Child LaborAuthor And Page Information by Anup Shah This Page
Last Updated Monday, January 01, 2001 This
page:http://www.globalissues.org/article/62/child-labor. To print
all information e.g. expanded side notes, shows alternative links,
use the print version:.
http://www.globalissues.org/print/article/62Child labor is not an
easy issue to resolve; while it seems noble to immediately withdraw
investments and cooperation with firms and factories that employ
child labor it may do moreharmthan good. Many of these children are
from very poor families and work to pay for their family and/or
their education. Depriving them of this income has led to some
children seeking different, lower paid work, and even prostitution
in some cases. Other ways with schemes to help children would
likely be needed so that this labor can be phased out. The same has
been suggested by the International Labor Organization (ILO), at a
meeting in Mexico City in 1999, who also pointed out thatchild
labor affects over 250 million children, 30 percent of which are in
Latin America. A gradual phase out is said to be a more preferable
solution.According to the UK Committee for UNICEF,poverty is the
most common factor contributing to child labor. In addition, "debt,
bloated military budgets and structural adjustment programmes
imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, have
eroded the capacity of many governments to provide education and
services for children, and have also pushed up prices for basic
necessities". (For more information on these aspects, also see this
site's section oncauses of povertyand the harmfulstructural
adjustment policies.)According toUNICEF, Somalia and USA are the
only two countries in the world that havenot ratifiedthe United
Nation's Convention on theRights of the Child. The convention is
the world's most widely ratified treaty. (USA have signed it, but
Somalia has neither signed, nor ratified it, at the time I write
this -- and Somalia doesn't currently have an internationally
recognized government, which is why they cannot ratify the
convention. The US have no such excuse.)A huge movement called the
Global March Against Child Labor, (which didn't get much media
coverage in the USA), was an important event with marches in many
major cities around the world drawing global attention towards the
most heinous human rights violation: child labor and child slavery.
The six-month long intercontinental March took off from Philippines
in mid-January 1998, culminating in Geneva to coincide with the
Debate Session of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the
Draft Convention on Child Right.To find out more about children
with regards to trade, labor, rights etc. the following may be
helpful: Save the Children Fund UKand their section onchild labor
TheGlobal Marchweb site. They also have a link tootherwebsites that
are supporting the movement. Unicef, the United Nations Children's
Fund. In particular:. TheConvention on the Rights of the Child..
State of the World's Childrenannual publications examines key
issues about children.. A report on theState of the World's
Children, 1997focused on Child Labor, for example Casa Alianza, a
South American-based group helping street kids. OneWorldGuides to:.
Child Rightsand the section onwar.. Child Labor. Boes.orgis a site
devoted to child rights.Where Next?Global Warming FAQWhat is Global
Warming?Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface
temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon
dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation,
which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth. This is a
type ofgreenhouse effect.Is global warming, caused by human
activity, even remotely plausible?Earth's climate is mostly
influenced by the first 6 miles or so of the atmosphere which
contains most of the matter making up the atmosphere. This is
really a very thin layer if you think about it. In the bookThe End
of Nature, author Bill McKibbin tells of walking three miles to
from his cabin in the Adirondack's to buy food. Afterwards, he
realized that on this short journey he had traveled a distance
equal to that of the layer of the atmosphere where almost all the
action of our climate is contained. In fact, if you were to view
Earth from space, the principle part of the atmosphere would only
be about as thick as the skin on an onion! Realizing this makes it
more plausible to suppose that human beings can change the climate.
A look at the amount of greenhouse gases we are spewing into the
atmosphere (see below), makes it even more plausible.What are the
Greenhouse Gases?The most significant greenhouse gas is
actuallywater vapor, not something produced directly by humankind
in significant amounts. However, even slight increases in
atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) can cause a substantial
increase in temperature.Why is this? There are two reasons: First,
although the concentrations of these gases are not nearly as large
as that of oxygen and nitrogen (the main constituents of the
atmosphere), neither oxygen or nitrogen are greenhouse gases. This
is because neither has more than two atoms per molecule (i.e. their
molecular forms are O2and N2, respectively), and so they lack
theinternal vibrational modesthat molecules withmorethan two atoms
have. Both water and CO2, for example, have these "internal
vibrational modes", and these vibrational modes can absorb and
reradiate infrared radiation, which causes the greenhouse
effect.Secondly,CO2tends to remain in the atmosphere for a very
long time (time scales in the hundreds of years). Water vapor, on
the other hand, can easily condense or evaporate, depending on
local conditions. Water vapor levels therefore tend to adjust
quickly to the prevailing conditions, such that the energy flows
from the Sun and re-radiation from the Earth achieve a balance.
