Child Labour

MEANING:-
Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives
children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and
that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.[3] This
practice is considered exploitative by many international organisations. Legislation
across the world prohibit child labour.[4][5] These laws do not consider all work by
children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties,
supervised training, certain categories of work such as those by Amish children,
some forms of child work common among indigenous American children, and
others.

Child labour has existed to varying extents, through most of history. During the 19th
and early 20th centuries, many children aged 5–14 from poorer families still worked
in Europe, the United States and various colonies of European powers. These
children mainly worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories,
mining and in services such as news boys. Some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours.
With the rise of household income, availability of schools and passage of child labour
laws, the incidence rates of child labour fell.

In developing countries, with high poverty and poor schooling opportunities, child
labour is still prevalent. In 2010, sub-saharan Africa had the highest incidence rates
of child labour, with several African nations witnessing over 50 percent of children
aged 5–14 working.] Worldwide agriculture is the largest employer of child
labour.] Vast majority of child labour is found in rural settings and informal urban
economy; children are predominantly employed by their parents, rather than
factories. Poverty and lack of schools are considered as the primary cause of child
labour.
DEFINITION:-
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), not all work done by
children should be classified as child labour which international programs such as
the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) target to be
eliminated."Child labour is often defined as work that deprives children of their
childhood, their potential and their dignity and that is harmful to physical and
mental development. It refers to work that:

 interferes with their schooling by:

 depriving them to leave school prematurely; or

 requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long

and heavy work.

In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated
from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to
themselves on the streets of large cities." What forms of work can be considered
child labour depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed under
what circumstances. Furthermore, the ILO states diplomatically that "The answer
varies from to country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.

UNICEF defines "child labour as work that exceeds a minimum number of hours,
depending on the age of a child and on the type of work. Such work is considered
harmful to the child and should there be eliminated:

 Ages 5-11:At least one hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work
per week.

 Ages 12-14: At least 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work

per week.

 Ages 15-17: At least 43 hours of economic or domestic work per week.

MAGNITUDE:-
Children in Indian society has always been a topic less spoken or discussed. The
reasons of the same can be traced back to the socio-cultural background of the
country. In the world children are taken as the greatest gift to humanity. Childhood
is an important stage of humandevelopment as it holds the potential to the future of
any society. Children who are brought up in an environment which is helpful to their
intellectual, physical and social development will go on to be responsible and
productive part of the society.
Thus every society links its future to the present status of its children. Today child
has been defined differently by different agencies as per their view and there is a
very large gap and contradiction in these definitions.
This paper attempts to summaries the different meaning to the word child and also
give a brief overview of the magnitude of the issue from an Indian perspective.
An attempt has been made to study the government policy documents and list down
the actions as proposed and implemented by Indian government in the 11
th5 year plan which has just ended in 2012. Some suggestions collected by the
author, from academicians and also from the policy and plan documents about the
way of eradicating the problems, are summerised in the paper. In the end the outline
of the plan and strategies as identified are also given with author’s suggestions. The
paper identifies that a lot of policy plans have been worked but there is an urgent
need for a social movement for this issue to really get addressed and resolved.
Introduction –
Children in Indian society has always been a topic less spoken or discussed. Children
in every society have always been taken as the greatest gift to humanity. Childhood is
an important stage of human development as it holds the potential to the future
development of any society. Children who are brought up in an environment, which
is helpful to their intellectual, physical and social development go on to be
responsible and productive part of the society.
If we are to engage the children in to work when they are too young for the task, we
are unduly reduceing their present welfare or their future income earning
capabilities, either by shrinking their future external choices or by reducing their
future individcapabilities. Generally it is said that due to economic problems
children are forced to forego educational and other development opportunities and
take up jobs which mostly exploit them as they are usually underpaid and engaged in
hazardous conditions. Parents send their child for a job as a desperate measure due
to poor economic conditions. It is therefore no wonder that the poor households
represent the largest segment contributor of child labour. One of the key aspects of
child labour is that children are sent to work at the expense of education. There is a
strong effect of child labour on school attendance rates and the length of a child’s
work day is inversely associated with their capacity to attend school. Child labour
restricts the right of children to access and benefit from education and denies the
fundamental opportunity to attend school. Child labour, thus, prejudices children’s
education and also adversely affects their health and safety.

