No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Facts:
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- As per ILO, India has the highest number of child laborers in the 5-17 age in South Asia.
- In rural areas- 13.9% of children involved in child labor; in urban areas- 4.7%.
- Child laborers in various sectors– 70% in agriculture, 20% in services, and 10% in industry.
- 10.1 million children i.e. 3.9% of the total child population, are “main workers” or “marginal workers” (Census 2011)
‘There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children.’ – Kailash Satyarthi
Policy and legal interventions
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- The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and further amendments
- The Factories Act, 1948
- The Mines Act of 1952
- Apprentices Act, 1961
- Bidi and Cigar Workers Act, 1966
Judicial orders:
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- C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu, 1996: To address child labor and the violation of children’s fundamental rights.
- Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India, 1997: PIL to address the employment of children in the carpet industry
Causes of child labor
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- Socio-economic backwardness in society
- Social structure of society reflecting patriarchal and parochial practices.
- Jobless economic growth
- Huge informal sector based on cheap labour- about 10 crore of workers employed in informal sector.
- Non-adherence to labour laws.
- Nexus and corruption.
Way forward
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- Awareness and sensitization in society.
- Capability approach of Amartya Sen by focusing on education, health, job creation and eliminate exploitation in the name of cheap labor.
- Better implementation and enforcement of Right to Education Act.