CO2tends to remain fairly constant and therefore behave as
acontrollingfactor, rather than areactingfactor. More CO2means that
the balance occurs at higher temperatures and water vapor
levels.How much have we increased the Atmosphere's
CO2Concentration?Human beings have increased the CO2concentration
in the atmosphere by about thirty percent, which is an extremely
significant increase, even on inter-glacial timescales. It is
believed that human beings are responsible for this because the
increase is almost perfectly correlated with increases in fossil
fuel combustion, and also due other evidence, such as changes in
the ratios of different carbon isotopes in atmospheric CO2that are
consistent with "anthropogenic" (human caused) emissions. The
simple fact is, thatunder "business as usual" conditions, we'll
soon reach carbon dioxide concentrations that haven't been seen on
Earth in the last 50 million years.Combustion of Fossil Fuels, for
electricity generation, transportation, and heating, and also the
manufacture of cement, all result in the total worldwide emission
of about 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each
year. About a third of this comes from electricity generation, and
another third from transportation, and a third from all other
sources.This enormous input of CO2is causing the atmospheric levels
of CO2to rise dramatically. The following graph shows the CO2levels
over the past 160 thousand years (the upper curve, with units
indicated on the right hand side of the graph).The current level,
and projected increase over the next hundred years if we do not
curb emissions, are also shown (the part of the curve which goes
way up high, to the right of the current level, is the projected
CO2 rise). The projected increase in CO2is very startling and
disturbing. Changes in the Earth's average surface temperature are
also shown (the lower curve, with units on the left). Note that it
parallels the CO2level curve very well.
Is the TemperatureReallyChanging?Yes! As everyone has heard from
the media, recent years have consistently been the warmest in
hundreds and possibly thousands of years. But that might be a
temporary fluctuation, right? To see that it probably isn't, the
next graph shows the average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere
as determined from many sources, carefully combined, such as tree
rings, corals, human records, etc.
These graphs show a very discernable warming trend, starting in
about 1900. It might seem a bit surprising that warming started as
early as 1900. How is this possible? The reason is that the
increase in carbon dioxide actually began in 1800, following the
deforestation of much of Northeastern American and other forested
parts of the world. The sharp upswing in emissions during the
industrial revolution further added to this, leading to a
significantly increased carbon dioxide level even by 1900.Thus, we
see that Global Warming is not something far off in the future - in
fact it predates almost every living human being today.How do we
know if the temperature increase is caused by anthropogenic
emissions?Computer models strongly suggest that this is the case.
The following graphs show that 1) If only natural fluctuations are
included in the models (such as the slight increase in solar output
that occurred in the first half of the 20th century), then the
large warming in the 20th century isnotreproduced. 2) If only
anthropogenic carbon emissions are included, then the large warming
is reproduced, but some of the variations, such as the cooling
period in the 1950s, is not reproduced (this cooling trend was
thought to be caused by sulfur dioxide emissions from dirty power
plants). 3) When both natural and anthropogenic emissions of all
types are included, then the temperature evolution of the 20th
century is well reproduced.
Is there a connection between the recent drought and climate
change?Yes. A recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration gives strong evidence that global warming was a
major factor.Click here for more details.Who studies global
warming, and who believes in it?Most of the scientific community,
represented especially by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC - www.ipcc.ch), now believes that the global warming
effect is real, and many corporations, even including Ford Motor
Company, also acknowledge its likelihood.Who are the IPCC?In 1998,
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was
established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in recognition of the
threat that global warming presents to the world.The IPCC is open
to all members of the UNEP and WMO and consists of several thousand
of the most authoritative scientists in the world on climate
change. The role of the IPCC is to assess the scientific, technical
and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of
the risk of human-induced climate change. It does not carry out new
research nor does it monitor climate related data. It bases its
assessment mainly on published and peer reviewed scientific
technical literature.The IPCC has completed two assessment reports,
developed methodology guidelines for national greenhouse gas
inventories, special reports and technical papers.Results of the
first assessment (1990--1994): confirmed scientific basis for
global warming but concluded that ``nothing to be said for certain
yet''.The second assessment (1995), concluded that `` ...the
balance suggests a discernable human influence on global climate'',
and concluded that, as predicted by climate models, global
temperature will likely rise by about 1-3.5Celsius by the year
2100. The next report, in 2000, suggested, that the climate might
warm by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years,
which would bring us back to a climate not seen since the age of
the dinosaurs. The most recent report, in 2001, concluded that
"There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming
observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human
activities".Due to these assessments,debate has now shifted away
from whether or not global warming is going to occur to, instead,
how much, how soon, and with what impacts.Global Warming
ImpactsMany of the following "harbingers" and "fingerprints" are
now well under way:1. Rising Seas--- inundation of fresh water
marshlands (the everglades), low-lying cities, and islands with
seawater.2. Changes in rainfall patterns--- droughts and fires in
some areas, flooding in other areas. See the section above on the
recent droughts, for example!3. Increased likelihood of extreme
events--- such as flooding, hurricanes, etc.4. Melting of the ice
caps--- loss of habitat near the poles. Polar bears are now thought
to be greatly endangered by the shortening of their feeding season
due to dwindling ice packs.5. Melting glaciers- significant melting
of old glaciers is already observed.6. Widespread vanishing of
animal populations--- following widespread habitat loss.7. Spread
of disease--- migration of diseases such as malaria to new, now
warmer, regions.8. Bleaching of Coral Reefs due to warming seas and
acidification due to carbonic acid formation---One thirdof coral
reefs now appear to have been severely damaged by warming seas.9.
