7/ 20/1 2 PROGRE SSIVE A BOLI TI ON OF CHIL D L AB OUR : La as ya Pr iya P onna da :: Lega l I ndia : L aw Info rmat ion … 1/18 www.legalindia.in/progressive-abolition-of-child-labourLike 3 0 Tweet Tweet 2 Home About Legal Aid Legal Help Legal Advice Legal Query Legal Opinion Fin d Ad vocate Directory Contact Bare Acts & Rules Discussion Forum Leg al FAQs Legal Articles Legal News PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR“ What I am today is beca use of education and I wa nt every Indian child to be so to uched by the light ofeducation”-Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh. Children are the future custodians of all the present philosophies including sovereignty, rule of law, justice, li bert y, fra ter ni ty and in ter national pea ce a nd se curity. The human rights ju risprudenc e ca tegorica ll y re cognized the rights o f the chil d. The De clara tion of G ene va in 1924 gave a c lario n call that “ Mankind owes to t he child the best it has to give ”. The Universal Declaration of Human rights rightly obliges family, as a fundamental unit ofsociety, to focus on chil dren so as to afford them nece ssa ry pre-condi ti ons to gro wth. Articl e 24 of the UN declaration Provides: “ Every Child shall have the right to su ch meas ures of protectio n as are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State ”. It i s now u ni vers all y re cognized that for a Share Share
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7/28/2019 PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION of CHILD LABOUR _ Laasya Priya Ponnada __ Legal India _ Law Information Portal of India
comprehensive development of its personality, the child should grow in a family environment and in an atmosphere
conducive to care, affection and understanding.
The Industrial revolution, which led to urbanization, has been responsible for changes in family structure.
The concept of child labour is also directly attributable to the developments in the industrial production process
following the industrial revolution. Labour and human dignity can be considered as purchasable at cheapest
possible price. Poverty of parents led to children offering themselves for work in highly exploitative conditions.These children of lesser god witness the forfeiture of their childhood without fully knowing themselves the trauma
of work life and its impact on their mental and moral development.
Reasons for Development of Child Labour:
Chronic Poverty is the most important factor for the prevalence and perpetuation of child labour. Nearly
half of the India’s total population subsists below the poverty line. India stands 2nd position in the employment of
child labour while Africa stands in the first position. In this situation, the child, since its very appearance in theworld, is endowed with an economic mission. Economic compulsions weigh so heavily on poor parents that they do
not mind colluding with the child’s employer in violating the laws and placing the child under risks of inhuman
employment situation. Poverty and child labour always beget each other and tend to reinforce each other. Other
reasons are disenchantment with and a lack of faith in the educational system as schooling does not guarantee a
job. There is also a deeply ingrained Indian tradition that a girl child is to work in the house with the mother and the
boy is to learn the father’s trade. Though in the organized and the unorganized sectors there is no dearth of adult
labour, employees prefer hiring children as they are more amenable to discipline, too young to organize themselves
and fight for their rights, can be paid less and bullied to obedience. The lack of concern within the community
indifference among the middle class adults to their social surroundings and the existence of exploitative elements
result in the erosion of the natural rights of the poor children. The fact that the children cannot speak for
themselves makes them easy targets for exploitative working conditions and wages.
Still another reason for the ever increasing child labour is said to be, the accelerated pace of mechanization
of agriculture which pushes the surplus farm labour to the cities in search of livelihood. A survey conducted by the
commission of child labour in Kolkata revealed that socio-economic conditions of the families compelled children to
come in search of employment.
Analyzing the reasons which prompt the children to work, it was shown by experts that as many as 47.5
percent of child workers did so, not so much because of poverty but because of the fathers force them to leave
school and join work while they themselves either sit idle, or want the extra money to satisfy their various
addictions. In some cases, it is reported that the children themselves compare the advantages of continuing
education with joining the labour force and decide in favour of the latter because of the dignity, freedom and
responsibility which they get as a contributing member of the family. On the other hand, some children admitted
7/28/2019 PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION of CHILD LABOUR _ Laasya Priya Ponnada __ Legal India _ Law Information Portal of India
that they pushed into this, and left to themselves they would like to pursue their education. The increasing number
of child labourers also indicates the failure of family planning, especially in the poverty belts.
