Child Labor

Child labor can be defined as employment of children in economic activities. As per definition of UNICEF children in the age category 5-11 are considered to be involved in child labor 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. As per statistics of UNICEF about 12% of the children in India are engaged as child labor. These children work in many sectors including agriculture, manufacturing units, domestic households and other sectors. Some of these occupations are of hazardous nature.

Reasons

1. Poverty is the most important factor responsible for prevalence of this practice. A large number of families live below the poverty line, and even a substantial percentage of those above poverty line find it difficult to make both ends meet. In such a situation, the family finds it difficult to send the child to school and prefers that he supports the family as an earning hand.
2. Another important factor is the large size of families. Poor people in India are uneducated and hence do not understand the importance of family planning measures. This results in bigger families which increases the financial burden and forces the family to send its children to work.
3. A child worker can be engaged at much lower wages than an adult. This comes handy for a number of entrepreneurs who see this as a cost cutting measure. This is facilitated by poor implementation of labor laws which allows these businessmen to indulge in such activities.
4. Social structure is also an important factor. Some communities and groups, which have been at lower end of the social ladder for centuries, are not able to comprehend the importance 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 view is strengthened by the attitude of a number of upper category people who do not want such children to go to school and become educated.

Legal provisions for child labor

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The Mines Act prohibits the employment of any person below 18 years in mines.
5. In order to make a comprehensive study on the issue of child labor, the Government formed the Gurupadswamy committee in 1979. The Committee felt that child labor is intrinsically related to poverty and as long as poverty continued, it would be difficult to completely eliminate child labor. 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 Labor (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Right of Child to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides for free and compulsory education to all children from 6-14 years.

Other Initiatives of the Government

1. 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 labor laws including the Child Labor 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 labor.
2. National Child Labor Project (NCLP) scheme was launched in 9 districts. The scheme envisaged running of special schools for child labor 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 and presently covers more than 250 districts.
3. A similar scheme (INDUS) was run in cooperation with the Department of Labor, 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.
4. Another ILO Project named “Converging against Child Labor” has been launched with support of US Department of Labor which will cover two districts each in five states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa).
5. 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.
6. India is a member of International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor which is being run by the International Labor Organization.
7. In districts which have not been covered by these specific schemes welfare and rehabilitation activities are being carried out through various NGOs.

Impacts of Child Labor

1.  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 labor, 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.
2. Every economic system needs educated and trained personnel who are competent to handle various jobs related with economic activities. Child labor defeats this purpose as a child labor is not able to acquire education and other training to meet the requirments of the present day world. Hence apart from being loss to the individual, the practice of child labor is also a loss to the society.

Future action

India has a number of laws prohibiting and regulating child labor. Enforcement activities are also carried out under these laws in which children are rescued and culprits punished. However, this can only help the children who are trapped in the system. It cannot do anything about the circumstances which force the children to go to work and stopping new recruitment of child labor.  Apart from strictly implementing these laws, we will have to create conditions in which the parents have the willingness as well as the capacity to send their children to school. For achieving this target, poverty alleviation programmes should be implemented in the right earnest so as to reach the targeted people. Our education system would also need to be geared up so that the children are encouraged to go to school and there are no dropouts. However, it must be understood that such kind of problems need sustained efforts over a period of time. ILO has prepared a roadmap for elimination of worst form of child labor by 2016. The roadmap involves Governments, NGOs & Civil Society, International Organizations as well as other partners. Let us hope that these steps will  eliminate the problem of child labor from our society.