Loss of Plankton due to warming seas--- The enormous (900 mile
long) Aleution island ecosystems of orcas (killer whales), sea
lions, sea otters, sea urchins, kelp beds, and fish populations,
appears to have collapsed due to loss of plankton, leading to loss
of sea lions, leading orcas to eat too many sea otters, leading to
urchin explosions, leading to loss of kelp beds and their
associated fish populations.Where do we need to reduce emissions?In
reality, we will need to work on all fronts - 10% here, 5% here,
etc, and work to phase in new technologies, such as hydrogen
technology, as quickly as possible. To satisfy the Kyoto protocol,
developed countries would be required to cut back their emissions
by a total of 5.2 % between 2008 and 2012 from 1990 levels.
Specifically, the US would have to reduce its presently projected
2010 annual emissions by 400 million tons ofCO2. One should keep in
mind though, that even Kyoto would only go a little ways towards
solving the problem. In reality, much more needs to be done.
The most promising sector for near term reductions is widely
thought to be coal-fired electricity. Wind power, for example, can
make substantial cuts in these emissions in the near term, as can
energy efficiency, and also the increased use of high efficiency
natural gas generation.The potential impact of efficiency should
not be underestimated:A1991 report to Congress by the U.S. National
Academy of Sciences, Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming,
found that the U.S. could reduce current emissions by 50 percent at
zero cost to the economy as a result of full use of cost-effective
efficiency improvements.Discussing Global Climate Change:Here is a
useful list of facts and ideas:1. Given the strong scientific
consensus, the onus should now be on theproducersof CO2emissions to
show that there is not a problem, if they still even attempt to
make that claim. Its time to acknowledge that we are, at very
least, conducting a very dangerous experiment with Earth's
climate.2. A direct look at the data itself is very convincing and
hard to argue with. Ask a skeptical person to look at the data
above. The implications are obvious. The best source of data is
probably the IPCC reports themselves, which are available
atwww.ipcc.ch(see, for example, the summaries for policy makers).3.
The recent, record-breaking warm years are unprecedented and
statistically significant. It is a fact that they
areverystatistically unlikely to be a fluctuation (and now we can
point to specific side effects from those warm temperatures that
appear to have induced recent worldwide drought).4. Lastly, but
perhaps most importantly, whether or not you believe in global
warming per se, the fact remains that the carbon dioxide levels are
rising dramatically --- there is no debate about this. If we
continue to use fossil fuels in the way we presently do, then the
amount of carbon we will releasewill soon exceed the amount of
carbon in the living biosphere. This is bound to have very serious,
very negative effects, some of which, such as lowering the pH of
the ocean such that coral cannot grow, are already well
known.Response of Government: Develop "Carbon Sequestration"
TechnologyMany government agencies around the world are very
interested in maintaining fossil fuel use, especially coal. It
should be noted that US energy use, which is enormous, is
increasing, not decreasing. Furthermore, we are not going to run
out of coal in the near term (oil maybegin to run low sometime
after 2010). Methods for reducing carbon emission levels while
still burning coal are now investigation by government and
industry, as we now discuss.We believe that a major increase in
renewable energy use should be achieved to help offset global
warming. While there are some US government programs aimed in this
direction, there is simply not enough money being spent yet to
achieve this goal in a timely manner. A primary goal of many new
programs is not to increase renewables, but rather, is to find ways
to capture the extra CO2 from electricity generation plants and
"sequester" it in the ground, the ocean, or by having plants and
soil organisms absorb more of it from the air.Possible Problems
with Carbon "Sequestration"One of the Carbon sequestration
approaches under investigation is the possibility of depositing
CO2extracted from emission streams in large pools on the Ocean
bottom. It is possible that such pools will not be stable, and may
either erupt to the surface, or diffuse into the ocean and alter
the oceans pH.Another scheme under investigation is the idea of
stimulating phytoplankton growth on the ocean surface by dusting
the surface with iron (the limiting nutrient). This will cause an
increased uptake of carbon by the plankton, part of which will find
its way to the ocean bottom. Fishing companies are considering
using this to increase fish harvests while simultaneously getting
credit for carbon sequestration. Serious ecological disruptions
could occur, however, especially if this approach is conducted on a
sufficiently large scale.Another idea is to stimulate Earth's
terrestrial ecosystems to take up more carbon dioxide. While the
impacts here are more difficult to ascertain, an important point to
note is that these systems are not thought to be able to completely