In a case of employment of children below 14 years of age in carpet industries in the State of Uttar Pradesh
Supreme Court held that state is under obligation to provide socio-economic justice to the children and render
facilities and opportunities for development of their personalities. In Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs. Union of India,
1997 Lab IC, 2107 the Supreme Court held that basic cause of child labour is poverty instead of total abolition shallhave adverse affect and should be banned progressively in a planned manner.
In Hindustan Times dated 1st August, 1984: Statement made by the Minister of State for labour in the
Rajya Sabha, on 30th July, 1984 is published it was stated that there is a concentration of child labour in certain
industries such as match works in Tamil Nadu, Carpet industry in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, State
quarries in Madhya Pradesh , diamond cutting in Gujarat, glass and bangle in Uttar Pradesh, tea Plantation in West
Bengal and brassware in Uttar Pradesh.
Samithu Kothari made a study into facet of child labour, the working conditions of children engaged in the
match works at Sivakasi in Tamilnadu. He rightly captioned the work: “There is blood on those match sticks”.
Blood stains are there, not only on the match-sticks but also on other materials, the carpets in your drawing room,
the slabs of slates used in your house, the diamonds adding glow and glory to a well cared figure, the glass and
bangles than given glitters to the dress and the body, the brass-ware in your house, and even in the tea you sip”.
VARIOUS ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY CHILD LABOUR:
Child Labour in the Agricultural Sector: According to a recent ILO report about 80% child labourers in India
are employed in the agriculture sector. The children are generally sold to the rich moneylenders to whom borrowed
money cannot be returned.
Street Children : Children on the streets work as beggars, they sell flowers and other items, instead of being sent
to school. They go hungry for days to gather. In fact, they are starved so that people feel sorry for them and give
them alms.
Bonded Child Labour : This is also known as slave labour and is one of the worst types of labour for children
and adults, alike. In fact, in 1976 the Indian Parliament enacted the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act; herein
declaring bonded illegal. However, the fact remains is that this system of working still continues. According to
certain experts approximately 10 million bonded children labourers are working as domestic servants in India.
Beyond this there are almost 55 million bonded child labourers hired across various other industries.
Children Employed At Glass Factories : According to recent estimates almost 60,000 children are employed in
the glass and bangle industry and are made to work under extreme conditions of excessive heat.
7/28/2019 PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION of CHILD LABOUR _ Laasya Priya Ponnada __ Legal India _ Law Information Portal of India
In pursuance to the duty laid down in the above case some of the laws were enacted prohibiting the
employment of children below 14 years of age. However this Article does not prohibit the employment of children
in any innocent or harmless job or work.
The framers of the Constitution realizing the importance of the children and their education have imposed a
duty on the State under Article 45 as one of the directive principles of the State Policy to provide free and
compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of 14 years within the 10 years from thecommencement of the Constitution. The object was to abolish the illiteracy and child labour from the country. It
was expected that the elected government of the country would honestly implement this directive. The framers
perhaps were of the view that in view of the financial condition of a new state it included it in Chapter IV as one of
the directive principles of State Policy. But the politicians of our country belied the hope of the framers of the
constitution. It is unfortunate that it has taken 52 years from the commencement of the Constitution to initiate some
measures by amending the Constitution to start with although 40% of the population is still illiterate and 10% of the
total population is working as child labour.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court in Unnikrishnan case declared that the right to education for the
children of the age 6 to 14 years is a fundamental right. Even after this, there was no improvement. A demand
was being raised from all corners to make education a fundamental right. Consequently, the government enacted
Constitution (86th Amendment) Act 2002 which would make education a fundamental right. The Constitution (86th
Amendment) Act has added a new Article 21A after Article 21 and has made education for all children of the age
of 6 to 14 years a fundamental right. It provides that “the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of 6 to 14 years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine”.
