Child Labour in India - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

7/23/2019 Child Labour in India - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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5/15/2011 Child labour in India - Wikipedia, the fre ...Child labour in IndiaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Young boy stacking plates inBangaloreOf 12.6 million children in hazardous occupations, India has the highest number of labourers in theworld under 14 years of age.I..!l Although the Constitution of India guarantees free and compulsoryeducation to children between the age of 6 to 14 and prohibits employment of children youngerthan 14 in any hazardous environment, child labour is present in almost all sectors of the Indianeconomy0 Companies including Gap,.@l Primark,Il Monsanto1l etc have been criticised for usingchild labour in either their operations in India or by their suppliers in India.

Contents[hide]

1 Sectors involved in child labouro 1.1 Beedi manufactureo 1.2 Diamond industryo 1.3 Fireworks manufactureo 1.4 Silk manufactureo 1.5 Domestic labouro 1.6 Constructiono 1.7 Brick kilns

2 Initiatives against child labouro 2.1 Legislation

en.wikipedia.org/ .../Child_labour_in_India 1


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5/15/2011 Child labour in India - Wikipedia, the fre ...o 2.2 Non Govemmental Organizations

3 References

[edit]5ectors involved in child labour

Girl street vendor - A girl sellingplastic containers for carryingGanges water, Haridwar, India.[edit]8eedi manufactureA survey conducted between 1994 and 1995 revealed that child workers comprise of more than30% of total hired workers in the beedi manufacture sector .@ l The United States Customs Servicesubsequently banned the import of Beedis made in Ganesh Beedi Works of Mangalore 1Zl[edit]Diamond industryFurther information: Child labour in the diamond industry#lndiaIn 1997, the Intemational Labour Organization published a report titled Child Labour in theDiamond Industry,@.!claiming that child labour is highly prevalent in the Indian diamond industry, aschild labourers constitute nearly 3% of the total workforce and the percentage of child labourers isas high as 25% in the diamond industry of Surat. The ICFTU further claimed that child labour wasprospering in the diamond industry in Westem India, where the majority of the world's diamondsare cut and polished while workers are often paid only a fraction of 1% of the value of the stonesthey cut.~ Pravin Nanavati, a Surat-based diamond businessman argued that, since high costen.wikipedia.org/ .../Child_labour_in_India 2


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5/15/2011 Child labour in India - Wikipedia, the fre ...diamonds could easily be lost or broken while cutting or polishing, employing a child labourerwould mean risking "Iakhs of rupees" and "Around 8-10 years back, some westem countriesdeliberately created the impression that child labour is prevalent in the Indian diamond industry"and called the boycott for monopolising in the sector. The South Gujarat Diamond WorkersAssociation secretary Mohan Dhabuwala, argued that while child labour is highly prevalent in theconstruction and hotel industries, there are few child labourers in the diamond industry of Surat,less than 1% according to their surveys, mainly because of stern punishments and penalties forviolation of child labour laws.I1.QlIn 1998, Madhura Swaminathan from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research arguedthat economic growth in Western India was associated with an increase in the number of childworkers over the last 15 years and that children work at simple repetitive manual tasks that do notrequire long years of training or experience in low-paying hazardous works that involves drudgeryand forecloses the option of school education for most children.1.!1lIn 2005, an India-based management consultancy firm named A. F. Ferguson & Co.,commissioned a study titled Child Labour from Gem and Je1Aellery Industry "to spreadawareness about child labor among the people connected with the industry" that is conducted at663 manufacturing units at 21 different locations at Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengaland Tamil Nadu, as a GJEPC initiative. On February 12, the study is presented in a seminar heldby the Gem & Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Surat Diamond Association, inSurat, India. The report argued that the use of child labour in India's diamond processing industryhas been reduced from 0.55% 143 in 1998 to 0.31 % in 2005 which is estimated to be less than1%, "while for the synthetic stone industry it is estimated to be two-thirds less". Gem& JewelleryExport Promotion Council chairman Bakul Mehta, claimed that, "Some 500 diamond factoryowners took an oath in the city of Palanpur, Gujarat, (home town of leading Gujarati diamondmerchants) not to employ children in their factories. Similarly, in Surat, 200 factory owners took theoath," and at GJEPC they, "Remain committed to eradicating child labor from the Indian diamondindustry" arguing "...the gem and jewelry industry cannot even think of employing children, not onlyfor moral reasons, but that a child could be injured while polishing or cutting the diamonds."[12][13][ 14][edit]Fireworks manufacture[edit]Silk manufactureHuman Rights Watch estimates that at least 350,000 bonded children are employed by the silkindustry in India.I.1.!As per Human Rights Watch, children as young as five years old are employedand work for up to 12 hours a day and six to seven days a week.l!l Children are forced to dip their



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5/15/2011 Child labour in India - Wikipedia, the fre ...hands in scalding water to palpate the cocoons and are often paid less than Rs 10 per day.I.!.Zl[edit]Domestic labourOfficial estimates for child labor working as domestic labor and in restaurants is more than2,500,000 while NGOs estimate the figure to be around 20 million.~ The Government of Indiaexpanded the coverage of The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act and banned theemployment of children as domestic workers and as workers in restaurants, dhabas, hotels, spasand resorts effective from October 10, 2006.I..Ullled it]ConstructionThe misuse of adult labor can be found in the construction industry too. adults are found inconstruction of both home and office buildings. In2011 , for the construction of the Asian Gamescare house, the contractors had employed adults, for they had to be paid more, making it a smallissue.[edit]Brick kilnsEach year, thousands of children are rescued from brick kilns, working in awful conditions. Some othe children are actually sold to the brick kiln owners, and are not paid.[edit]lnitiatives against child labourIn1979, the Indiangovernment formed the Gurupadswamy Committee to find about child labourand means to tackle it. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act was enacted based on therecommendations of the committee in 1986. A National Policy on Child Labour was formulated in1987 to focus on rehabilitating children working in hazardous occupationsPOj The ministry ofLabour and Employment had implemented around 100 industry-specific National Child LabourProjects to rehabilitate the child workers since 1988.~

led it]Leg islationThe Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (1986) bans employment of children inoccupations related to

Transport of passengers Manufacture and selling of crackers and fireworks Abattoirs Carpet weaving



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5/15/2011 Child labour in India - Wikipedia, the fre ... Manufacture of Beedi,cement, matches, explosives, soap, slate pencils, agate products,agarbatti etc

Building and construction industry Hazardous processes under the factory act Brick kilns etc

The violation of the act can result in punishments ranging from imprisonment for one month to twoyears.[22]

[edit]Non Governmental OrganizationsMany NGOs like CARE India, Child Relief and You, Global march against child labor etc have beenworking to eradicate child labour in India_[23] In2005, Pratham, an Indian NGO was involved in oneof the biggest rescue operations when around 500 child laborers were rescued from zarisweatshops in North East Delhi [24]


Child Labour in India - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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