absorb all the extra CO2. At best, they may be sufficient to help
the US stabilize carbon emission rates for a few decades, but even
if this is achieved, stabilization of rates are not likely to
return the Earth to pre-industrial carbon levels. Worse, biological
feedbacks to global warming, such as forest fires, drying soils,
rotting permafrost, etc, may actually greatly accelerate carbon
emissions, i.e. we may experience massive
carbonde-sequestration.Another major approach under consideration
is to pump CO2into old oil and gas wells. While seemingly
attractive, it must be kept in mind that for this to be truly
effective, it would have to be done on a world wide scale, include
many sources of CO2, including many sources which are presently
small and widely distributed (such as car emissions, and not just
coal plant emissions). All of this CO2would need to be captured,
transported, injected into old wells, and then the wells would need
to be sealed and monitored. It is not clear that this would be
affordable at all, and that there would be adequate capacity or
assurance that CO2would not leak out in massive quantities.In the
worst case scenario, carbon sequestration efforts may simply fail,
but also end up being a political tool that is used to seriously
delay a transition to renewable energy sources, and also possibly
create many new environmental problems problems while prolonging
old ones.In the best case scenario, given the truly enormous amount
of CO2we are presently emitting, some sequestration approaches may
serve as a useful bridge to curbing emissions while the transition
to renewables is being made.Some Global Warming Related
WebsitesIPCC site:http://www.ipcc.ch: Try the Summaries for Policy
Makers for starters. These are concise, well written documents that
also contain some of the best and latest data.US Global Change
Research Program: www.usgcrp.govWeathervane: an online forum
designed to provide the newsmedia, legislators, opinion leaders,
and the interested public withanalysis and commentary on U.S. and
global policy initiatives related to climate
change.http://www.weathervane.rff.org/The global warming primer and
discussion at website ofthe Institute of Geophysics and Planetary
Physics at Los Alamos National
Laboratory:http://www.igpp.lanl.govBack toTable of ContentsChild
labour in IndiaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Child labourin India and rest of the world, during 2003 in 10-14
age group, per World Bank.[1]India with estimated 11%, is in green
with 10-20% incidence levels, along with countries in red (30-40%)
and black (>40%).Child labouris the practice of having children
engage in economic activity, on part or full-time basis. The
practice deprives children of their childhood, and is harmful to
their physical and mental development. Poverty, lack of good
schools and growth of informal economy are considered as the
important causes of child labour inIndia.[2][3]The 1998 national
census of India estimated the total number of child labour, aged
514, to be at 12.6 million, out of a total child population of 253
million in 5-14 age group.[4][5]A 2009-2010 nationwide survey found
child labour prevalence had reduced to 4.98 million children (or
less than 2% of children in 5-14 age group).[6]The 2011 national
census of India found the total number of child labour, aged 514,
to be at 4.35 million,[7]and the total child population to be
259.64 million in that age group.[8]The child labour problem is not
unique to India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many
full-time.[9]In 2001, an estimated 1% of all child workers, or
about 120,000 children in India were in a hazardous
job.[10]UNICEFestimates that India with its larger population, has
the highest number of labourers in the world under 14 years of age,
while sub-saharan African countries have the highest percentage of
children who are deployed as child labour.[11][12][13]International
Labour Organisationestimates that agriculture at 60 percent is the
largest employer of child labour in the world,[14]while United
Nation'sFood and Agriculture Organisationestimates 70% of child
labour is deployed in agriculture and related
activities.[15]Outside of agriculture, child labour is observed in
almost allinformal sectorsof the Indian
economy.[16][17][18]Companies
includingGap,[19]Primark,[20]Monsanto[21]have been criticised for
child labour in their products. The companies claim they have
strict policies against selling products made by underage children,
but there are many links in a supply chain making it difficult to
oversee them all.[21]In 2011, after three years of Primark's
effort, BBC acknowledged that its award-winning investigative
journalism report of Indian child labour use by Primark was a fake.
BBC apologized to Primark, to Indian suppliers and all its
viewers.[22][23][24]In December 2014, theU.S. Department of
Laborissued aList of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced
Laborand India figured among 74 countries where significant
incidence of critical working conditions has been observed. Unlike
any other country, India was attributed 23 goods the majority of
which is produced by child labor in the manufacturing
sector.Article 24 of India's constitution prohibits child labour.
