Short Note on Child Labour

Introduction

"Child" as defined by the child labour (prohibition and regulation) Act 1986 is a person who has
not completed the age of 14 years. Child labour is the practice of employing children in any
economic activity, either on part or full-time basis. Such practices not only swallow the
childhood of the children but also hamper their physical and mental development.

In India, 33 million children are child labourers as per UNICEF report. Poverty, unemployment,
ineffective implantation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act,
2009, a growth of informal economy coupled with the lack of an adequate social security net
tends to upsurge of child labour. In 1986, The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
1986 was constituted in order to protect the tender age of children from forced labour and
exploitation. In 2012, The Child Labour Amendment Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Rajya
Sabha.

On July 26, 2016, parliament passed the modified version of the bill that is Child Labour
Amendment Bill, 2016. On August 1, 2016, the bill got the nod from the President.

Constitutional Safeguards for Children 

Constitution of India provides several provisions for upliftment, development and protection of
children. The relevant articles are as follows:

 Article 15(3) gives the power to the State to enact laws to protect children.
 Article 21A provides free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6
and 14.

 Article 24 prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 years in hazardous
industries.

 Article 39 (e) provides that the State shall direct its policy to ensure that the tender age of
children is not abused.
  Article 45 provides that State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and
education to children below the age of six years.

 Article 47 provides that it’s the duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and
standard of living and to improve public health.

Need to Amend Child Labour Law

The following are the reasons behind the said amendment –

 The earlier Act failed to keep child labour in check.

 To recognize adolescent labour as per ILO norms.

Salient features of the Amended Act

 Prohibition of employment below the age of 14 years– In the view of the Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the Act put the blanket ban on
employment of children below 14 years but allow them to work in home, family
enterprises, outside of school hours and during holidays, and an audio visual
entertainment industry and sports only if it does not affect their education.
 A new category of ‘adolescents’ formed– The Act adds a new category of ‘adolescents’
(the 14-18 age group). They can be employed in ‘non-hazardous’ occupations.

 Stringent punishment – The Act has enhanced the punishment by way of this
amendment. For the first time offender, the fine has been increased from 20,000 to
50,000 and imprisonment has been extended from 6 months to 2 years. The offence is
cognizable and punishment of 1-3 year will be awarded to repeat offenders. The Act
incorporates relaxed penal provisions for a parent. In the case of a repeat offender, a
parent has to pay a fine of 10,000 rupees.
  Powers conferred on the Central Government– The Act empowers the Central
Government-

(i) To alter the list of hazardous occupation.

(ii) To empower District Magistrate in order to ensure effective implementation of

(iii) To conduct periodic inspection of places where children and adolescent cannot be
employed.

 Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund – The Act proposes to set up Child
and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund for the rehabilitation of children.
 Child rehabilitation – The Act puts the onus on the State Government to rehabilitate the
child and to extend monetary assistance by giving Rs 15,000 and add the fine from the
employer for the child’s rehabilitation.

Critical Analysis of the Amended Act 

On the face of it, the amended Act of 2016 seems to be progressive. However, on careful
reading, various flaws in the new Act are exposed. The shortcomings of the Act are as follows:

 Slashed list of hazardous occupation encourages child labour- Reducing the list of
hazardous occupation from 83 to just 3 (mining, explosives, and occupations) would only
reduce child labourers in number, not in reality. The law is grossly unfair to adolescents
as they can be employed in rest 80 hazardous occupations. Section 4 of the Act gives
discretionary power to government authorities, not to parliament, to revise the list.
Therefore, it will give rise to more child labour.
 Legalizing Child labour in “family enterprise” will results in forced labour – Section
3 Clause 5 of the Act permits a child to work in family or family enterprises and in the
audio-visual entertainment industry. The said provision is detrimental as it does not
define the hours of work. It simply provides that only after school hours and during
vacation child can work. Such legal provision is likely to be misused in the Indian context
and would pave the way for child labour as most children indeed work in a family-run
 trade. The term family enterprise is defined as any work, profession or business
performed by the members of the family with the help of other persons. Such a broader
definition would definitely promote caste-based occupation. It will also empower
contractors that will, in turn, result in bonded/forced labour. Such provision will have an
adverse impact on education, innovative minds, learning outcomes as well as health and
overall development of a child.

 The Act has completely overlooked the vital distinction between children and
adults– Non – recognition of this distinction is arbitrary and a clear violation of a right to
equality embodied under Article 14 of the C Further, the definition of child labour has
been altered by the Act as it legitimizes child labour in a family business and permits
adolescent to work in the non- hazardous occupation.

 The Act contravenes domestic legislations as well as international convention– The

 The Act lacks the provisions relating to regulation, inspection and monitoring
systems. Regulation is going to be a big challenge as the Act does not lay down the
criteria to determine whether a particular enterprise is a family enterprise or not. The lack
of such provisions leaves the life of children at the hands of the employer.

 Penalty provisions also suffer from certain loopholes – The Act prescribes penalty
only for the employment of children and not for bad working conditions. Penalizing
parents are bad in law as it will only increase the burden of indigent parents.

Conclusion

The amended Act, display a lack of national commitment to abolishing all forms of child labour
and do not resonate with the constitutional objective of elimination of child labour in India. In
the context of the socio-economic realities of India and the preservation of the social fabric and
learning of traditional occupations, the new Act tweaked the law in such a way that children are
readily available for employment. It will push more children into labour and make them subjects
of exploitation at the labour market.