Who is a Child –
International Labour Organization (ILO) states, the term child labour is best defined
as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity,
and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. It refers to work that
is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children, or
work whose schedule interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or work
that affects in any manner their ability to focus during school or experience healthy
childhood.

ILO states that child labour may be defined in different ways, and different
definition would yield different estimates of child labour. According to ILO, children
or adolescents who participate in work that does not affect their health and personal
development or interfere with their schooling, is not child labour; rather it may
generally be regarded as being
something positive. Such harmless work includes activities such as helping their
parents at home, assisting family or earning pocket money outside school hours and

on holidays. Such kinds of activities may contribute to children’s development by

providing them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be
productive members of society during their adult life.

UNICEF definition of child labour is different. A child is involved in child labour

activities if between 5 to 11 years of age, he or she did at least one hour of economic
activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work in a week, and in case of children
between 12 to 14 years of age, he or she did at least 14 hours of economic activity or
at least 42 hours of economic activity and domestic work per week. UNICEF in
another report says, "Children’s work needs to be seen as happening along a
spectrum, one end being destructive or exploitative work and beneficial work -
promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their
schooling, recreation and rest’ being the other end. And between these two end there
are vast areas of work that may or may not negatively affect a child’s development."
In India , The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 has defined the
child as anyone who is “a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age”
The law further has defined the establishment for employment as, “The
“establishment” includes a shop, commercial.The Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Act, 1986 states that employment in hazardous industries is prohibited,
Such industries are classified into 13 occupations and 57 processes.

