Introduction Child Labour, consisting of children below 14 years of age, is defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as “the type of work performed by children that deprives them of their childhood and their dignity, which hampers their access to education and acquisition of skills and which is performed under conditions harmful to their health and their development―. Children are the greatest gift to humanity and the same gift is being misused for personal gains as child labour. They constitute 36% of India’s population but a large majority of children in the age group of 5-14 years continue to remain in distress and turmoil. One in every five children below the age of 14 is a labourer. The flower (Child) withers before it blossoms.

Magnitude of the problem Child labour is more a rural phenomenon than an urban phenomenon. Due to acute poverty poor families residing in rural areas send their children to urban areas for bread and butter. In urban areas, to survive in a cutthroat competition, manufacturers have lowered the real wages for adult workers in order to employ child workers on low wages. The problem is very much vast in its dimension. Children are forced to work in the most hazardous, unhygienic conditions, where they are vulnerable to many severe health problems.

TYPES OF CHILD LABOUR

UNICEF has classified child work into three categories:

Within the Family

Children are engaged without pay in domestic household tasks, agricultural pastoral work,

handicraft/cottage industries etc.

Within the Family but outside the Home

Children do agricultural/pastoral work which consists of (seasonal/ full-time) migrant labour,

local agricultural work, domestic service, construction work and informal occupation e.g.

recycling of waste- employed by others and self employed.

Outside the Family

Children are employed by others in bonded work, apprenticeship, skilled trades (Carpet,

embroidery, and brass/copper work), industrial unskilled occupations/ mines, domestic work,

commercial work in shops and restaurants, begging, prostitution and pornography.

MIGRANT CHILD LABOUR

Child migrate from the rural area to the urban or from smaller to larger towns cities either with

their families or alone. They migrate either for better employment opportunities or to escape

from bondage

BONDED CHILD LABOUR

Children are pledged by their parents guardians to employers in lieu of debts or payment. The

rates of interest on loans are so high that the amount to be repaid accumulates every year,

making repayment almost impossible

The phenomenon of urban child labour includes street children. These children belong to three

broad categories:

Children on the Street

· Working children who have families but spend most of their time in streets

· They earn for themselves and may or may not contribute to the family income.

Children off the Streets

· Working children who have left their families in villages or towns and have migrated to

the city.

· They do not have a place to live and hence spend their nights at the railway platforms,

bus stands etc.

· They live independently and usually spend all that they earn in the same day.

Abandoned/Orphaned Children

· Working children without families or whose families have abandoned them

· They spend their lives on the streets without any kind of support and are hence the most

exploited and abused of the lot.

INVISIBLE CHILD LABOUR

· Children work in the unorganized or/and informal sector

· They do not come under the purview of law

· They constitute a substantial proportion of the child labour in the country

· Most of them do not go to school

Statistics of child labour in India:

A survey conducted by 7th All India Education Survey reveals below facts on Child Labor:

• At present there are 17 million children labour in India.

• A study found that children were sent to work by compulsion and not by choice, mostly by

parents, but with recruiter playing a crucial role in influencing decision.

• When working outside the family, children put in an average of 21 hours of labour per week.

• 19% of children employed work as domestic help.

• 90% working children are in rural India.

• 85% of working children are in the unorganized sectors.

• About 80% of child labour is engaged in agricultural work.

• Millions of children work to help their families because the adults do not have appropriate

employment and income thus forfeiting schooling and opportunities to play and rest.

• Children also work because there is demand for cheap labour.

• Large numbers of children work because they do not have access to good quality schools.

• Poor and bonded families often “sell” their children to contractors who promise profitable jobs in

the cities and the children end up being employed in brothels, hotels and domestic work.

• There are approximately 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and 15

years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years.

• 500,000 children are forced into this trade every year.

Causes of Child Labour In a country like India where over 40 percent of the population is living in conditions of extreme poverty, child labour is a complex issue. Following are some of the causes of child labour. First Extreme poverty is the chief cause of child labour. The children either supplement their parents’ income or are the only wage earners in the family. Second Child labour is deliberately created by vested interest to get cheap labour. Third Low level of parental education is also an important factor in determining the incidence of child labour. Fourth A majority of parents prefer to send their children to work rather than to school at the school-going age, primarily on account of their need for a supplementary income.

