What Is Child Labour

What is Child Labour
Child labor is done by any working child who is under the age specified by law. The Home
Child Labor
The term Child Labor is used for employment of children below a Home
certain age, which is considered illegal by law and custom. The What is Child Labour
stipulated age varies from country to country and government to
Child Labour Today
government. Child labor is a world phenomenon which is
considered exploitative and inhuman by many international Child Labour in India
organizations. Causes of Child Labour
Child Labour Laws
Child Labor began to be considered a human rights issue and
Child Labour Policy in India
became an issue of public dispute, when the foundation of Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
universal schooling was laid. Historically the transformation
Bonded Child Labour in India
came with the industrial revolution and the emergence of Child Labour The Real Situation
concepts like children’s rights and worker’s right’s. Child labor is Stop Child Labor
widely prevalent in some form or the other, all over the world.
The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,
mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling
food etc, helping parent’s business and doing odd jobs. Children
are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up
as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and
other business establishment. In some industries children are forced
to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

polishing shoes, cleaning and arranging a shops goods. It is seen that
word, “work” means full time commercial work to sustain self or add to the family What is Child Labour
income. Child labor is a hazard to a Child’s mental, physical, social, educational,
emotional and spiritual development. Broadly any child who is employed in activities Child Labour Today
to feed self and family is being subjected to “child labor’.
Child Labour in India
It is obligatory for all countries to set a minimum age for employment according to
the rules of ILO written in Convention 138(C.138). The stipulated age for Causes of Child Labour
employment should not be below the age for finishing compulsory schooling, that is
Child Labour Laws
not below the age of 15. Developing countries are allowed to set the minimum age at
14 years in accordance with their socio- economic circumstances.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

C-138 has also made provisions for flexibility for certain countries, setting the
minimum age of 12 and 13 for their children - but only for partaking in light work. Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
Light work can be defined as children’s participation in only those economic
activities which do not damage their health and development or interfere with their Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
education. Yes, work that does not obstruct with a child’s education is considered
light work and allowed from age 12 under the International Labor Organization (ILO Bonded Child Labour in India
Convention 138). It is because of this that many children employed in part time work
Child Labour The Real Situation
like learning craft or other skills of a hereditary nature are not called child labors. The
same work translates into child labor if a child is thrown into weaving carpets,
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

working into factories or some other employment to earn money to sustain self, or Stop Child Labor
augment his family’s income - without being given school education and allowed
opportunities for normal social interactions. A child working part time (3-4 hours) to
learn and earn for self and parents after school, is not considered ‘child labor’.The
Industrial revolution had ushered in the horrendous practice of employing children of
4 and 5 years in factories in environmental conditions, which were risky for their
health and well being, often proving fatal. Developed countries have reacted sharply
to this historical fact by equating “child labor” with human right violation. However
poor countries are more accepting about child labor as a living necessity.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

The year 1990 witnessed all countries of the world except United States and Somalia
become a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The
strongest, most consistent language in legal terminology prohibiting illegal child
labor is provided by the CRC. However it does not establish the practice of child
labor as legally punishable.
Employment with others and self employment both come under the aegis of ‘child
labor’. It has been seen that children who are street sellers, street entertainers, rag
pickers, child prostitutes or pornography models, beggers etc - are mostly without
natural guardians and exploited by underground gangsters and racketeers. These
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

children are mostly children of illegal migrants. They are the victim of abandonment,
riots, wars or just sheer poverty and homelessness. In poor countries some children
are helping hands for their parents or are employed in factories, commercial
organizations or households with the consent of the parents. The most appalling form
of child labor is prostitution and modeling for child pornography. Some children are
even sold to fiefs by their parents for money.
Home | Resources | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Copyright 2008 © www.childlabor.in :: All Rights Reserved.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labour Today
Child labor is a very complicated development issue, effecting human society all over Home
the world. It is a matter of grave concern that children are not receiving the education
and leisure which is important for their growing years, because they are sucked into What is Child Labour
commercial and laborious activities which is meant for people beyond their years.
According to the statistics given by ILO and other official agencies 73 million Child Labour Today
children between 10 to 14 years of age re employed in economic activities all over
the world. The figure translates into 13.2 of all children between 10 to 14 being Child Labour in India
subjected to child labor.
Causes of Child Labour
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child labor is most rampant in Asia with 44.6 million or 13% percent of its children
doing commercial work followed by Africa at 23.6 million or 26.3% which is the Child Labour Laws
highest rate and Latin America at 5.1 million that is 9.8%.
In India 14.4 % children between 10 and 14 years of age are employed in child labor.
in Bangladesh 30.1%, in China 11.6%,in Pakistan 17.7%, in Turkey 24%, in Cote Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
D’lvoire 20.5%, in Egypt 11.2%, in Kenya 41.3% , in Nigeria 25.8%, in Senegal
31.4%, in Argentina 4.5%, in Brazil 16.1%, in Mexico 6.7%, in Italy 0.4% and in Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
Portugal 1.8%. The above figures only give part of the picture. No reliable figures of
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