C. Pos t-Constitutional Laws:-
After attaining the Independence India enacted the Factories Act in the year 1948, under section 19 of this
Act Children below the age of 14 years are prohibited from employment in the factories and the employers who are
employed such children are liable to be punished with imprisonment or fine or with both.
Later on Some of the provisions in the enacted laws like the Plantation Labour Act, 1951; the Mines Act
and the Indian Factories Act, 1952; the Motor Transport Act and the Apprentice Act,1961; the MinimumWages Act, 1948; the Atomic Energy Act; The Shops and Establishment Act; The Beedies and Cigar
Workers (Condition and Employment) Act, 1966 prohibits the employment of children below a certain age.
In 1986 the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 (CLA) was enacted with a view to
rationalizing earlier legislation on child labour, progressive elimination of child labour in hazardous employments, and
regulating conditions of child labour in non-hazardous industries.
In nutshell, the Child Labour Act bans the employment of children below 14 years of age only in certain
7/28/2019 PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION of CHILD LABOUR _ Laasya Priya Ponnada __ Legal India _ Law Information Portal of India
A Child is a national asset; it is the duty of the State to look after the child with a view to ensuring full
development of his personality. Emphasizing the significance of the dignity of youth, and childhood in a civilized
society, Bhagawati, C.J. observed in Sheela Barse and others vs Union of India and others (1986) 3 SCJ 423
that some years ago our country came out with a National Policy for the welfare of Children which contained the
following perambulatory declaration: “The Nation’s children a supremely important asset. Their nurture and
solicitude are our responsibility. Children’s programme should find a prominent part in our national plans for the
development of human resources, so that our children grow up to become robust citizens, physically fit, mentally
alert and morally healthy, endowed with the skill and motivations needed by society. Equal opportunities for
development to all children during the period of growth should be our aim, for this would serve our large purpose of
reducing inequality and ensuring social justice”.
Main features of the Supreme Court in their Judgment dated 10.12.96
On 10th December 1996 in Writ Petition (Civil) No.465/1986 the Supreme Court of India, gave certain directions on
the issue of elimination of child labour. The main features of judgment are as under:
- Survey for identification of working children;
- Withdrawal of children working in hazardous industry and ensuring their education in appropriate institutions;
- Contribution @ Rs.20,000/- per child to be paid by the offending employers of children to a welfare fund to
be established for this purpose;
- Employment to one adult member of the family of the child so withdrawn from work and it that is not possible
a contribution of Rs.5,000/- to the welfare fund to be made by the State Government;
- Financial assistance to the families of the children so withdrawn to be paid -out of the interest earnings on the
corpus of Rs.20,000/25,000 deposited in the welfare fund as long as the child is actually sent to the schools;
- Regulating hours of work for children working in non-hazardous occupations so that their working hours do no
exceed six hours per day and education for at least two hours is ensured. The entire expenditure on education is to be borne by the concerned employer.
- The implementation of the direction of the Honourable Supreme Court is being monitored by the Ministry
of Labour and compliance of the directions have been reported in the form of Affidavits on 05.12.97, 21.12.1999,
04.12.2000, 04.07.2001 and 04-12-2003 to the Honourable Court on the basis of the information received from the
State/UT Governments.
7/28/2019 PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION of CHILD LABOUR _ Laasya Priya Ponnada __ Legal India _ Law Information Portal of India
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act:
After the enactment of the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act 2002 the State Provided protection to the
Children from the age 6 to 14 years from the child labour by providing compulsory education but it has taken
another 8 years for the passage of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to
Education Act (RTE), which was passes by the Indian Parliament on 4th August 2009, describes the modalities of
the provision of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 years in India under Article 21-A of
the Indian Constitution. With the enactment of this legislation India became one of 135 countries to make education
a fundamental right of every child when the Act came into force on 1st April 2010.
