GOOD MORNING

“If we are to reach real peace in this world, and if

we are to carry on a real war against war, we
shall have to begin with children”
- MAHATMA
GANDHI
INTRODUCTION-
Children are considered as an asset of society
and children are the one who take the nation
forward in a due course. But unfortunately social
problems such as unemployment, poverty,
ignorance and illiteracy of parents force them to
work.
PROBLEMS OF CHILD LABOUR
-WHERE THE NATION IS HEADING TOWARDS?

AKSHATHA PARANJYOTHI KUMAR

DEPT. OF SOCIOLOGY
GOVT. FIRST GRADE COLLEGE, RAJAJINAGAR
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF CHILD LABOUR

Indeed the problem of child labour is very old and it

has been there since time immemorial. In ancient India,
in Medieval India and also in pre-capitalist societies,
children less than 8 years of age belonging to Scheduled
Castes and lower castes were employed for doing menial
works. Industrialization and large scale urbanization has
aggravated the problem of child labour.
WHO IS A CHILD LABOUR?

There is no consensus with regard to the

meaning of the term child labour.

According to the Child Labour( Prohibition

and Regulation) Act 1986, ‘child means a
person who has not completed his 14th year of
age. Any such person engaged for wages,
whether in cash or in kind, is a child worker’.
CHILD LABOUR IN DIFFERENT SECTORS

In India children are

employed both in organized
and unorganized sectors in
rural and urban areas of
which 90 percent is in rural
areas. Children are engaged in
activities like sowing,
weeding, harvesting, tending
of cattle, shoe-polishing, rag
picking, beedi making,
construction activities, hotels
and restaurants work, helper
at garages, households and so
on.
HOW CHILDREN ARE EXPLOITED?
• Children are damaged physically, emotionally, morally
and intellectually
• UNICEF states 14 percent of children between 5-14
years are involved in child labour
• Bangladeshi girls and women trafficked for sexual
exploitation to Pakistan, and boys were trafficked to
Gulf States to work as camel jockeys, says US Dept. of
State, Trafficking in Persons Report of 2005.
• In Jammu and Kashmir armed groups recruit children
in localized conflicts says Global Report on Child
Soldiers 2004.
WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES CHILDREN FACE?
• Full time work at a very early age

• Dangerous workplaces
• Excessive working hours
• Psychological, verbal, physical and sexual
abuse
• obliged to work by circumstances
• Limited or no pay
• Work and life on the streets in bad conditions
• No access to Education
PROBLEMS OF CHILD LABOUR
• Child labour occurs even in developed
countries
• Children of ethnic minorities, immigrants,
and marginalized groups are affected
• Children are exposed to many health
hazards at working places
• Victims of many diseases
• They are preferred to adult workers as
children are less aware of their rights, accept
dangerous work, more obidient and easier to
exploit
UNICEF CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS
OF CHILD LABOUR
• Physical hazards- affect overall health of
children
• Cognitive hazards- Education is reduced by child
labour. Cognitive development includes literacy, numeric
and acquisition of knowledge
• Emotional, Social and Moral hazards- Trafficking
 HEALTH HAZARDS
SL. NO. OCCUPATION HEALTH
HAZARDS
1. Beedi industry Chronic bronchitis and
tuberculosis
2. Glass Industry Asthma, Bronchitis,
T.B., Eye problem
3. Handloom Industry Asthma, T.B.
4. Zari and Embroidery Eye defects
5. Gem and Diamond cutting Eye defects
6. Construction Stunted growth of child

7. Rag picking Tetanus, skin diseases

8. Pottery Asthma, Bronchitis,
T.B.
9. Stone quarries/ Slate quarries Silicosin

Source- Rural Labour Cell of Academy of Gandhian Studies, Hyderabad, 1988

 PLUTCHIK’S EMOTIONAL WHEEL
LOVE

OPTIMISM SURPRISE

JOY ACCEPTANCE

ANTICIPATION FEAR
AGGRESSION AWE
ANGER SURPRISE

DISGUST
SADNESS
CONTEMPT DISSAPOINTMENT

REMORSE
The wheel indicates eight primary emotions of children
grouped into four pairs of opposites-

Acceptance and disgust

Fear and anger
Surprise and anticipation
Sadness and joy
Pluthick is of the view that these primary
emotions give birth to number of other emotions.
The chart shows that children who are engaged
in hazardous activities are deprived of primary
emotions such as joy, acceptance, surprise etc,
and they experience more of secondary
emotions like disgust, fear, anger and sadness
at their work places.
WORKING CONDITIONS

