- which was increased to Rs.150/- with effect from April, 2011. The scheme is being gradually extended to more and more districts it progressively covered 271 districts. As per annual report of the Ministry of Labour for 2012-13 it is presently running in 266 districts.

·     INDUS (Indo US Child Labour Project) was run in cooperation with the Department of Labour, USA which also covered 21 districts. However, the scheme which was launched in 2000 was only for 8 years and has ended in March, 2009. An estimated 1,03,152 child workers have been rescued and rehabilitated under this project.

·      Another ILO Project named “Converging against Child Labour” has been launched in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and with support of US Department of Labour. The programme covers two districts each in five states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa).

·     Other schemes like Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, Rural Employment Schemes and other similar schemes are also being implemented for welfare of children and poverty alleviation. All these are expected to make a dent in the problem of Child labour.