Additionally, various laws and the Indian Penal Code, such as the
Juvenile Justice (care and protection) of Children Act-2000, and
the Child Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act-1986 provide a
basis in law to identify, prosecute and stop child labour in
India.[25]Contents[hide] 1Definition 2Child labour acts and laws
3Causes 4Bonded child labour in India 5Consequences of child labour
5.1Diamond industry 5.2Fireworks manufacture 5.3Silk manufacture
5.4Carpet weaving 5.5Domestic labour 5.6Coal mining 6Initiatives
against child labour 6.1Non-governmental organisations 7Demography
of child labour 8References 9See also 10External
linksDefinition[edit]The termchild labour, suggestsILO,[26]is best
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 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 a healthy childhood.UNICEFdefines child
labour differently. A child, suggests UNICEF, 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.[27]UNICEF in another report suggests, "Childrens work needs
to be seen as happening along a continuum, with destructive or
exploitative work at one end and beneficial work - promoting or
enhancing childrens development without interfering with their
schooling, recreation and rest - at the other. And between these
two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a
childs development."India's Census 2001 office defines[28]child
labor as participation of a child less than 17 years of age 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.Some child rights activists argue that
child labour must include every child who is not in school because
he or she is a hidden child worker.[29]UNICEF, however, points out
that India faces major shortages of schools, classrooms and
teachers particularly in rural areas where 90 percent of child
labour problem is observed. About 1 in 5 primary schools have just
one teacher to teach students across all
grades.[30][31][32][33]Child labour acts and laws[edit]
Section 12 of India's Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act of 1986 requires prominent display of 'child labour is
prohibited' signs in many industries and construction sites in
local language and English. Above a sign at a construction site in
Bangalore.After its independence from colonial rule, India has
passed a number of constitutional protections and laws on child
labour. The Constitution of India in the Fundamental Rights and the
Directive of State Policy prohibits child labour below the age of
14 years in any factory or mine or castle or engaged in any other
hazardous employment (Article 24). The constitution also envisioned
that India shall, by 1960, provide infrastructure and resources for
free and compulsory education to all children of the age six to 14
years. (Article 21-A and Article 45).[25][34]India has a federal
form of government, and child labour is a matter on which both the
central government and country governments can legislate, and have.
The major national legislative developments include the
following:[35]The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the
employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory.
The law also placed rules on who, when and how long can pre-adults
aged 1518 years be employed in any factory.The Mines Act of 1952:
The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age
in a mine.The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of
1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of
14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law.
The list was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.The Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000: This law
made it a crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone to
procure or employ a child in any hazardous employment or in
bondage.The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
of 2009: The law mandates free and compulsory education to all
children aged 6 to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that 25
percent of seats in every private school must be allocated for
children from disadvantaged groups and physically challenged
children.India formulated a National Policy on Child Labour in
1987. This Policy seeks to adopt a gradual & sequential
approach with a focus on rehabilitation of children working in
hazardous occupations. It envisioned strict enforcement of Indian
laws on child labour combined with development programs to address
the root causes of child labour such as poverty. In 1988, this led
to the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) initiative. This legal
and development initiative continues, with a current central
government funding of6billion, targeted solely to eliminate child
labour in India.[36]Despite these efforts, child labour remains a
major challenge for India.Causes[edit]
Children around an oil press, in 1916.For much of human history
and across different cultures, children less than 17 years old have
contributed to family welfare in a variety of ways. UNICEF suggests
that poverty is the big cause of child labour. The report also
notes that in rural and impoverished parts of developing and
undeveloped parts of the world, children have no real and
meaningful alternative. Schools and teachers are unavailable. Child
labour is the unnatural result.[37]A BBC report, similarly,
concludes poverty and inadequate public education infrastructure
are some of the causes of child labour in India.[38]Between boys
and girls, UNICEF finds girls are two times more likely to be out
of school and working in a domestic role. Parents with limited
resources, claims UNICEF, have to choose whose school costs and
fees they can afford when a school is available. Educating girls
tends to be a lower priority across the world, including India.
Girls are also harassed or bullied at schools, sidelined by
prejudice or poor curricula, according to UNICEF. Solely by virtue
of their gender, therefore, many girls are kept from school or drop
out, then provide child labour.[37]The International Labour
Organisation (ILO) and Spreading Smiles Through Education
Organisation(OSSE) suggests poverty is the greatest single force
driving children into the workplace.[2]Income from a child's work
is felt to be crucial for his/her own survival or for that of the
household. For some families, income from their children's labour
is between 25 to 40% of the household income.According to a 2008
study by ILO,[2]among the most important factors driving children
to harmful labour is the lack of availability and quality of
schooling. Many communities, particularly rural areas do not
possess adequate school facilities. Even when schools are sometimes
available, they are too far away, difficult to reach, unaffordable
or the quality of education is so poor that parents wonder if going
to school is really worthwhile. In government-run primary schools,
even when children show up, government-paid teachers do not show up
25% of the time.[39][40][41]The 2008 ILO study suggests that
illiteracy resulting from a child going to work, rather than a
quality primary and secondary school, limits the child's ability to
get a basic educational grounding which would in normal situations
enable them to acquire skills and to improve their prospects for a
decent adult working life.[2]An albeit older report published by
UNICEF outlines the issues summarized by the ILO report. The UNICEF
report claimed that while 90% of child labour in India is in its
rural areas, the availability and quality of schools is decrepit;
in rural areas of India, claims the old UNICEF report, about 50% of
government funded primary schools that exist do not have a
building, 40% lack a blackboard, few have books, and 97% of funds
for these publicly funded school have been budgeted by the
government as salaries for the teacher and administrators.[42]A
2012 Wall Street Journal article reports while the enrollment in
India's school has dramatically increased in recent years to over
96% of all children in the 6-14-year age group, the infrastructure
in schools, aimed in part to reduce child labour, remains poor -
over 81,000 schools do not have a blackboard and about 42,000
government schools operate without a building with makeshift
arrangements during monsoons and inclement weather.[40][43]Biggeri
and Mehrotra have studied the macroeconomic factors that encourage
child labour. They focus their study on five Asian nations
including India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.