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR

Poverty

Parental illiteracy

Tradition of making children learn the family skills

Absence of universal compulsory Primary education

Social apathy and tolerance of child labour

Ignorance of the parents about the adverse consequences of Child

labour

Ineffective enforcement of the legal provisions pertaining to child

labour

Non-availability of and non-accessibility to schools

Irrelevant and non-attractive school curriculum

Employers prefer children as they constitute cheap labour and they

are not able to organize themselves against exploitation.

Measures to combat Child Labour

Govt measures :

National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labour in India

NATIONAL CHILD LABOUR POLICY 1987

JUNE 12TH- World Day against child labour

Legislation The Constitution of India (26 January 1950), through various articles enshrined in the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy, lays down that:

No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment (Article 24);

The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age six to 14 years. (Article 21 (A));

The State shall direct its policy towards securing that the health and strength of workers, men and women and the tender age of children are not abused and that they are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to their age and strength (Article 39-e);

Children shall be given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth shall be protected against moral and material abandonment (Article 39-f);

The State shall endeavour to provide within a period of 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years (Article 45)

Child labour is a matter on which both the Union Government and state governments can legislate. A number of legislative initiatives have been undertaken at both levels. The major national legislative developments include the following:

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in 16 occupations and 65 processes that are hazardous to the children's lives and health. These occupations and processes are listed in the Schedule to the Act. In October 2006, the Government has included children working in the domestic sector as well as roadside eateries and motels under the prohibited list of hazardous occupations. More recently, in September 2008 diving as well as process involving excessive heat (e.g. working near a furnace) and cold; mechanical fishing; food processing; beverage industry; timber handling and loading; mechanical lumbering; warehousing; and processes involving exposure to free silica such as slate, pencil industry, stone grinding, slate stone mining, stone quarries as well as the agate industry were added to the list of prohibited occupations and processes;

The Factories Act, 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years. An adolescent aged between 15 and 18 years can be employed in a factory only if he obtains a certificate of fitness from an authorized medical doctor. The Act also prescribes four and a half hours of work per day for children aged between 14 and 18 years and prohibits their working during night hours.

The Mines Act, 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. Further, it states that apprentices above 16 may be allowed to work under proper supervision in a mine.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000: This Act was last amended in 2002 in conformity with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child covers young persons below 18 years of age. Section 26 of this Act deals with the Exploitation of a Juvenile or Child Employee, and

provides in relevant part, that whoever procures a juvenile or the child for the purpose of any hazardous employment and keeps him in bondage and withholds his earnings or uses such earning for his own purposes shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable for fine. In some States, including Karnataka and Maharashtra, this provision has been used effectively to bring to book many child labour employers who are otherwise not covered by any other law and to give relief and rehabilitation benefits to a large number of children.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948: Prescribes minimum wages for all employees i n all estabilishments or to those working at home in certain sectors specified in the schedule of the Act. Central and State Governments can revise minimum wages specified in the schedule. Some consider this Act as an effective instrument to combat child labour in that it is being used in some States (such as Andhra Pradesh) as the basis on which to prosecute employers who are employing children and paying them lower wages.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009: Provides for free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years. This legislation also envisages that 25 per cent of seats in every private school should be allocated for children from disadvantaged groups including diffirently abled children

Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS): As a continuation to the adoption of the National Policy for Children

(1974), the Government of India developed the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme, popularly known as ICDS. Role of NGOs: NGOs have an important role to play in the elimination of child labour. Government does not have the infrastructure to reach every section of the society and particularly the millions who work and live in remote areas. NGOs can act as a bridge between hard-to-reach areas and the government. Role of Media: The role of media in elimination of child labour is one of the most important components of the process of total human development. The media should expose defaulting firms or business houses that clandestinely employ children and violate laws relating to child labour. The government should give certain monetary or if need be non-monetary incentives to the families that live Below Poverty Line (BPL) to avoid child labour so that their children can be sent to school. Effective state intervention to eliminate inequities, including class and caste barriers to employment and other opportunities in areas such as health and education, will put an end to child labour.

Conclusion Child labour is an international evil. It requires cumulative efforts to wipe it out. Toiling long hours for a pittance, these little breadwinners accept exploitation as a way of life. The government on this front has also taken a few steps. The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the International Programme for Elimination of Child Labours in 1991 and India was the first to join the same in 1992. But still the problem persists due to poor implementation of the plans and programmes. The need of the hour is to expand the machinery for enforcing the various laws on child labour. There is a plethora of laws but nothing can eradicate child labour unless there is awareness among parents and children, which will go a long way in saving the future of millions of working children in India. Lastly instead of blaming the "supply side", we must focus on the "demand side'.