CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

By

RAMAKRISHNAPPA.D.C
LECTURER IN SOCIOLOGY
GFGC, BAGEPALLI-561207
 CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

 INTRODUCTION

 Child labour in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a
serious and extensive problem. Poor children in India begin working
at a very young and tender age. Many children have to work to help
their families and some families expect their children to continue the
family business at a young age.

 Many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making

factories, glass blowing units and making fireworks with bare little
hands. Most of the children’s begin working at a young age due to
economic reasons, doing so allows them to break from some social
constraints

 According to the statistics given by Indian government there are 20

million child laborers in the country, while other agencies claim that it
is 50 million.
WHAT IS "CHILD LABOR"?

 The term Child Labor is used for employment of children below

fourteen years of age, which is considered illegal by law and
custom, “Child labour” is a world phenomenon which is
considered exploitative and inhuman by many international
organizations.

 "Child labor" is, generally speaking, works for children that harm
them or exploits them in some way physically, mentally, morally,
or by blocking access to education.
Facts and figures about child labour in India

 There are various estimates of working children magnitude in

India due to differing concepts of estimation and methods.
According to a census of India, (up to 2001) India had 10.75
million child labours while in 2001 it had around 12.66 million
child labours. Child Economic Activity rate: 13.5% {Male}
10.3 {Female}% (Int'l Labour Org'n) [1995]
 Largest number of working children in the world!
 Child labour accounts for 20% of our Gross National Product
Regional Patterns

 Child labour is found all over the country in large magnitude

but regional variation of child workers suggests that high
magnitude is found in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in 2001.In 1991 Andhra
Pradesh was the leader with the largest number of child
labours, but our proud state of Uttar Pradesh was been
declared as the leader according to 2001 census as shown
below. Though Uttar Pradesh is leading but Andhra Pradesh is
in second place though the level has gone down.
Types of labour

 85% of rural child labourers work in cultivation and agriculture

 40% of urban child labourers work in manufacturing and repair

 carpet making, tea platations, gem polishing, fireworks

Causes of child labour
 Some common causes of child labour are
 Poverty (in some cases 1/3 of family income from children)
 Absence of social welfare scheme and easy access to loans
 Caste system (higher proportion of scheduled caste children
work at a younger age)
 Attitude of parents that skills more important than education
 Child labour is 80% cheaper (sometimes around Rs.3 per day)
 family expectations and traditions
 abuse of the child
 lack of good schools and day care
 lack of other services, such as health care
 public opinion that downplays the risk of early work for
children uncaring attitudes of employers
 limited choices for women
 Case study

Stitching football in Jalandar

 10,000 children working in production of football


1350 are only working, rest working and studying
 1/3 are less than 12 years old
 work 7-9 hours a day
 adult earns less than Rs.20 a day.
 children much lesser.

90% are dalits
Sivakasi match stick and fireworks

50,000 children work with explosive and toxic


Materialwork with fake birth certificates and within
household

 paper tube rolling, filling of aluminium powder,

powdering, stickinglabels and paper cutting

 Industry supposedly has eradicated child labour per ILO

convention butcontinues to do it through agents
Constitution Provisions Related To
Child Labour
 ARTICLE 21 A[7]: Right To Education
 The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of 6 to 14 years in such manner as the State, by
law, may determine

 Article 23: of Constitution of India [1954] prohibits all kinds of

bonded labour

 ARTICLE 24[8]: Prohibition Of Employment Of Children In

Factories, Etc.
No child below the age fourteen years shall be employed in work in
any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

ARTICLE 39[9]: The State Shall In Particular, Directive Policy
Towards Securing:-
that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the
tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced
by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or
strength.
LAWS
 Bonded Labour System Act [1976] frees all bonded labourers and
cancels all outstanding debts

 -Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act [1956] ammendment provides

for 7 years to life imprisonment for recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child (below 18 years) for the
purpose of exploitation

 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act [1986] regulates

working hours and wages of children < 14 years working in non-
hazardour employment (ILO suggests 15 years as the limit)

 Juvenile Justice Act [1986] prohibits detention of juveniles for more

than 24 hours and requires then to be sent to their parents or to a
remand house upon identification
WHAT ARE SOME SOLUTIONS TO CHILD
LABOR?
 compulsory education
 child worker union and reglation
 enforcing laws
 Increased family incomes
 Social services — that help children and families survive
crises, such as disease, or loss of home and shelter
 Family control of fertility — so that families are not burdened
by children

 Some educators and social scientists believe that one of the

most important ways to help child workers is to ask their
opinions, and involve them in constructing "solutions" to their
own problems
Conclusion

 The future of a community is in the well being of its

children. The above fact is beautifully expressed by
Wordsworth in his famous lines “child is father of the
man”. So it becomes imperative for the health of a
nation to protect its children from premature labor
which is hazardous to their mental, physical,
educational and spiritual development needs. It is
urgently required to save children from the murderous
clutches of social injustice and educational deprivation,
and ensure that they are given opportunities for
healthy, normal and happy growth.