child workers below 10 years of age are available, though they comprise a significant Bonded Child Labour in India
amount. The same is true of children in the former age group on whom no official
data is available. If it was possible to count the number of child workers properly, and Child Labour The Real Situation
the number of young girls occupied in domestic labor taken into account - the figure
will emerge as hundreds of million. Stop Child Labor
Child labour is also prevalent in rich and industrialized countries, although less
compared to poor nations. For example there are a large of children working for pay
at home, in seasonal cycles, for street trade and small workshops in Southern Europe.
India is a glaring example of a nation hounded by the evil of child labor. It is
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

estimated that there are 60 to 115 million working children in India- which was the
highest in 1996 according to human rights watch.

The problems coming from a centrally planned to market economy has led to the
creation of many child workers in central and eastern Europe. Same is the case in
America. The growth of the service sector, increasing provision of part time jobs and
the need for flexible work force has given birth to a big market for child workers
here.
Historically the working force of child workers is more in rural areas compared to
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

urban settings. Nine out of ten village children are employed in agriculture or
household industries and craftwork. In towns and cities children are more absorbed in
service and trading sectors rather that marketing. This is due to the rapid urbanization
of the modern world. Survey done by experimental statisticians of ILO in India,
Indonesia and Senegal have revealed that child labor under the age of fourteen takes
place in family enterprises mostly, with the exception of Latin America. Child labor
is also found to be gender specific, with more boys than girls employed in laborious
activities. But this is also because it is difficult to take a count of girls working in
households.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child labor in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a serious and Home
extensive problem, with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet
making factories, glass blowing units and making fireworks with bare little hands. What is Child Labour
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. Child Labour Today

In Northern India the exploitation of little children for labor is an accepted practice Child Labour in India
and perceived by the local population as a necessity to alleviate poverty. Carpet
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

weaving industries pay very low wages to child laborers and make them work for
long hours in unhygienic conditions. Children working in such units are mainly
migrant workers from Northern India, who are shunted here by their families to earn Child Labour Laws
some money and send it to them. Their families dependence on their income, forces
them to endure the onerous work conditions in the carpet factories.The situation of Child Labour Policy in India
child laborers in India is desperate. Children work for eight hours at a stretch with
only a small break for meals. The meals are also frugal and the children are ill Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
nourished. Most of the migrant children who cannot go home, sleep at their work
place, which is very bad for their health and development. Seventy five percent of Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
Indian population still resides in rural areas and are very poor. Children in rural
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

families who are ailing with poverty perceive their children as an income generating Bonded Child Labour in India
resource to supplement the family income. Parents sacrifice their children’s education
to the growing needs of their younger siblings in such families and view them as Child Labour The Real Situation
wage earners for the entire clan.
Stop Child Labor
The Indian government has tried to take some steps to alleviate the problem of child
labor in recent years by invoking a law that makes the employment of children below
14 illegal, except in family owned enterprises. However this law is rarely adhered to
due to practical difficulties. Factories usually find loopholes and circumvent the law
by declaring that the child laborer is a distant family member. Also in villages there is
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

