CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION)
AMENDMENT BILL, 2012
The International Labour Organisation (ILO)
defines child labour as the work that deprives
children of their childhood, their potential and
their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and
mental development.
Further, it refers to work that is mentally,
physically, socially or morally dangerous and
Features
harmful to children, or work whose schedule
interferes with their ability to attend regular
school, or work that affects in any manner their
ability to focus on school or experience a healthy
childhood.
In India, The Child Labour (Protection and
Regulation) Act 1986 prohibits employment of
children below 14 and 15 years in certain
hazardous employments. Presently, there are 83
such employments, occupations or processes in
which the employment of children is banned.
However, there are no laws to regulate the
working conditions of children in most of the
employments where they are not prohibited
from working and are working under exploitative
conditions.
The 1998 national census of India estimated the
total number of child labour, aged 415, to be
at 12.6 million, while the 2011 national census
found the total number of child labour, aged
514, had increased to 4.35 million, out of a total
child population of 253 million in that age group.
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The major sectors in which child labour is largely
prevalent in India are, Diamond, Firework, Silk,
Carpet, Mining and Domestic labour.
On 19 July 2016, The Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012, was approved
by the Parliament.
The amendment seeks prohibition of employment
of all children under the age of 14 years of age
in line with the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
It makes an exception for children helping their
family after school hours, in the fields or in home
based work (home-based enterprises).
The amendment defines a newly created category
of adolescents as individual between the age of
14 18 years of age and prohibits the employment
of adolescents in hazardous occupations and
hazardous processes as defined under the
Factories Act, 1948.
It proposes the removal of provisions for the
regulating working conditions of children/
adolescents under the Child Labour (Regulation
and Prohibition) Act, 1986.
It makes provisions for the enhancement of
punishment for employing children or employing
adolescents in hazardous occupations.
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The debatable issue
The discussion around the Child Labour Bill
has been addressed primarily as a labour issue
rather than an issue concerning children.
How would authorities keep a check on children
working in their homes?
How would we differentiate between helping at
home and outsourced work from bigger vendors
to poor families?
How do we monitor quality of education, and
address the issue of token enrolment?
How the very idea of children is i.e. persons below
the age of 18 years working, legitimate?
Govt Initiatives against child labour
The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the
employment of children below the age of 14 years
in any factory. The law also placed rules on who,
when and how long can pre-adults aged 1518
years be employed in any factory.
The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the
employment of children below 18 years of age in
a mine.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Need of the Hour
Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment
of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous
occupations identified in a list by the law. The list
was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection)
of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a
crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone
to procure or employ a child in any hazardous
employment or in bondage.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act of 2009: The law mandates free
and compulsory education to all children aged 6
to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that
25 percent of seats in every private school must
be allocated for children from disadvantaged
groups and physically challenged children.
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Apart from the large agriculture sector, most other
instances of child labour is found in unregulated
home-based enterprises and occupations like
carpet-weaving, lock manufacturing, beedi making
and matchbox production. The lure of cheap
labour, nimble hands and an apparent blanket
of legitimacy makes such outsourcing a tempting
proposition for unscrupulous middlemen. This
could be a potential loophole through which
children over the age of 14 years are exploited.
The present law is only going to further push
working children into invisible, more exploitative
forms of work. What is required is a detailed
understanding of why children are having to
and in certain cases choosing to work rather
than pursuing education. The present education
system does not cater to the ground realities of
children by providing a uniform solution.
What is required for formulating a effective and
comprehensive law to address child labour is a
thorough needs assessment.
With little or no access to basic necessities,
poverty, education that does not address
ground realities and poor welfare provisions and
structures, working children and their families
are left with no other choice.
Eliminate all forms of child labour up to the age
of 18 years, failing which Indias recognition of
the 0-18 age group as children (according to the
UNCRC) becomes technically invalid.
Provisions for the exception of children to work
in the field or home based work, be removed as
they it provides loopholes for exploitation and
regulation would be a challenge.
The very demarcation of child labour as hazardous
and non-hazardous in itself is ironic, as every
form of child labour inhibits her development.
Age-appropriate rehabilitation for children
engaged in child labour, effective implementation
of the RTE Act and adequate budgetary allocations
for education are crucial to address this issue.
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 Community participation in planning,
implementation and monitoring of services for
children, through mechanisms such as school
management committees (SMCs) and child
protection units (CPUs) are critical ways to
prevent child labour.
Middlemen may devise new ways to involve
children in employment through production
processes in households, so it is imperative
that the sector has a close regulatory oversight
through appropriate monitoring mechanisms.
Punishment for parents of working children
must take into account factors such as poverty,
neglect, trafficking, etc.
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The biggest loss due to child labour is education.
The idea of children going to school and working
simultaneously is unsustainable since they would
be unable to balance the two as reflected in the
high drop-out rates in the country (39.2% boys
and 32.9% girls by Std VIII). It is unrealistic to
expect children to work and study at the same
time.
While several child rights groups and individuals
demand a complete ban on child labour saying
that all children have the right to and must enjoy
childhood and access education, it is important to
keep in mind that these very children also have
the right to life and it is often in this quest and
struggle for their family and their own survival
that they are forced to /choose to work in order
to overcome and rise above their impoverished
realities.
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