THE NORTHCAP UNIVERSITY, SECTOR-23A

GURUGRAM, HARYANA

SUBJECT- LABOUR LAW

TOPIC- CHILD LABOUR
SUBMITTED BY: AMAN TYAGI 19LLB112
ABHINAV 19LLB092
 INTRODUCTION

Children are the greatest gift to humanity and Childhood is an important and
impressionable stage of human development as it holds the potential to the future
development of any society. Children who are brought up in an environment, which is
conducive to their intellectual, physical and social health, grow up to be responsible and
productive members of society. Childhood is the great and happiest period of the lives of
everyone during which one learns about the basic strategy of the life from parents, loved ones
and nature. 

Child labour has become a biggest Social issue in India which needs to be solved on
regular basis. It is not the responsibility of the government only, it should be solved and taken
care by all the parents, owners and other social organizations. It is the issue of everyone
which should be solved personally as it can be happened with the child of any person.

Children are preferred as they are not unionized, can be easily controlled, tortured,
and exploited without any fear of backlash. Moreover, children are better suited to jobs like
brick making, carpet weaving and silk spinning etc. The importance of education is neglected
for the child and replaced with necessity of providing food and shelter i.e. children work to
supplement meagre family income or otherwise to help the family business. In doing so, they
are being denied of  basic rights such as the right to education, to freedom from abuse, and to
proper health.
 WHAT IS CHILD LABOUR?

Child labour typically means the employment of children in any manual work with or
without payment. Child labour is not only limited to India, it happens to be a global
phenomenon.

As far as India is concerned, the issue is a vicious one as children in India have
historically been helping parents at their farms and other primitive activities. Another concept
that needs explanation is the concept of bonded labour which is one of the most common
forms of exploitation. Bonded labour means the children are forced to work as employees in
lieu of payment of debt by the parents due to exorbitant rates of repayment of interest1.

Also associated with the concept of bonded labour is the concept of urban child labour
wherein the labourers are the street children who spend most of their childhood on the streets.

UNICEF has categorized child work into three categories:

1. Within the family- Children are engaged in domestic household tasks without pay.

2. Within the family but outside the home- Example- agricultural labourers, domestic maids,
migrant labourers etc.

3. Outside the family- Example- commercial shops in restaurants and jobs, prostitution2 etc.

CAUSES OF RISING INSTANCES OF CHILD LABOUR

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 Over population, illiteracy poverty, debt trap are some of the common causes which are
instrumental in this issue.
Overburdened, debt-trapped parents fail to understand the importance of a normal childhood
under the pressures of their own troubles and thus it leads to the poor emotional and mental
balance of a child’s brain which is not prepared to undertake rigorous field or domestic tasks.
National and Multinational companies also recruit children in garment industries for more
work and less pay which is absolutely unethical.
According to UNICEF children are employed because they can be easily exploited.
By considering various causes of child labour, we can make a strategy to curb or eliminate
child labour3.
Causes of Child Labour
 The curse of poverty
The main reason for child labour is poverty. Most of the country’s population suffers from
poverty. Due to poverty, parents cannot afford the studies of their children and make them
earn their wages from a tender age. In fact, they are well aware of the grief of losing their
loved ones to poverty many times. They send their small children to work in factories, homes
and shops. They are made to work to increase the income of their poor families at the earliest.
These decisions are taken only for the purpose of eking out a living for their family. But such
decisions shatter children’s physical and mental state as they lose their childhood at an early
age.

 Lack of educational resources

Even after so many years of our country’s independence, there are instances where
children are deprived of their fundamental right to education. There are thousands of villages
in our country where there are no proper facilities of education. And if there is any, it is miles
away. Such administrative laxity is also responsible for child labour. The worst sufferers are
the poor families for whom getting their children educated is a dream.
Sometimes the lack of affordable school for the education of poor children leaves them
illiterate and helpless. Children are forced to live without studying. And sometimes such
compulsions push them into the trap of child labour.

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 Social and economic backwardness
Social and economic backwardness is also the main reason for child labour. Socially
backward parents do not send their children to receive education. Consequently, their
children are trapped in child labour. Due to illiteracy, many times parents are not aware of
various information and schemes for child education. Lack of education, illiteracy and
consequently the lack of awareness of their rights among them have encouraged child labour.
Also, uneducated parents do not know about the impact of child labour on their children. The
conditions of poverty and unemployment give rural families a compulsive basis for engaging
children in various tasks. In fact, feudal, zamindari system and its existing remnants continue
to perpetuate the problem of child labour.