In the last 5 years, the number of hazardous processes listed in the schedule of the
Act has increased from 18 to 57 and occupations from 7 to 13.
Also as per Article 24 of the Constitution, no child below the age of 14 years is to be
employed in any factory, mine or any hazardous employment. Further, Article 39
requires the States to direct its policy towards ensuring that the tender age
of children is not abused and that they are not forced by economic necessity to
entera vocations unsuited to their age or strength. Recently, with the insertion of
Article 21A, the State has been entrusted with the task of providing free and
compulsory education to all the children in the age group of 6-14 years. India's
Census 2001 office defines child labor as participation of a child in any economically
productive activity with or without compensation, wages or profit. Such
participation could be physical or mental or both. This work includes part-time help
or unpaid work on the farm, family enterprise or in any other economic activity such
as cultivation and milk production for sale or domestic consumption. Indian
government classifies child laborers into two groups: Main workers are those who
work 6 months or more per year. And marginal child
workers are those who work at any time during the year but less than 6 months in a
year. Child Labour in India
It is estimated that India has the largest number of child labourers in the
world.According to the Census 2001, there were 1.27 cr. economically active
childrenin the age-group of 5-14 years. The number was 1.13 cr. during 1991
(Population Census). Who is a worker Workers in general are classified into main
and marginal workers by the population census. Census data shows that there is a
decline in the absolute number as well the percentage of children (5-14) to total
population in that age group, classified as main workers from 4.3 percent in 1991 to
2.3 percent in 2001. But there was a substantial increase in marginal workers in
every category of worker irrespective of sex and residence. As a result, despite the
number of main workers declining from 90.8 lacks in 1991 to 57.8 lacks in 2001, the
total number of children in the work force increased. A large part of the increase was
accounted for by the increase in marginal workers, which increased from 22 lacks in
1991 to 68.9 lacks in 2001. The trends between 1991 and 2001 of declining main
child workers along with increasing marginal workers may indicate the changing
nature of work done by children. This
is also to be seen in the context of decline in employment growth in general in the
economy during the last decade. Magnitude of Child Labour in India
One must acknowledge that at policy level India has all along followed a proactive
policy in addressing the problem of child labour and has always stood for
constitutional, statutory and
INCON13-GEN-041 4 developmental measures that are required to eliminate child
labour. The Constitution of India has relevant provisions to secure compulsory
universal primary education. Labour Commissions and Committees have gone into
the problems of child labour and made extensive recommendations. India’s
judiciary, right up to the apex level, has demonstrated profoundly empathetic
responses against the practice of child labour. Despite several proactive legislations,
policies and judicial prouncements, the problem of child labour persists as a
challenge to the country. The corresponding fall in boys and girls workforce during
1983 to 2004-05 is observed to have decreased from 1.206 cr. to 47.6 lacks, and 94.9
lacks to 43.1 lacks, respectively. In effect, the gender difference that existed between
boys and girls (adverse against boys) during the early 1980s has almost dissipated in
recent years, the difference being slowed down from 25.7 lack to roughly 4.5 lacks.
However, in absolute numbers, the problem is large. As per the Census 2001, there
are 1.26 crores economically active children in the age-group of 5-14 years. It was
1.13 crores in the 1991 Census. The magnitude of child labour in India has been
witnessing decline in the last two decades, both in terms of magnitude and
workforce participation rates. Evidence drawn from the National Sample Survey
data suggest that India’s child workforce during 2004-05 was
estimated at little over 90.7 lacks as against 2.155 cr. in 1983. During this period, the
number of child employment has declined by 1.248 cr. A bigger fall in child
workforce is observed among boys than girls.iv
The number of working children in the major child labour endemic states as per the
1991 and 2001 Census is given below:-
Sl.No. Name of the State/UT Census 1991 Census 2001
1. Uttar Pradesh 14,10,086 19,27,997
2. Andhra Pradesh 16,61,940 13,63,339
3. Rajasthan 7,74,199 12,62,570
4. Bihar 9,42,245 11,17,500
5. Madhya Pradesh 13,52,563 10,65,259
6. West Bengal 7,11,691 8,57,087
7. Karnataka 9,76,247 8,22,615
8. Maharashtra 10,68,418 7,64,075
9. Gujarat 5,23,585 4,85,530
10. Tamil Nadu 5,78,889 4,18,801
All India total 1.13 crores 1.26 cores
Source – National census 1991 and 2001
Among the states, Uttar Pradesh accounts for a larger share of close to one fourth of
all child labour in India followed by Andhra Pradesh. While Maharashtra and West
Bengal respectively garnered 9 & 8 percent of India’s child employment. The share
of Uttar Pradesh has dramatically shot up in one decade from less than 13% in the
mid-1990s to close to 23% in 2004-05, which is a cause for serious concern. While
the share of Andhra Pradesh seems to have declined quite considerably during this
period.Only 2 states in India, namely Kerala and Karnataka have departments
focused on child labour. This is done thru the labour department. The occupation-
wise data of children in this age group of 5-14 working in the non-agricultural sector
has been classified. Though these occupations in the Census data do not match with
the occupations listed as hazardous under the Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Act, a tentative segregation of data into hazardous & non-hazardous
occupations gives a broad estimation of children working in different occupations.
As per this data, 36.43 lakh children in the age group of 5-14 years are working in
non-agricultural sector in the country, out of which 12.19 lakh children are working
in hazardous occupations. In the age group of 5–14 years, 89.3 per cent of children
were in school in 2009-10, up from 82.4 per cent in 2004-05. Further this increase
was higher for girls, rising from 79.6 per cent in 2004-05 to 87.7 per cent in 2009-
10. In the 15–19 years age group, 59.5 per cent of young people were in the
educational system in 2009-10 as compared to 46.2 per cent in 2004-05. Once
again, the increase was more for girls, from 40.3 to 54.6 per cent. In the next higher
age group of 20–24 years, 22.5 per cent of boys and 12.8 per cent of girls were still in
the educational system in 2009-10 against only 14.9 and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in
2004-05.
CAUSES:-
Causes of Child Labor

Child labor persists even though laws and standards to eliminate it exist. Current
causes of global child labor are similar to its causes in the U.S. 100 years ago,
including poverty, limited access to education, repression of workers’ rights, and
limited prohibitions on child labor.