no law implementing mechanism, and any punitive actions for commercial
enterprises violating these laws is almost non existent.
Child labor is a conspicuous problem in India. Its prevalence is evident in the child
work participation rate, which is more than that of other developing countries.
Poverty is the reason for child labor in India. The meager income of child laborers is
also absorbed by their families. The paucity of organized banking in the rural areas
creates a void in taking facilities, forcing poor families to push their children in harsh
labor, the harshest being bonded labor.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Bonded labor traps the growing child in a hostage like condition for years. The
importance of formal education is also not realized, as the child can be absorbed in
economically beneficial activities at a young age. Moreover there is no access to
proper education in the remote areas of rural India for most people, which leaves the
children with no choice. Courtesy : ngo india
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Some common causes of child labor are poverty, parental illiteracy, social apathy, Home
ignorance, lack of education and exposure, exploitation of cheap and unorganized
labor. The family practice to inculcate traditional skills in children also pulls little What is Child Labour
ones inexorably in the trap of child labor, as they never get the opportunity to learn
anything else. Child Labour Today
Absence of compulsory education at the primary level, parental ignorance regarding Child Labour in India
the bad effects of child labor, the ineffictivity of child labor laws in terms of
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

implementation, non availability and non accessibility of schools, boring and
unpractical school curriculum and cheap child labor are some other factors which
encourages the phenomenon of child labor. It is also very difficult for immature Child Labour Laws
minds and undeveloped bodies to understand and organize them selves against
exploitation in the absence of adult guidance.Poverty and over population have been Child Labour Policy in India
identified as the two main causes of child labor. Parents are forced to send little
children into hazardous jobs for reasons of survival, even when they know it is Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
wrong. Monetary constraints and the need for food, shelter and clothing drives their
children in the trap of premature labor. Over population in some regions creates Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
paucity of resources. When there are limited means and more mouths to feed children
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

are driven to commercial activities and not provided for their development needs. Bonded Child Labour in India
This is the case in most Asian and African countries.
Illiterate and ignorant parents do not understand the need for wholesome proper Child Labour The Real Situation
physical, cognitive and emotional development of their child. They are themselves
uneducated and unexposed, so they don’t realize the importance of education for their Stop Child Labor
children.Adult unemployment and urbanization also causes child labor. Adults often
find it difficult to find jobs because factory owners find it more beneficial to employ
children at cheap rates. This exploitation is particularly visible in garment factories of
urban areas. Adult exploitation of children is also seen in many places. Elders relax at
home and live on the labor of poor helpless children.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

The industrial revolution has also had a negative effect by giving rise to
circumstances which encourages child labor. Sometimes multinationals prefer to
employ child workers in the developing countries. This is so because they can be
recruited for less pay, more work can be extracted from them and there is no union
problem with them. This attitude also makes it difficult for adults to find jobs in
factories, forcing them to drive their little ones to work to keep the fire burning their
homes.

The incidence of child labor would diminish considerably even in the face of poverty,
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

if there are no parties willing to exploits them. Strict implementation of child labor
laws and practical and healthy alternatives to replace this evil can go a long way to
solve the problem of child labor. Children who are born out of wedlock, orphaned or
abandoned are especially vulnerable to exploitation. They are forced to work for
survival when there are no adults and relatives to support them. Livelihood
considerations can also drive a child into the dirtiest forms of child labor like child
prostitution and organized begging.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labour Laws
Child labor is a reality in spite of all the steps taken by the legal machinery to Home
eliminate it. It prevails and persists as a world phenomenon in spite of child labor
laws. What is Child Labour
The causes of child labor in the contemporary world are the same as those in U.S. Child Labour Today
hundred years ago- namely poverty, lack of education and exposure, poor access to
education, suppression of workers rights, partial prohibition of child labor and Child Labour in India
inadequate enforcement of child labor laws.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


The existing law and codes of conduct regarding child labor are blatantly violated by
the beneficiaries and the victims of this terrible practice all over the developing Child Labour Laws
world. There are ambiguities in the export and manufacturing sector, which means
multiple layers of outsourcing and production- making the monitoring of labor Child Labour Policy in India
performers not only difficult but impossible. Extensive subcontracting also makes it
impossible to identify the use of child labor whether intentional or unintentional. Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
Even when laws or codes of conduct exist, they are often violated. Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

The Indian constitution categorically states that child labor is a wrong practice, and Bonded Child Labour in India
standards should be set by law to eliminate it. The child labor act of 1986
implemented by the government of India makes child labor illegal in many regions Child Labour The Real Situation
and sets the minimum age of employment at fourteen years.
Stop Child Labor
There are many loop holes in this law in terms of affectivity. First is that it does not
make child labor completely illegal and does not meet the guidelines set by ILO
concerning the minimum age for employment, which is fifteen years. Moreover the
policies which are set to reduce incidences of child labor are difficult to implement
and enforce. The government and other agencies responsible for the enforcement of
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

these laws are not doing their job. Without proper enforcement all policies and laws
concerning child labor prove useless.