They suggest[3]that child labour is a serious problem in all five,
but it is not a new problem. Macroeconomic causes encouraged
widespread child labour across the world, over most of human
history. They suggest that the causes for child labour include both
the demand and the supply side. While poverty and unavailability of
good schools explain the child labour supply side, they suggest
that the growth of low paying informal economy rather than higher
paying formal economy - calledorganised economyin India - is
amongst the causes of the demand side. India has rigid labour laws
and numerous regulations that prevent growth of organised sector
where work protections are easier to monitor, and work more
productive and higher paying. The unintended effect of Indian
complex labour laws is the work has shifted to the unorganised,
informal sector. As a result, after the unorganised agriculture
sector which employs 60% of child labour, it is the unorganised
trade, unorganised assembly andunorganised retailwork that is the
largest employer of child labour. If macroeconomic factors and laws
prevent growth of formal sector, the family owned informal sector
grows, deploying low cost, easy to hire, easy to dismiss labour in
form of child labour. Even in situations where children are going
to school, claim Biggeri and Mehrotra, children engage in routine
after-school home-based manufacturing and economic
activity.[3]Other scholars too suggest that inflexibility and
structure of India's labour market, size of informal economy,
inability of industries to scale up and lack of modern
manufacturing technologies are major macroeconomic factors
affecting demand and acceptability of child
labour.[44][45][46]Cigno et al. suggest the government planned and
implemented land redistribution programs in India, where poor
families were given small plots of land with the idea of enabling
economic independence, have had the unintended effect of increased
child labour. They find that smallholder plots of land are
labour-intensively farmed since small plots cannot productively
afford expensive farming equipment. In these cases, a means to
increase output from the small plot has been to apply more labour,
including child labour.[47][48]Bonded child labour in
India[edit]Srivastava describes bonded child labour as a system of
forced, or partly forced, labour under which the child, or usually
child's parent enter into an agreement, oral or written, with a
creditor. The child performs work as in-kind repayment of
credit.[49]In this 2005 ILO report, Srivastava claims debt-bondage
in India emerged during the colonial period, as a means to obtain
reliable cheap labour, with loan and land-lease relationships
implemented during that era of Indian history. These were
regionally calledHali, orHalwaha, orJeurasystems; and by colonial
administration theindenturedlaboursystem. These systems included
bonded child labour. Over time, claims the ILO report, this
traditional forms of long-duration relationships have
declined.[49][50]In 1977, India passed legislation that prohibits
solicitation or use of bonded labour by anyone, of anyone including
children. Evidence of continuing bonded child labour continue. A
report by the Special Rapporteur to India's National Human Rights
Commission, reported the discovery of 53 child labourers in 1996 in
the state of Tamil Nadu during a surprise inspection. Each child or
the parent had taken an advance of Rs. 10,0000 to 25,0000. The
children were made to work for 12 to 14 hours a day and received
only Rs. 2 to 3 per day as wages.[51][52]According to an ILO
report, the extent of bonded child labour is difficult to
determine, but estimates from various social activist groups range
up to 350,000 in 2001.[49]Despite its legislation, prosecutors in
India seldom use the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976
to prosecute those responsible. According to one report,[53]the
prosecutors have no direction from the central government that if a
child is found to be underpaid, the case should be prosecuted not
only under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and the Child Labour
(Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, the case should include
charges under the Bonded Labour Act of India. The few enforcement
actions have had some unintended effects. While there has been a
decrease in children working in factories because of enforcement
and community vigilance committees, the report claims poverty still
compels children and poor families to work. The factory lends money
to whoever needs it, puts a loom in the persons home, and then the
family with children works out of their homes, bring finished
product to pay interest and get some wages. The bonded child and
family labour operations were moving out of small urban factories
into rural homes.[53]Consequences of child labour[edit]
A young fruit seller in streets of KolkataThe presence of a
large number of child labourers is regarded as a serious issue in
terms of economic welfare. Children who work fail to get necessary
education. They do not get the opportunity to develop physically,
intellectually, emotionally and psychologically.[54]In terms of the
physical condition of children, children are not ready for long
monotous work because they become exhausted more quickly than
adults. This reduces their physical conditions and makes the
children more vulnerable to disease.[55]Children in hazardous
working conditions are even in worse condition.[56]Children who
work, instead of going to school, will remain illiterate which
limits their ability to contribute to their own well being as well
as to community they live in. Child labour has long term adverse
effects for India.To keep an economy prospering, a vital criteria
is to have an educated workforce equipped with relevant skills for
the needs of the industries. The young labourers today, will be
part of Indias human capital tomorrow. Child labour undoubtedly
results in a trade-off with human capital accumulation.[57]Child
labour in India are employed with the majority (70%) in
agriculture[58]some in low-skilled labour-intensive sectors such as
sari weaving or as domestic helpers, which require neither formal
education nor training, but some in heavy industry such as coal
mining.[59]According to the International Labour Organisation
(ILO), there are tremendous economic benefits for developing
nations by sending children to school instead of work.[13]Without
education, children do not gain the necessary skills such as
English literacy and technical aptitude that will increase their
productivity to enable them to secure higher-skilled jobs in future
with higher wages that will lift them out of poverty.Diamond
industry[edit]In the year 1999, theInternational Labour
Organisationco-published a report with Universal Alliance of
Diamond Workers, a trade union.[60]The ILO report claimed that
child labour is prevalent in the Indian diamond industry.