 Addiction, disease or disability

In many families, due to addiction, disease or disability, there is no earning, and the
child’s wages are the sole means of family’s sustenance. Population growth is also increasing
unemployment, which has adverse impact on child labour prevention. So, parents, instead of
sending their children to school, are willing to send them to work to increase family income.

 Poor compliance of laws

In modern society, laws stipulate that citizens have the right to receive good
education, avail good health services and take care of their health. Every citizen has the right
to play the game he enjoys, and enjoy all the means of entertainment, and when he grows, to
obtain employment where he can earn well and contribute to society and nation. But in the
absence of proper compliance of the laws, child labour is continuing. It can be prohibited
only by strict adherence to the related laws.

 Lure of cheap labour

In the greed of cheap labour, some shopkeepers, companies and factory owners
employ children so that they have to pay less to them and it amounts to employing cheap
labour. Shopkeepers and small businessmen make children work as much as they do to the
elder ones, but pay half the wages. In the case of child labour, there is less chance for theft,
greed or misappropriation of money too.
With the development of globalization, privatization, and consumerist culture, the need for
cheap labour and its linkage with economic needs of poor families have encouraged child
labour.
 Family tradition
It is a shocking but a bitter truth that in our society it is very easy to give child labour
the name of tradition or custom in many families. The culture and traditional family values
play their role in increasing the problem of child labour at the voluntary level. Many families
believe that a good life is not their destiny, and the age-old tradition of labour is the only
source of their earning and livelihood.
Small businessmen also waste the lives of their children in the greediness of perpetuating
their family trade with lower production costs. Some families also believe that working from
childhood onwards will make their children more diligent and worldly-wise in terms of future
life. They believe that early employment will give rise to their children’s personal
development, which will make it easier for them to plan their life ahead.

 Discrimination between boys and girls

We have been conditioned into believing that girls are weaker and there is no equal
comparison between boys and girls. Even today, in our society, we will find many examples
where girls are deprived of studies. Considering girls weaker than boys deprives them of
school and education. In labourer families, girls are found to be engaged in labour along with
their parents.

3.2 Statistics of Child Labour in India

There are five states which are India's biggest child labour employers - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.  Over half of India's total child labour
population works here. India's biggest hub of child labour is Uttar Pradesh and it accounts for
almost 20% of India's child labourers. According to a Campaign Against Child Labour
(CAC) study, India has 1,26,66,377 child labourers of which UP has 19,27,997 child
labourers4.

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 THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT ON THE ISSUE OF
CHILD LABOUR

India’s commitment to children is clearly manifested in its constitution wherein

several articles are incorporated dedicated to children
-Article 14 - Equality before law the state shall not deny to any person equality before the law
or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India prohibition of discrimination
on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth5.
-Article 15(3) - Nothing in this article shall prevent the state from making any special
provision for women and children 6 .
-Article 21—No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law7.
-Article 21 A—The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the
age of 6-14 years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine8.

-Article 23—Traffic in human beings and beggar  and other forms of forced labour
are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable inaccord
ance with the law9.
-Article 24—No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or
mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment10.
- Article 45— The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all
children until they complete the age of six years11.

The factories act, 1948  Prohibits the employment of child under 14 years of agein
factories (section- 67). A child who has completed the age of 14 years is not permitted to
work in a factory for more than 4 hours in any day (section- 71(1) (a)). They should not work

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at night i.e. Twelve consecutive hours including the period from 10 p.m. To 6a.m. (section-
71(1) (b)). The period of work is to be limited to two shifts which should not overlap and
spread over more than five hours (section- 71(2)). They should not be employed in two
separate factories on the same day (section- 71(4)).

According to the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, a child (below 14 years) or an adolescent
between 15-18 years can not be employed for work unless he is certified fit for work by a
surgeon (Section- 26). The certificate of fitness is given by a certifying surgeon who certified
that the person being examined by him is fit to work as a child or as an adolescent. This Act
makes the provisions for education as the responsibility of the employer (Section- 14) and so
is for housing (Section- 15) and medical (Section-10) and recreational facilities (Section- 13).