Poverty and unemployment levels are high.

Poor children and their families may rely upon child labor in order to improve
their chances of attaining basic necessities. More than one-fourth of the world's
people live in extreme poverty, according to 2005 U.N. statistics. The intensified
poverty in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America causes many children there to
become child laborers.

Access to compulsory, free education is limited.

In 2006, approximately 75 million children were not in school, limiting future

opportunities for the children and their communities. A 2009 report by the United
Nations estimated that achieving universal education for the world's children would
cost $10-30 billion -- about 0.7% - 2.0% of the annual cost of global military
spending.

Existing laws or codes of conduct are often violated.

Even when laws or codes of conduct exist, they are often violated. For example, the
manufacture and export of products often involves multiple layers of production and
outsourcing, which can make it difficult to monitor who is performing labor at each
step of the process. Extensive subcontracting can intentionally or unintentionally
hide the use of child labor.

Laws and enforcement are often inadequate.

Child labor laws around the world are often not enforced or include exemptions
that allow for child labor to persist in certain sectors, such as agriculture or domestic
work. Even in countries where strong child labor laws exist, labor departments and
labor inspection offices are often under-funded and under-staffed, or courts may fail
to enforce the laws. Similarly, many state governments allocate few resources to
enforcing child labor laws.

Workers’ rights are repressed.

Workers’ abilities to organize unions affect the international protection of core

labor standards, including child labor. Attacks on workers’ abilities to organize make
it more difficult to improve labor standards and living standards in order to
eliminate child labor. For example, in 2010, 5,000 workers were fired and 2,500
workers were arrested as a result of their union activity, according to the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

The global economy intensifies the effects of some factors.

As multinational corporations expand across borders, countries often compete for

jobs, investment, and industry. This competition sometimes slows child labor reform
by encouraging corporations and governments to seek low labor costs by resisting
international standards. Some U.S. legislation has begun to include labor standards
and child labor as criteria for preferential trade and federal contracts. However,
international free trade rules may prohibit consideration of child labor or workers’
rights.

The effects of poverty in developing countries are often worsened by the large
interest payments on development loans. The structural adjustments associated with
these loans often require governments to cut education, health, and other public
programs, further harming children and increasing pressure on them to become
child laborers.

CAUSES OF RISING INSTANCES OF CHILD LABOUR

Over population, illiteracy, poverty, debt trap are some of the common causes which
are instrumental in this issue.Overburdened, debt-trapped parents fail to
understand the importance of a normal childhood under the pressures of their own
troubles and thus it leads to the poor emotional and mental balance of a child’s brain
which is not prepared to undertake rigorous field or domestic tasks.
National and Multinational companies also recruit children in garment industries
for more work and less pay which is absolutely unethical.

CHILD LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA

The problem of child labour in India had become an issue of concern for one and all
post Independence. The drafting committee of the India constitution wanted to
formulate laws on their own without seeking recommendations from other countries
with this regard. Since, India had been under the exploitative regime of the British, it
only made sense that the provisions were devised keeping in mind the forms of
exploitative labour that India had witnessed under the atrocious regime.

The primitive laws that were formed to prohibit child labour in India were when the
Employment of Children Act, 1938 was passed. But this act failed miserably because
it failed to address the cause of poverty as it is poverty that drives children into
forced labour.