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in a
separate 1997 press release observed that child labour continued to
flourish in India's diamond industry.[61]Not everyone agreed with
these claims. The South Gujarat Diamond Workers Association,
another trade union, acknowledged child labour is present but it is
not systematic, is less than 1% and against local industry norms.
Local diamond industry businessmen too downplayed these
charges.[62]According to the 1999 ILO paper,[60]India annually cuts
and polishes 70 per cent of the worlds diamonds by weight, or 40
per cent by value. Additionally, India contributes 95 percent of
the emeralds, 85 percent of the rubies, and 65 percent of the
sapphires worldwide. India processes these diamonds and gems using
traditional labour-intensive methods. About 1.5 million people are
employed in the diamond industry, mostly in theunorganized sector.
The industry is fragmented into small units, each employing a few
workers. The industry has not scaled up, organised, and big
operators absent. The ILO paper claims that this is to avoid the
complexlabour lawsof India. The export order is split, work is
subcontracted through many middlemen, and most workers do not know
the name of enterprise with the export order. In this environment,
claims the ILO report, exact number of child labourers in India's
diamond and gem industry is unknown; they estimate that child
labourers in 1997 were between 10,00 to 20,00 out of 1.5 million
total workers (about 1 in 100). The ILO report claims the causes
for child labour include parents who send their children to work
because they see education as expensive, education quality offering
no real value, while artisan work in diamond and gem industry to be
more remunerative as the child grows up.[60]A more recent study
from 2005, conducted at 663 manufacturing units at 21 different
locations in India's diamond and gem industry, claims incidence
rates of child labour have dropped to 0.31%.[63][64][65]Fireworks
manufacture[edit]Be humbal to the children .... The town of
Sivakasi in South India has been reported to employ child labour in
the production of fireworks.[66]In 2011, Sivakasi,Tamil Naduwas
home to over 9,500 firecracker factories and produced almost 100
percent of total fireworks output in India.[67]The fireworks
industry employed about 150,000 people at an average of 15
employees per factory. Most of these were in unorganised sector,
with a few registered and organised companies.In 1989, Shubh
Bhardwaj reported[68]that child labour is present in India's
fireworks industry, and safety practices poor. Child labour is
common in small shed operation in the unorganized sector. Only 4
companies scaled up and were in the organised sector with over 250
employees; the larger companies did not employ children and had
superior safety practices and resources. The child labour in small,
unorganised sector operations suffered long working hours, low
wages, unsafe conditions and tiring schedules.A more recent 2002
report by International Labour Organisation claims[69]that child
labour is significant in Tamil Nadu's fireworks, matches or incense
sticks industries. However, these children do not work in the
formal economy and corporate establishments that produce for
export. The child labourers in manufacturing typically toil in
supply chains producing for the domestic market of fireworks,
matches or incense sticks. The ILO report claims that as the demand
for these products has grown, the formal economy and corporate
establishments have not expanded to meet the demand, rather
home-based production operations have mushroomed. This has
increased the potential of child labour. Such hidden operations
make research and effective action difficult, suggests ILO.Silk
manufacture[edit]A 2003 Human Rights Watch report claims children
as young as five years old are employed and work for up to 12 hours
a day and six to seven days a week in silk industry.[70]These
children, claims, are bonded labour; even though the government of
India denies existence of bonded child labour, these silk industry
child are easy to find inKarnataka, andTamil Nadu, claims Children
are forced to dip their hands in scalding water
topalpatethecocoonsand are often paid less than Rs 10 per
day.[71]In 2010, a German news investigative report claimed that in
states likeKarnataka, non-governmental organisations had found up
to 10,000 children working in the 1,000 silk factories in 1998. In
other places, thousands of bonded child labourers were present in
1994. But today, after UNICEF and NGOs got involved, child labour
figure is drastically lower, with the total estimated to be fewer
than a thousand child labourers. The released children were back in
school, claims the report.[72]Carpet weaving[edit]Siddartha Kara
finds about 20% of carpets manufactured in India could involve
child labour. He notes, "determining the extent to which the
hand-made carpet supply chain from India to the U.S.A. is tainted
by slavery and child labor requires an additional exercise in
supply chain tracing."[73]Kara's study also finds variation in
child labour practices between ethnic and religious groups. Kara
and colleagues report highest level of child labour in Muslim
community carpet operations,[74]and the presence of debt bonded
child labourers in Muslim villages.[75]Domestic
labour[edit]Official estimates for child labour working as domestic
labour and in restaurants is more than 2,500,000 while NGOs
estimate the figure to be around 20 million.[76]TheGovernment of