• Terribleworking conditions in urban and

industrial areas
• Miserable working conditions in Industrial
units and mining areas
• Victims of diseases
• Exploitation at the hands of Intermediaries
PROBLEMS AT WORK PLACES
• Lack of basic facilities
• Lack of safety measures by employers
• Lack of first-aid facilities
• No compensation for injuries
• No insurance
• No incentives or perks
• No bonus
• No break in between working hours
• Harassment by employers
WHAT CAUSES CHILD LABOUR

Economic factors
• Extreme poverty

• Introduction of the factory system

• More work for less wages
• Benefits to industries
Familial factors
Divorce
Rigid family relations
Desertion
Cruelty at home
Parent-child conflicts
Other factors
• Failure of Government machinery and Legislative
system
• Lack of public awareness
STATISTICS ON CHILD LABOUR
• 17 million children in India work
• children put in an average of 21 hours of labour per week
• 19% of children work as domestic help
• 90% working children are in rural India
• 85% working children in unorganized sectors
• 80% engaged in agricultural work
• 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and
15 years and 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years
• Form 40% of the total population of commercial sex workers
• 71% of them are illiterate
• 500,000 children are forced into this trade every year
WHERE INDIA IS HEADING TOWARDS?

• Labour Ministry stated that India has 12.6 million

working children between the ages of 5-14, the largest
number of child labourers in the world
• 1979 declared as “International Year of the Child” by
UN General Assembly
• No proper enforcement of Policies and Programmes
• What is the purpose of Constitutional Articles?
• June 12th – Anti Child Labour Day- Is it serving any
purpose?
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Increased Family incomes
• Education- universalisation of primary education
• Social services- that help children and families
survive crises such as disease, or loss of home and
shelter
• Family control of fertility
• Proper enforcement of policies and programmes
• Awareness among the masses
• Effective role of Government and Non-Governmental
Organizations
The development of India as a nation is being
hampered by child labour. The Government of India
must ensure that the needs of the poor are satisfied.
If poverty is addressed, the need for child labour
will diminish.
Concerted efforts are required from all section
of the society to make a dent in the problem. There
should be combined efforts of government,
international agencies, non-governmental
organizations and above all the citizens. Let us hope
that child labour issue would be addressed
genuinely and eradicated completely from our
society in the coming years and near future.
WE ALL CAN HELP

When the setting sun

asked,
Who shall do the rest?
A little lamp offered
I shall do my best.
- RABINDRANATH TAGORE
REFERENCES-
• Agarwal, Rashmi: “Street Children- A Socio-Psychological Study”,
Shipra Publications, New Delhi, 1999

• Ahuja, Ram: “Social Problems in India”, Rawat Publications, New

Delhi,1999

• Child Labour: Targeting the Intolerable, Geneva, 1998

• Dwarakanath, H.D.: “Child Labour:A Social Evil”, (an article in Little

Hands in Chains- Child Labour in India edited by Gandhi, P. Jegadish
et.al, Southern Economist Publications, Bangalore, 2001

• Gandhi, P. Jegadish and Subrahmanya, Susheela: “Little Hands in

Chains- Child Labour in India”, Southern Economist Publications,
Bangalore, 2001

• Khan, Ali Mumtaz: “Sociological Aspects of Child Development- A

Study of Rural Karnataka”, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi,
1980

• Singh, Dolly: “Child Development- Issues, Policies and Programmes,

Kaniska Publishers Distributors, New Delhi, 1995
WEBSITES:

Census Of India

Department of Labour- Government of Karnataka

Helplinelaw.com

indianembassy.org

International Labour Office, Geneva- Website

International Labour Organization

OneWorld.net

Unicef website
NEWS PAPER ARTICLES:
The Hindu, Monday, December 06, 2004: Reported by Sahana
Charan

Prajavani, Sunday, June 11, 2006: Reported by C.T. Shantaraj

The Hindu, Wednesday, May 23, 2007: Reported by Bageshree S.

Prajavani, Sunday, June 10, 2007: Reported by Sacchidananda

Kuragunda

The Hindu, Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The Hindu, Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Hindu, Friday, June 15, 2007: Reported by Bageshree S.
The Hindu, Friday, July 13, 2007

The Hindu, Monday, October 15, 2007

The Times of India, June 12, 2009