The Indian Parliament time and again has passed Laws and Acts to ensure the
protection of children from child labour. The Fundamental Rights enshrined in our
Constitution prohibit child labour below the age of 14 years in any factor or mine or
engaged in any hazardous employment under Article 24. Apart from this, it is also
provided under Article 21-A that State shall provide infrastructure and resources for
free and compulsory education for children of the age six upto 14 years.

There exists a set of laws which under the Constitution govern the protection of
children from child labour. The Factories Act of 1948 prevents the employment of
children below 14 years in any factory. The Mines Act of 1952 prohibits the
employment of children below the age of 18 years. The Child Labor (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act of 1986 prevents the employment of children below the age of 14
years in life-threatening occupations identified in a list by the law. Further, the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of children Act of 2000 made the
employment of children a punishable offence.Ironically, despite this huge array of
laws, there seems to be no improvement in the working conditions of the child
labourers and employers also freely flout the provisions of the Act covering the
prohibition of child labour.

It needs to be highlighted that the violation of these provisions means a deprivation

of the basic human rights and demeaning the childhood of the children. The law also
isn’t very clear as to how where can the children work. The Acts covers only 10
percent of the total working children and thus not applicable to the unorganized
sector. The Act also exempts the family of the child labourer from its purview if they
all are working with the same employee as that of the child. Although the Act
prohibits the employment of children in certain hazardous industries and processes,
it does not define what constitutes hazardous work. It only provides a list of
hazardous occupations.

HOW TO ELIMINATE CHILD LABOUR

Abolition of child trafficking, elimination of poverty, free and compulsory education,
and basic standards of living can reduce the problem to a great extent. The World
Bank and International Monetary Fund can help in eradicating poverty by providing
loan to the developing countries.Strict implementation of labour laws is also
essential in order to prevent exploitation by parties or multinational companies. Lot
many amendments are required in the present child labour prohibition law in order
to implement strict measures to control the situation. The minimum of age of
fourteen years needs to be increased to at least eighteen. The list of hazardous
activities which are present in the law needs to include more occupations which have
been left out of the purview of the hazardous activities.
EFFECTS AND RESPONSE:-
1. Loss of Quality childhood: It is important for human beings to enjoy every
stage of their development. A child should play with friends and make memories for
a lifetime. Youths should explore life and form strong foundations that would define
their adult lives. Child labour, therefore, leads to loss of quality childhood as
children will be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the amazing experiences that
come with being young. Children are often encouraged to play because it helps in
their growth and development. A child forced to work will miss many of the good
things associated with childhood.

2. Health issues: Child labour can also lead to health complications due to
undernourishment and poor working conditions. It is highly unlikely that people
who employ children also have the moral capacity to ensure that they have good
working conditions. Working in places such as mines and badly conditioned
factories may result in lifetime health issues for children employed to work in these
places. A child assigned physically demanding duties may suffer physical trauma
that may scar him or her for life.

3. Mental trauma: It is not a pleasant experience to be kept working as a child

while your age-mates are out playing and going to school. Children also lack the
ability to shield themselves from most of the challenges that occur in the workplace.
Issues such as bullying, sexual exploitation, and unfavorable working hours may
result in mental trauma in these children. They will find it hard to forget the past
and may become societal misfits because of bad childhood experiences. Child labour
may also result in the lack of emotional growth and thus insensitivity.

4. Illiteracy: Children that are employed do not have the time to go to school. They
spend a lot of time in their workstations as the days and years go by. The lack of
education and illiteracy makes them individuals with limited opportunities as far as
employment is concerned. Education also prepares a person for several challenges in
the society and without it, one may turn out to lack the basic skills required to
overcome many of life’s problems. An individual who has gone to school may be
aware of how to approach certain situations in life without resorting to brute force.
An illiterate person, on the other hand, considers force to be the only answer to
nearly all of the challenges experienced.

Solutions
How can child labour be reduced or completely eradicated? Every child
born has the right to have dreams and pursue those dreams. Even though the
realization of some of these aspirations may be limited by several challenges, it is
still possible to overcome them and achieve the highest levels of success.