Indiaexpanded the coverage of The Child Labour Prohibition and
Regulation Act and banned the employment of children as domestic
workers and as workers in restaurants,dhabas, hotels, spas and
resorts effective from 10 October 2006.Coal mining[edit]Despite
laws enacted in 1952 prohibiting employment of people under the age
of 18 in the mines primitive coal mines inMeghalayausing child
labour were discovered and exposed by the international media in
2013.[59]Initiatives against child labour[edit]In 1979, the Indian
government formed the Gurupadswamy Committee to find about child
labour and means to tackle it. The Child Labour Prohibition and
Regulation Act was not enacted based on the recommendations of the
committee in 1986.[citation needed]A National Policy on Child
Labour was formulated in 1987 to focus on rehabilitating children
working in hazardous occupations.[77]The Ministry of Labour and
Employment had implemented around 100 industry-specific National
Child Labour Projects to rehabilitate the child workers since
1988.[78]Non-governmental organisations[edit]Many NGOs likeBachpan
Bachao Andolan,CARE India, Talaash AssociationChild Rights and
You,Global march against child labour, RIDE India, Childline etc.
have been working to eradicate child labour in India.[77]Prathamis
India's largest non-governmental organisation with the mission
'every child in school and learning well.' Founded in 1995, Pratham
has aimed to reduce child labour and offer schooling to children
irrespective of their gender, religion and social background. It
has grown by introducing low cost education models that are
sustainable and reproducible.[79][80]Child labour has also been a
subject of public interest litigations in Indian
courts.[81][82]Demography of child labour[edit]According to 2005
Government of India NSSO(National Sample Survey Org.), child labour
incidence rates in India is highest among Muslim Indians, about 40%
higher than Hindu Indians. Child labour was found to be present in
other minority religions of India but at significantly lower rates.
Acrosscasteclassification, the lowest casteDalitchildren had child
labour incidence rates of 2.8%, statistically similar to the
nationwide average of 2.74%. Tribal populations, however, had
higher child labour rates at 3.8%.[83]References[edit]1. Jump up^2.
Effects of child labor
Childhood is perhaps the most blessed stage in a human life. It
is that phase of life where, children are not really aware of any
form of worldly responsibilities, they are free from all the
tensions and they can learn a whole lot of new things. No wonder,
people keep having this wistful desire of going back to their
childhood and relive all those beautiful memories. But there is
other side to this phase and in that, many children are forced to
work in inhumane conditions. This phase is also known by child
labor where a child is full of tensions and burdens and he has to
perform the tough job of being primary earning member of the
family. Such children lose their innocence to satisfy the needs and
wants of their family. The problem of child labor is huge and is
faced by many countries in the world.
Child labor is not a recent phenomenon. Throughout human
history, children have been made to work under hazardous and
unhealthy conditions. In other words, child exploitation has
remained an integral part of our culture and despite the advances
made by us in last few centuries; we havent been able to eradicate
this menace. Children are made to work in factories, mining,
agriculture, on streets and as domestic helps. Child labor is an
attack on basic rights of the children. Leave alone lack of
educational opportunities to them, most of these children are
malnourished and treated like animals. Child labor practices causes
damage to a childs physical and mental health apart from depriving
him of his basic rights to education, development, and freedom.
Unfortunately, the number of underage children working in
unfavorable working conditions has kept on increasing.
India has one of the largest populations of child laborers.
These children work in unsafe environments where there is a
constant danger of fatal accidents. Children employed as laborers
spend most of their waking hours working. They are condemned to a
life of poverty, illiteracy, and prolonged misery with no end in
sight. They are required to perform grueling and physically
demanding tasks and in return receive only meager wages. Poor
working conditions cause severe health problems to such children. A
child labor not just suffers physical and mental torture but also
becomes mentally and emotionally mature too fast which is never a
good sign.
As children are sensitive to influences of toxics, chemicals,
noise, pollution, heat and accidents, as a result of which many
children develop lifelong health complications in worst cases, even
lose their lives. A large number of child laborers are employed in
mining, manufacturing, transportation and construction sectors
where chances of fatal injuries are quite high. Because of the
environmental influence, underage children suffer from permanent
psychological scars. They do not possess confidence or self esteem.
It is hard to imagine, how we as a country are going to prosper
when a significant population of the nation suffers from such huge
problems. It is not just duty of the government to take appropriate
measures to rectify the situation but it is also the responsibility
of the Indian citizens to contribute their bit in getting rid of
barbaric practice of child labor.