Moreover certain sectors like agriculture and domestic work are not included in the
exemption of child labor. In some countries very strict child labor laws exist but the
offices and departments responsible for implementing them are under funded and
under staffed. The judicial machinery and courts are also found to be faltering and
falting where proper enforcement of such laws is concerned. Many state governments
are feisty in allocating resources to enforce child labor laws.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

There are also many loop holes while setting laws and rules for child labor which
allows exploitation. For example in Nepal, the minimum age for a person to go for
work is 14 years, but plantation of brick clines is exempted from this.
Kenya prohibits children under 16 from going to work in industries but excludes
agriculture. Bangladesh also specifies a minimum age to go to work, but excludes
agriculture and domestic work.
Indeed laws become unpractical and redundant in the face of necessity. Poor children
and their family members depend so much on little ones to provide the basic
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

necessities of life in the impoverished areas that it becomes impossible for them to
adhere to any laws and regulations regarding child labor. We must also remember,
that about one fifth of the world’s six billion humans live in absolute poverty.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

There are specific clauses in the draft of Indian constitution dated 26th January 1950, Home
about the child labor policy in India. These are conveyed through different articles in
the Fundamental rights and the Directive Principles of the State Policy. They lay What is Child Labour
down four specific policy rules regarding child labor.
Child Labour Today
They are as following:- 1) ( Article 14) No child below the age of 14 years shall be
employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous Child Labour in India
employment.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

2) Article 39-E) 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 Child Labour Laws
and that they are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to
there are and strength. Child Labour Policy in India
3) ( Article 39-f ) Children shall be given opportunities and facilities to develop in a Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and
youth shall be protected against moral and material abandonment. Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

4) (Article 45 ) The state shall endeavor to provide within a period of ten years from Bonded Child Labour in India
the commencement of the constitution for free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of fourteen years.It was also decided that both Child Labour The Real Situation
the Union government and the State government could legislate on matters
concerning child labor. Various legislative initiatives were also taken in this regard at Stop Child Labor
both the State and Union level.
The main legislative measures at the national level are The Child Labor Prohibition
and Regulation Act -1986 and The Factories Act -1948. The first act was categorical
in prohibiting the employment of children below fourteen years of age, and identified
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

57 processes and 13 occupations which were considered dangerous to the health and
lives of children. The details of these occupations and processes are listed in the
schedule to the said Act.
The factories act again prohibits the employment of children less than fourteen years
of age. However an adolescent aged between 15 and 18 can be recruited for factory
employment only after securing a fitness certificate from a medical doctor who is
authorized. The Act proceeds to prescribe only four and and hour’s work period per
day for children between 14 and 18 years. Children are also not allowed to work in
night shifts.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Moreover, in the year 1996 the Supreme Court of India came out with a judgment in
court that directed the State and Union government to make a list of all children
embroiled in hazardous occupations and processes. They were then told to pull them
out of work and asked to provide them with proper education of quality. The
judiciary also laid down that Child Labor and Welfare Fund is set up. The
contribution for this was to be received from employers who contravened the Child
Labor Act.
India is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ILO
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Abolition of Forced Convention – No 105 and ILO Forced labor Convention – No.
29. A National Labor Policy was also adopted in the year 1987 in accordance with
India’s development strategies and aims. The National Policy was designed to
reinforce the directive principles of state policy in the Indian constitution.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
Hundreds and thousands of children are toiling as bonded labor in India’s silk Home
industry and the government is not able to do anything to protect their rights. Those
children who are working in India’s silk industry are virtually slaves. What is Child Labour
Human rights organizations are calling on India to free these children from bonded Child Labour Today
labor and rehabilitate them. The children are bound to work for their employers in
exchange of the loan taken by their parents or families, and are unable to leave Child Labour in India
because of the debt. They are also paid very paltry sum for their labor. Most of these
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