1. Free education: Free education holds the key to eliminating child labour.
Parents that do not have money for school fees can use this as an opportunity to
provide their children with education. It has already proved to be a success in many
places around the globe and with more effort, the cases of child labour will greatly
reduce. Mid-day meals schemes can also be used as a motivating factor for children
whose parents can barely afford a meal to learn. Even if they will be attending school
because of the free meals, they will still be able to learn and create a good education
foundation for themselves.

2. Moral Polishing: Child labour should not be entertained at all. It is legally and
morally wrong. Children should not be allowed to provide labour at the expense of
getting an education and enjoying their childhood. Factory owners, shopkeepers,
and industries among others should not employ children. The society should be
educated on the negative impacts of child labour so that it becomes an issue that is
frowned upon whenever it occurs. This type of moral polishing would act as a
deterrent to people who intend to employ children and use them as a source of cheap
labour. Many of the ills that go on in the society do so because people turn a blind
eye or fail to consider their moral impacts. With this kind of approach, cases of child
labour will greatly fall among our communities.

3. Create demand for skilled and trained workers: By creating the demand
for skilled and trained workers, child labour cases will reduce since almost all child
labourers fall under the unskilled worker category. It will lead to adult employment
as the demand for skilled labour rises. Establishing skill-based learning centers,
vocational training centers, and technical training institutions improves literacy and
contributes to the availability of skilled and trained workers in the job market.
Creation of job opportunities by the government is also another way that cases of
unemployment can be reduced and household income for the population increased.
Such government policies improve living standards and eliminate the need for
children to seek work in order to support their families.

4. Awareness: Creating awareness about the illegality of child labour can also help
in stemming the practice. Parents should be made aware that sending their children
to work has legal ramifications and the law would take its course if they are found to
be aiding and abetting this vice. It is the ignorance among many parents and
members of the society that makes them participate in child labour practices.
Conducting a campaign to create awareness about its harmful effects would
eliminate the practice. The government, together with non-governmental
organizations and the civil society, can create a strategy to make such an initiative a
success.

5. Empowerment of poor people: Poor people are the most affected by child
labour. The poor living standards and financial constraints sometimes make them
unwilling participants in this vice. Empowering poor people through knowledge and
income generating projects would go a long way in reducing cases of child labour.
Parental literacy also plays an important role in ensuring that the rights of children
are upheld, and minors are not used as a source of labour. Empowering parents with
this kind of knowledge can create a positive change in the society and encourage the
shunning of child labour practices in communities.
Conclusion

Child labour is a significant problem in South East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Latin American
Countries. These regions are relatively backward as compared to the rest of the world and the
problem of child labour is a symptom as well as a cause of this backwardness.

The major determinant of child labour is poverty. Even though children are paid less than adults,
whatever income they earn is of benefit to poor families. In addition to poverty, the lack of
adequate and accessible sources of credit forces poor parents to engage their children in the
harsher form of child labour -- bonded child labour. Some parents also feel that a formal education
is not beneficial, and that children learn work skills through labour at a young age. These views are
narrow and do not take the long term developmental benefits of education into account. Another
determinant is access to education. In some areas, education is not affordable, or is found to be
inadequate. With no other alternatives, children spend their time working.

The Constitution of India clearly states that child labour is wrong and that measures should be
taken to end it. The government of India has implemented the Child Labour Act in 1986 that
outlaws child labour in certain areas and sets the minimum age of employment at fourteen. This Act
falls short of making all child labour illegal, and fails to meet the ILO guideline concerning the
minimum age of employment set at fifteen years of age. Though policies are in place that could
potentially reduce the incidence of child labour, enforcement is a problem. If child labour is to be
eradicated in India, the government and those responsible for enforcement need to start doing
their jobs. Policies can and will be developed concerning child labour, but without enforcement

they are all useless.