By Narendra Sharma
NEW DELHI: The problem of Child Labour in India is neither easy to comprehend nor easy of solution. Poverty compels families to yoke also their children to work. Employers misuse children without any fear or hesitation and poverty of law even encourages them to do so. Above all, children, hardly dare speak for themselves at home or at work.
The child labour law was enacted in India a quarter of a century ago. The Child Labour (Abolition & Regulation) Act, 1986 says, a ‘child’ is a person who has not completed 14th year of his age. A number of occupations have been indicated where a child shall not be employed; he is not to work overtime nor in night shifts. The law also indicated ‘hazardous’ jobs where a child was not to be employed. As facts will show, this law is mostly observed in its breach.
According to 2001 Census, there were 1.26 crore working children in the age group of 5-14. Out of them about 12 lakh were working in the hazardous occupations covered under the Child Labour Act. The data given by the National Sample Survey Organisation for 2009-10 says the number of working children were 49.84 lakh. It makes no reference to children working in hazardous jobs.
The hazardous jobs, according to law, where children have not to work include areas of pesticides, chemicals, firecrackers, carpet making, mining etc. The reports, however, show that thousands of children continue to be involved in such risky operations. The fact that children happen to be employed in such occupations right under the nose of central authorities in Delhi and nearby areas like Rewari, Meerut shows that the authorities themselves are not serious about implementation of this law. It has been often reported from Delhi itself that children set free from here and sent to their respective states, rejoined the same jobs. Due to concern for livelihood such cases keep repeating and also remain unreported.
The serious imbalance between crime and punishment in child labour cases points to the lack of commitment on the part of authorities responsible for enforcing the law. The latest official data available for last three years shows that as many as 22,092 people were prosecuted for violating the Child Labour (Abolition and Regulation) Act 1986. Of these, only 3,049 people were convicted whereas only 12 were sent to jail.
As stated earlier, employment of children in a number of jobs is prohibited and treated as a punishable offence under the law. The punishment may mean imprisonment ranging between three months to one year or a fine ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 or both.
This makes it obvious that poverty of vast majority of people coupled with weak law and poor commitment of implementing administration together create situation for continued employment of child labour. Increasing unemployment in the country and ever-growing prices of essential goods further aggravate situation for impoverished families which keep pressure on child labour too.
Government claims that with the help of its National Child Labour Project (NCLP) it has been able to rehabilitate children rescued or withdrawn from hazardous occupations. It is said that so far 8.52 lakh children have been rehabilitated under NCLP. These children had been withdrawn from work in the country’s 266 districts; then they were enrolled in special schools where they were given education, vocational training; they were also provided other care-taking facilities before they could be “mainstreamed into formal education system”.
This report in some national dailies quoting official sources about effective working of the National Child Labour Project in districts reads and sounds slick and is difficult to believe, especially when right in Delhi and areas around, children continue to work in hazardous industries. This is not to reject the need for such projects or for improving the working conditions of child labour. They should be there but not for mere demonstration but to actually achieve the objective.
All concerned have to realise that problems related to child labour are the outcome of impoverishment of poor families themselves suffering from lack of employment opportunities and rising cost of essential goods. In this backdrop, unless serious efforts are made by the rulers also to deal with problems of poverty, unemployment and rising living costs, it will be well neigh impossible to get over child labour problems.
However, a sensitive administrator on this job may still be able to do justice to serious issues pertaining to Child Labour. (IPA Service)