children are Dalits. Dalits are called untouchables and belong to the lowest level in
the hierarchy of the Indian caste system.
Child Labour Laws
Contrary to the Indian governments claim bonded children are very conspicuous In
India everywhere. Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu form the core of India’s Child Labour Policy in India
silk and sari industry. Bonded children as young as five work for more them twelve
hours a day in the silk industry, at different levels of production. They toil for nearly Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
seven days a week, breathing smoky fumes from the silk making machinery. These
children squat near cramped looms to help and assist workers in dim and damp Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
rooms. They are required to dip their little hands in boiling hot water that causes
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

blisters and handle dead worms which breed infections. Twisting thread which injure Bonded Child Labour in India
their fingers is also a part of the silk making process. Their attempts to attend school
are met with protest and physical violence by their employers. Their adulthood is Child Labour The Real Situation
impoverished, illiterate and damaged by the weight of their childhood.
Stop Child Labor
The southern state of Karnataka is a major silk producing state in India. It is the
major producer of Indian silk thread. The production depends completely on the labor
of bonded children under the age of fourteen. Most of the bonded children are either
Muslims or Dalits. Children as young as nine years are tied and beaten with belts if
they don’t do they work properly by the supervisors and owners in these industries.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Bonded children are less common in the carpet Industry in Uttar Pradesh compared to
the silk industry. Child labor laws have been better imposed in the carpet industry due
to strong pressure from domestic and international activists.

Children who work in silk factories are kept behind covers by being pushed into
individual homes. Tamil Nadu in South India is the home of the largest number of
bonded children. However more attention has been paid to rehabilitate children
working on match and fireworks manufacture, compared to silk factories.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Kanchipuram is the hub of silk sari weaving in Tamil Nadu, where child labor thrives
with a relish. Children are ill-treated, scolded, beaten and denied development needs
regularly for commercial gains in these industries. Silk fabric and silk threads are also
produced in some other states of India, where child labor flourishes. The plight of
these small silk workers epitomizes the sorry state of bonded children in the country.
Commercial exploitation and corrupt government machinery has violated all human
rights efforts to improve the lot of these children.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Indian sweet shops are notorious for profiting from child labor which is tantamount to Home
slavery. These shop also profit from illegal retail activities and use small and
vulnerable children in the manufacturing process. Children as young as eleven and What is Child Labour
thirteen toil in these shops for hours on end and suffer from exertion and fatigue.
They have no fixed working hours and are constantly threatened with the fear of Child Labour Today
being fired, are depressed and deprived of education and entertainment.
Indian sweet shops function quietly and illegally as household industries making little
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

children toil for long hours on very low wages before huge cauldrons of burning fat.
Many children working in Indian sweet shops remain unpaid or poorly paid, are
scolded, ill treated and underfed. Studies of children toiling in Indian sweet shops Child Labour Laws
show that they mainly hail from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. These children
sometimes also double up as domestic help for the owners of the sweet shops and Child Labour Policy in India
their families.
Most of the children working in this sector are not paid more than 300 to 800 rupees
in a month, for more than twelve hours of labor each day - in suffocating rooms Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
which are hot and smoky. The different processes of making Indian sweets also
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

tantamount to hard and relentless labor. A study shows that most of the children Bonded Child Labour in India
working in Indian sweet shops want to quit work and go to school. They also pine to
stay with their parents and other family members. The owners of sweet shop Child Labour The Real Situation
discourage their ambitions and shun the attempts of any social activists who try to
bring their plight in the lime light. Stop Child Labor
Sweet shop owners prefer to employ small children due to their vulnerability in terms
of wanting remuneration. Also, it is considerably easy to bully and scold a child.
They mostly employ minors, and are reluctant to divulge details about these little
employers and their working conditions. Besides the official statistics of 11 million
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

child workers in India, thousands working in these sweet shops go unreported,
because of the unorganized nature of their labor. The economic boom in India has
given a fillip to the profits of sweet shops, ironically worsening the lot of these
children. They are forced to work for longer hours at lesser wages to fulfill the
demand for the sweets, they help to make.

