People And Their Problems

New Delhi, 20 October 2007

Child Labour

A LOT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

Child labour represents a fundamental abuse of child right and a violation of international and national laws. Many working children who are employed as bonded labour or prostitutes are engaged in occupations that negatively affect their physical, mental or moral well-being and are below their country’s minimum age for employment. Matters have been made worse by rampant physical abuse of children in different countries, including India.

The Hindi belt, including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, commonly known as BIMARU States, account for 1.27 crore working children in the country, engaged in both hazardous and non-hazardous occupations and process. The maximum number of over 19 lakh child labour in the 5-14 age group are in the Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan accounts for over 12.6 lakh workers followed by Bihar with over 11 lakh and Madhya Pradesh with 10.6 lakh. However, according to the 2001 census, in state-wise distribution of working children in the 5-14 age group, Andhra Pradesh with 13.6 lakh child labour stands second in the national list after U.P.

Largest Number In India

According to a UNICEF report, World’s Children 2006, India has the largest number of working children and 17 per cent of them are under the age of 15. Girls aged 12-13 are the preferred choice of 90 per cent households. Noting that all children should have access to quality education, the ILO believes that universal access to schooling is a key component in ending child labour and their exposure to violence in the work place.

In India, the problem has received some attention.  The Ministry of Labour has asked the Planning Commission for about Rs.1500 crore to cover all the 600 districts under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) as against the 250 districts at present. According to the Ministry, children working in 57 hazardous industries, in dhabas and homes (in the 9-14 age group) would be covered under the project. The NGOs have been authorized to open residential schools for 40 children in each district to bring them back into the mainstream.

Child Labour Regulations

Schools are expected to be opened in most districts after a detailed survey by a district level committee, headed by a district collector, who would also monitor the scheme. The students in these schools would get a stipend of Rs.100 each from the Government every month. They would be covered under other Government schemes like the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan.

Meanwhile, the hospitality industry and domestic helps have been put under child labour regulations from October 10, 2006 as the Government is determined to check this menace. Also, the passage of Offences Against Children Bill, drawn up in 2006, is expected to be passed by Parliament before long. In fact, the country has woken up to the need for a comprehensive strategy to tackle child labour and deal with crimes perpetrated against children.

India is a signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and ratified the document in 1992. Article 19 of the Rights of the Child mentions: “State parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence… including sexual abuse.”

Curb Sexual Offences

Sadly, it took the country 14 years to formulate a law against sexual offences, which need to be curbed with an iron hand. Being the most vulnerable sections of society, children have been the soft target for large-scale human trafficking. In fact, child trafficking is happening for different legal and illegal purposes. These children, mostly coming from poor and backward communities, have no other option but to join such work and be exploited in different ways.

Of interest are the findings of the International Organization for Migration (IMO). These show that the global human industry generates up to $8 billion each year. Its report further discloses that an estimated 5,000 to 70,000 young girls between the 5 to 10 age group are trafficked into India every year. South Asia and South East Asia have been the centre for large scale trafficking of children, especially young girls, for sexual exploitation.

Children in Hazardous Industries

Apart from this aspect, the employment of children in hazardous industries is another cause for concern. The mining industry is one such sector as a result of which child labour is rampant in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Other affected States include Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan that are traditionally the BIMARU regions of the country.

Legislative measures alone will not cut down the various offences against children. This is because not much has happened.  Labour inspectors, for instance, have not been stringent in bringing the violators to book. They should be asked to submit time-bound reports on the enforcement of the law. Child labour is not an isolated problem. Many Ministries such as Labour, Education and Women and Child Welfare need to coordinate to make a sense of the spirit behind the law.

Develop Infrastructure

There is urgent need for large-scale social infrastructure development, namely, special emphasis on education and health. Moreover, strong political will and involvement of the community would be greatly necessary to curb child exploitation and ensure their attendance in school, at least till they reach the age of 14. In this regard, NGOs and Community-Based Organizations would have a vital role to play.

The pledge that all children would be in school by the end of the Tenth Plan is a far cry and sincere attempts need to be made now to make this a reality by the end of the Eleventh Plan. One may mention here that other targets of completion of five years of schooling by 2007 and a 50 per cent reduction of the gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by 2007 would also not be achieved this year. The Government has admitted its failure in the Mid-Term Appraisal and underlined the urgency of addressing violence against children and the problems of their security, especially that of girls.

Clearly, there is imperative need for strong political will in this regard and strong partnerships with the NGOs and CBOs who should be given a major part of the work in ensuring children’s rights. These organizations work with the community and their ability to penetrate and carry out the desired work is well known.

Economic Costs And Benifits

There are powerful arguments for elimination of child labour for a healthy society. Not only is child labour an effect of poverty, it is also a major cause of poverty.  In a study by the World Bank in 1998,  it was found that countries with an annual per capita income of US$500 or less (at 1987 prices) the labour force participation rate of children aged 10-14 was 30-60 per cent compared to only 10-30 per cent in countries with an annual per capita income of $500-1000. India has the largest number of child workers in South Asia.

Another study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO, 2003), which as the first integrated analysis of the economic costs and benefits of eliminating child labour, found that the benefits of such elimination in India and other Asian countries would be nearly seven times greater than the costs.  The reduction of child labour would also help achieve the health and education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Despite legislative and policy measures and institutions geared to addressing child labour, its magnitude in India indicates that a lot more needs to be done in making poverty-focused programmes effective and in spreading the network of basic education to the rural and backward areas of the region. We must remember that children are the future torch-bearers of the country. If they are not cared and nurtured properly, the future may not be all that encouraging. ---INFA

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