The Mines Act, 1952 provides for some more stringent provisions. The Act prohibits

employment of persons (below 18 years) in any mine or part thereof (Section-40) and also
their presence in any part of the mine above ground where any operation connected with or
incidental to any mining operation is being carried out (Section- 45).The Act prescribes
punishment of fine up to Rs. 500 in case of employment of persons below 18 years (Section-
68). For contravention of any other provision of the Act, there is provision of imprisonment
up to three months or fine up to Rs. 1000 or both (Section 73).

The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 prohibits employment of children under 15years in a ship,

except in a school ship or training ship; or in ship governed by family members, or in a home
trade ship of less than two hundred tons gross; or in a home trade ship of less than two
hundred tons gross; or where such person to be employed on nominal wages and will be in
the charge of his father or other adult near male relatives (Section 109).

The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 covers every motor transport undertaking
employing 5 or more persons. The Act prohibits employment of persons under 14 years of
age in any capacity in the motor transport undertaking (Section21).

The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 covers all industrial
premises wherein any manufacturing process connected with making of beedi or cigar or both
is being, or is ordinarily carried on with or without the aid of power. The Act prohibits the
employment of children below 14 years in any such premises (Section24). The employment
of young persons between 14 to 18 years are prohibited between7P.M. to 6 A.M.
 The National Policy for Children ,as adopted on 22 nd August, 1974, stands as
the basis of several national policies and programmes initiated in the last few decades toaddre
ss the varied needs of children, and is the policy frame for this plan. The policy laid down
that the State shall provide adequate services towards children, both before and after birth and
during the growing stages for their full physical, mental and social development. The policy
emphasized the need for the measures of the balanced growth of children; children shall be
protected against neglect, cruelty and exploitation. The National Policy on Child Labour ,
was adopted in 22nd August 1987 contains the action plan for tackling the problem of child
labour. It envisaged a legislative action plan and convergence of general development
programmes for benefiting children wherever  possible.

The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act12 was notified on 13th December 2002,

making free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the age group
of 6-14 years.

A National Charter for Children, 2003 emphasizes Government of India’s

commitment to children’s right to survival, health and nutrition, standard of living, play and
leisure, early childhood care, education, protection of the girl child, equality, life and liberty,
name and nationality, freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly,
the right to a family and the right to be protected from economic exploitation13.

 The National Plan of Action for Children, 2005 emphasizes the role of Government

to ensure all measures and an enabling environment for survival, growth, development and
protection of all children, so that each child can realize his or her inherent potential and grow
up to be a healthy and productive citizen

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO CHILD LABOUR

In order to eliminate the social issue of child labour, there is need to follow some
effective solutions on urgent basis to save the future of any developing country. Following
are some solutions to prevent child labour:
-Creating more unions may help in preventing the child labour as it will encourage more
people to help against child labour.
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-All the children should be given first priority by their parents to take proper and regular
education from their early childhood. This step needs much cooperation by the parents as
well as schools to free children for education and take admission of children from all walks of
life respectively.

-Child labour needs high level social awareness with the proper statistics of huge loss in the
future for any developing country.

-Every family must earn their minimum income in order to survive and prevent child labour.
It will reduce the level of poverty and thus child labour.

-Family control will also help in controlling the child labour by reducing the families burden
of child care and education.

-There is need of more effective and strict government laws against child labour in order to
prevent children from working in their little age.

-Child trafficking should be completely abolished by the governments of all countries.

-Child workers should be replaced by the adult workers as almost 800 million adults are
unemployed in this world. In this way adult will get job and children will be free from child
labour.

-Employment opportunities should be increased for adults in order to overcome problem of

poverty and child labour.

-Business owners of factories, industries, mines, etc should take the pledge of not involving
children in any type of labour.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

Child labour is a big social problem which needs to be solved on urgent basis by the
support of both, people (especially parents and teachers) and government. Children are very
little however they carry a prosperous future of any developing country. So, they are the big
responsibility of all the adult citizens and should not be used in negative ways. They should
get proper chance to develop and grow within the happy environment of family and school.
They should not be limited by the parents only to maintain the economical balance of the
family and by the businesses to get labour at low cost.