In a recent raid in Delhi, India’s political capital, many boy child workers were
rescued from several sweet shops. Agents had lured them from India’s poorest
regions with promises of good wages and decent working conditions. India’s poor
children are locked up in hidden floors of garment factories, match stick making huts,
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

carpet making work shops and sweltering sweet shop kitchens to create goods for
export. Some of their produce is sold in top shops in the UK and America for huge
profits, while they wither in dire poverty and abject deprivation.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

The most inhuman and onerous form of child exploitation is the age old practice of Home
bonded labor in India. In this, the child is sold to the loaner like a commodity for a
certain period of time. His labor is treated like security or collateral security and What is Child Labour
cunning rich men procure them for small sums at exorbitant interest rates.
Child Labour Today
The children who are sold as bonded labor only get a handful of coarse grain to keep
them alive in return for their labor. Sometimes their period of thrall extends for a life Child Labour in India
time, and they have to simply toil hard and depend on the mercy of their owners,
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

without any hope of release or redemption. The impoverished parents of the bonded
child is usually a poor, uneducated landless laborer and the mortgagee is traditionally
some big landlord, money lender or a big business man who thrives on their Child Labour Laws
vulnerability to such exploitation.The practice of bonded child labor is prevalent in
many parts of rural India, but is very conspicuously in the Vellore district of Tamil Child Labour Policy in India
Nadu. Here the bonded child is allowed to reside with his parents, if he presents
himself for work at 8 a.m. every day. The practice of child bonded labor persists like Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
a scourge to humanity in spite of many laws against it. These laws although stringent
and providing for imprisonment and imposition of huge fines on those who are found Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
guilty are literally non- functional in terms of implementation.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

However most of their efforts were sabotaged by high level government officials
covering the fact that children were doing bonded work in factory promises. They Child Labour The Real Situation
deliberately employed their energy in running public awareness campaigns and made
claims of creating propaganda against child labor, instead of punishing erring Stop Child Labor
employers and freeing and rehabilitating the bonded children.
Governments did take few directions on the right track initially, but most of their
efforts came to naught with time. Moreover the government efforts did not reach high
profile industries like bidi, cigarette making and carpet weaving. According to
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Cousen Neff - an official of the Human Rights watch – “Instead of living up to its
promises, the Indian government is starting to backtrack, claiming the problem is
being solved. Our research shows that it is not.”
Neff also identified a major link between caste and bondage in Indian society. Dalit
family’s functions as bonded labor due to caste based discrimination and violence
and not poverty in many cases. The caste system in India is one of the main
foundations on which the edifice of bonded labor rests. Dalits or the so called
untouchable are denied access to land in India, forced to work in inhuman conditions,
and expected to perform labor for free. This is due to the so called upper castes
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

boycotting them socially and subjecting them to economic exploitation. This attitude
of society keeps the poor families bonded in a scourge of perpetual poverty and labor.
It is now very important for all International donors to put pressure on the Indian
government to enforce bonded labor and child labor laws in the country. To find
more child labor websites visit : ngo in india
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

The term ‘child labor’ means ‘working child’ or ‘employed child’. ‘Child labor’ is Home
any work done by child for profit. ‘Child labor’ is a derogatory term which translates
into child exploitation and inhumanity according to sociologists, development What is Child Labour
workers, medical professionals and educationists. They have identified child labor as
harmful and hazardous to the child’s development needs, both mental and physical. Child Labour Today

SHRI V.V. Giri – the former president of India has arrived on two concepts of child Child Labour in India
labor – first as a bad economic practice and second as an overt social evil. In the first
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

it is involvement of a child labor in profitable activities to augment the family
income. The second context, namely child labor a social evil – is more complex in
nature and extent. In order to assess the nature of the evil, and gauge the extent of Child Labour Laws
damage it becomes necessary to understand the character of the job in which the child
is engaged, the dangers to which they are exposed and the development opportunities Child Labour Policy in India
they are denied.Technically the term ‘child labour’ is used for children occupied in
profitable activities, whether industrial or non industrial. It is especially applicable for Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
activities which are detrimental to their physical, psychological, emotional, social and
moral development needs. It has been researched and proved that the brain of a child Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
develops till the age of ten, muscles till the age of seventeen and his lungs till the age
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

of fourteen. To be more specific, any activity which acts as a hazard for the natural Bonded Child Labour in India
growth and enhancement of these vital organs, can be considered harmful for natural
human growth and development and termed – ‘child labor’.It has been observed in Child Labour The Real Situation
India and other countries, that the practice of ‘child labor’ is a socio- economic
problem. Many appalling relities like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, low wages, Stop Child Labor
ignorance, social prejudices, regressive traditions, poor standard of living,
backwardness, superstition, low status of women have combined to give birth to the
terrible practice of child labor. Mr. Madan, Deputy Director in the Ministry of labor
has been quoted as saying that “the children are required to seek employment either
to augment the income of their families or to have a gainful occupation in the absence
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

of availability of school going facilities at various places.”