The first time in the history of India a law was brought into force by a speech by the Prime Minister. In his
speech, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India stated that, “We are committed to ensuring that all children, irrespective of gender and social category, have access to education. An education that enables
them to acquire the sk ills, knowledge, values and attitudes necessary to become responsible and active
citizens of India”.
The RTE Act if implemented properly will be much effective than any other previous laws which were
enacted specifically to prohibit the child labour. It its common sense the Right to Education Act main objective is to
provide the free and compulsory education to all the children in India between the aged of 6 and 14 years but it
indirectly imposes a duty on the State by the term COMPULSORY that all the children between the age of 6 to 14years must be surely educated. So it in an indirect way throw light on the eradication of the child labour by making
education compulsory to all the children between the ages of 6 to 14 years.
COMPULSORY EDUCATION:-
The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002 and the Right to Education Act, 2009 specifically provides
that it is the mandatory and primary duty of the State to provide free and compulsory education to the children
below the age of 6 to 14 years. It is indirectly restricts the children from doing any other activity when they were in
the age between 6 to 14 years. Also it provides for free education where it makes the education to be available to
the poor people. Mostly the child labour were belong the children of the poor people. Due to their economically
backward condition parents were unable to feed the children and the work of the child will also become useful to
make their both ends meet in a difficult way.
The Act clarifies that “Compulsory Education” means obligation of the appropriate government to provide
free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to
7/28/2019 PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION of CHILD LABOUR _ Laasya Priya Ponnada __ Legal India _ Law Information Portal of India
visits and meetings with the District and State Government officials. The Government’s commitment to achieve
tangible results in this direction in a time bound manner is also evident from the fact that in the recent Regional
Level Conferences of District Collectors held in Hyderabad, Pune, Mussoorie and Kolkata district-wise review of
the Scheme was conducted at the level of Secretary. These Conferences provided an excellent opportunity to have
one-to-one interaction with the Collectors, who play a pivotal role in the implementation of these Schemes in the
District. Besides, these Conferences also helped in a big way in early operationalisation of Scheme in the newly
selected 150 districts.
The Government is committed to eliminate child labour in all its forms and is moving in this direction in a
targeted manner. The multipronged strategy being followed by the Government to achieve this objective also found
its echo during the recent discussions held in the Parliament on the Private Member’s Bill tabled by Sri Iqbal
Ahmed Saradgi. It was unanimously recognized therein that the problem of child labour, being inextricably linked
with poverty and illiteracy, cannot be solved by legislation alone, and that a holistic, multipronged and concerted
effort to tackle this problem will bring in the desired results.
Forward Steps:-
The ideal scenario on Child Welfare would be when every child enjoys the fullness of childhood through
education, recreation and adequate health facilities. It is impossible to attain these facilities by the child labour. All
the children were able to enjoy the completeness of childhood only
when the true conscience of the nation is awakened;
when all the policy makers and the bureaucrats take the issue of child labour seriously and commit
themselves to the cause of the holistic development of every child in India;
when the employers would not even contemplate the idea of employing a child for any work which might
deny the child of a normal childhood;
when all the parents will become aware of the jeopardy of child labour and take upon themselves the duty of
caring for the physical, social and psychological and mental development of the child;
When all the Policies laid down by the Government under Various Plans and Laws were implemented
properly ;
The government and the legal persons must conduct campaigns to make the people educate about the legal provisions existing for the abolition of the child labour.
References:
1. Baland, Jean-Marie and James A. Robinson (2000) ‘Is child labor inefficient?’ Journal of Political Economy
108, 663–679
2. Basu, Kaushik, and Homa Zarghamee (2009) ‘Is product boycott a good idea for controlling child labour? A
theoretical investigation’ Journal of Development Economics 88, 217–220
7/28/2019 PROGRESSIVE ABOLITION of CHILD LABOUR _ Laasya Priya Ponnada __ Legal India _ Law Information Portal of India
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