It has been observed and repeatedly stated in recent times that ‘child labor’ does not
remain a mere means of economic exploitation but has become a necessity due to the
economic needs of the parents and the child himself. Professor Gangrade has iterated
that child labor is also caused by different factors like social traditions, family
attitude, customs, and dearth of schools or parental reluctance to send children to
school, industrialization, urbanization, migration etc. To counter the real situation
called child labor and save little humans from abuse at a tender age, the government
should be compelled to provide compulsory and free education to all children up to
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

the age of fourteen years. The recommendations of the convention No.138 should be
kept in mind by those who formulate child labor laws. The working age limit for an
individual should also be raised to allow consistent and full physical and mental
growth for every individual.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Stop Child Labor
The future of a community is in the well being of its children. The above fact is Home
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 What is Child Labour
premature labor which is hazardous to their mental, physical, educational and
spiritual development needs. It is urgently required to save children from the Child Labour Today
murderous clutches of social injustice and educational deprivation, and ensure that
they are given opportunities for healthy, normal and happy growth. Child Labour in India

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

The venerable Indian poet Rabindranth Tagore has said time and again, that every
country is absolutely bound by its duty to provide free primary education to its
children. It is important to remember that industrialization can afford to wait but Child Labour Laws
youth cannot be captured for long. It is imperative that the basic tenet made in article
24 of the Indian constitution - prohibiting the employment of any child below Child Labour Policy in India
fourteen years of age, in a factory, mine or any other hazardous employment be
stopped – be adhered to. There should be no ambiguity in ensuring the right of every Indian Silk Industry And Child Labour
child to free basic education and the promise of the constitution should be fully
implemented in the here and now. Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Projects related with human resource development, dedicated to the child welfare Bonded Child Labour in India
issues must be given top priority by the central and state governments to stop the
menace of child labor. Child labor laws need to be strictly implemented at the central Child Labour The Real Situation
and state levels. Corruption and negligence in child labor offices and employee
circles should be dealt with very strictly by the judiciary and the police force. Stop Child Labor

The development needs of growing children can only be provided for, by stopping
the onerous practice of child labor in organized and non organized sectors with
utmost sincerity. This is the only way a nation can train its children to be wholesome
future citizens, who are happy and prosperous. The provision of equal and proper
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

opportunities for the educational needs of growing children in accordance with
constitutional directives will go a long way in stopping the evil practice of child
labor. Resource: ngo india
Concerned about the future of its children India has implemented a country- wide ban
recently, on children below fourteen working in the hospitality sector and as
domestics. It is intended that those who are found to violate the law will be fined with
430 dollars and sent into rigorous imprisonment for two years. Children in India are
not allowed to work in mines, factories and other hazardous jobs already. Two more
professions have been added in a list of fifty seven occupations which were
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

considered hazardous for a child’s development needs in the ‘child labor act’ passed
in 1986.Childs rights activists are waxing eloquent in high pitched voices about the
absolute importance of stopping child labor. But legislation in this regard is just like
an intention. It is more important to take development measures to ensure its practical
application by eliminating the reasons of child labor from our society. The reasons
giving birth to child labor are poverty, illiteracy, scarcity of schools, ignorance,
socially regressive practices, blind customs and traditions, migration and last but not
the least corruption amongst employees and government labor organizations. People
should not be able to get away with employing and exploiting children.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws



Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Stop Child Labor

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws



Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Stop Child Labor

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws



Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Stop Child Labor
The future of a community is in the well being of its children. The Home
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

above fact is beautifully expressed by Wordsworth in his famous What is Child Labour
lines “child is father of the man”. So it becomes imperative for the Child Labour Today
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 Causes of Child Labour
children from the murderous clutches of social injustice and Child Labour Laws
educational deprivation, and ensure that they are given Child Labour Policy in India
opportunities for healthy, normal and happy growth.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

The venerable Indian poet Rabindranth Tagore has said time and again, Child Labour in Indian Sweet Shops
that every country is absolutely bound by its duty to provide free
primary education to its children. It is important to remember that Stop Child Labor
industrialization can afford to wait but youth cannot be captured for
long. It is imperative that the basic tenet made in article 24 of the
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Indian constitution - prohibiting the employment of any child below
fourteen years of age, in a factory, mine or any other hazardous
employment be stopped – be adhered to. There should be no ambiguity
in ensuring the right of every child to free basic education and the
promise of the constitution should be fully implemented in the here and
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

now.
Projects related with human resource development, dedicated to

the child welfare issues must be given top priority by the central
and state governments to stop the menace of child labor. Child
labor laws need to be strictly implemented at the central and state
levels. Corruption and negligence in child labor offices and
employee circles should be dealt with very strictly by the judiciary
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

and the police force.

The development needs of growing children can only be provided for, by
stopping the onerous practice of child labor in organized and non organized
sectors with utmost sincerity. This is the only way a nation can train its
children to be wholesome future citizens, who are happy and prosperous.
The provision of equal and proper opportunities for the educational needs
of growing children in accordance with constitutional directives will go a
long way in stopping the evil practice of child labor. Resource: ngo india
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Concerned about the future of its children India has implemented a
country- wide ban recently, on children below fourteen working in the
hospitality sector and as domestics. It is intended that those who are
found to violate the law will be fined with 430 dollars and sent into
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

rigorous imprisonment for two years. Children in India are not
allowed to work in mines, factories and other hazardous jobs
already. Two more professions have been added in a list of fifty seven
occupations which were considered hazardous for a child’s development
needs in the ‘child labor act’ passed in 1986.Childs rights activists
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

are waxing eloquent in high pitched voices about the absolute
importance of stopping child labor. But legislation in this regard
is just like an intention. It is more important to take development
measures to ensure its practical application by eliminating the reasons
of child labor from our society. The reasons giving birth to child
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

labor are poverty, illiteracy, scarcity of schools, ignorance,
socially regressive practices, blind customs and traditions,
migration and last but not the least corruption amongst
employees and government labor organizations. People should
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

not be able to get away with employing and exploiting children.

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor began to be considered a human rights issue and Child Labour Policy in India
became an issue of public dispute, when the foundation of
universal schooling was laid. Historically the transformation Bonded Child Labour in India
Stop Child Labor
concepts like children’s rights and worker’s right’s. Child labor is
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


children are found working more in the informal sectors compared to
factories and commercial registered organizations. Little children are often
seen selling in the streets or working quietly on domestic chores within the
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

high walls of homes – hidden away from the eyes of the media and labor
inspectors.
According to the statistics given by International Labor

Organization there are about 218 million children between the age
of 5 and 17 working all over the world. The figure excludes
domestic labor. The most condemned form of child labor is the use
of children for military purpose and child prostitution. Child
agricultural works, child singers and child actors outside of school
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

hours during season time are more acceptable by champions of
human rights and law. The phenomenon of child labor is a complex
development issue worthy of investigation. The fact that vulnerable
children are being exploited and forced into work, which is not fit
for their age, is a human rights concern now. India and other
developed and developing countries are really plagued by the
problem of child employment in organized and unorganized
sectors.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child labor is a human rights issue of immense sensitivity. Child labor is
considered exploitative by the United Nations and International Labor
Organization. The article 32 of the UN speaks about child labour as
follows-“States parties recognize the right of the child to be protected
from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be
harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or
social development.” To sum up, most countries of the world consider it
highly inappropriate when a child below a certain age is put to work.
People should be prohibited from hiring labor below a certain age.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

However, the minimum age at which a human can be put to work differs
from country to country. In the US the child labor laws have set the
minimum age to work in an organization without the parents consent at
sixteen.
Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Home | Resources | Privacy Policy | NGO in India | Contact Us
Recommended NGO: Om Sai Jansewa Society (OSJS)


Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws

Child Labor
Child Labour Today
Child Labour Laws


What Is Child Labour

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originalbeschreibung:

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

What Is Child Labour

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

What is Child Labour

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,

mining, quarrying, having own work or business’ like selling

are regularly employed to guide tourists, sometimes doubling up

as a marketing force to bring in business for shop owners and

other business establishment. In some industries children are forced

to do repetitive and tedious work like weaving carpets, assembling boxes,

The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture,