Child Labour in India

Dr. Hanumant Yadav

HNLU, Raipur

Dr. Hanumant Yadav 1

 Child Labour
• CHILD HAS BECOME AN
IMPORTANT “ SOCIAL ISSUE”
IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY LIKE
INDIA

Dr. Hanumant Yadav 2

 Child Labour
Child labour represent a fundamental
abuse of children rights which are a
violation of various laws.
Many working children are engaged
in occupations that negatively affect
there physical, mental and emotional
wellbeing and are below their
minimum age for employment

Dr. Hanumant Yadav 3

 Child Labour in India
• According to the amendment in child
labour act 1986, a ban is imposed on
employing children
• Age group between 5-14 years
• More than 120 million children's around the
world
• 44million children's in India
• U.P. has the highest number of child labours
• More than 80% are employed in villages, that
also in agriculture and non-formal activities
like livestock rearing, fishing etc

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 Child Labour : Facts
• According to the Indian census of 1991, there are
11.28 million working children under the age of
fourteen years in India.
• Over 85% of this child labour is in the country's
rural areas, working in agricultural activities such
as fanning, livestock rearing, forestry and
fisheries.
• The world’s highest number of working children
is in India. ILO estimates that 218 million children
were involved in child labour in 2004, of which
126 million were engaged in hazardous work.

Dr. Hanumant Yadav 5

 Child Labour : Facts
• The Hindi belt, including Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh, account for 1.27 crore
working children in the country,
engaged in both hazardous and non-
hazardous occupations and
processes.

• Over 19 lakh child labourers in the

5-14 age group are in Uttar Pradesh.

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 Child Labour : Reasons
• Poverty’ is the main push factor
• Parental illiteracy
• Absence of universal compulsory Primary
education
• Ignorance of the parents about the adverse
consequences of child labour
• Lack of educational facilities or poor quality
of education
• Employers prefer children as they constitute
cheap  labour and they are not able to
organize themselves  against  exploitation

Dr. Hanumant Yadav 7

 Child Labour : Law
• Recognizing the increasing problem of child
labour in India, the Parliament passed ‘The Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986’.

The purpose of this Act was to declare child

labour as illegal and make it a punishable act by
any citizen of India. The Act is to bring to the
notice of the people of this nation that there are
child labour laws to protect the child.

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 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act, 1986’
• No child shall be employed or permitted to
work in any of the occupations set forth in
Part A of the Schedule or in any workshop
wherein any of the processes set forth in Part
B of the Schedule is carried on.

Dr. Hanumant Yadav 9

 Child Labour : Law
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act 1986 prohibits employment of children below
the age of 14 years in any factory or any
hazardous employment
• Any person who employs child he is liable for
punishment with imprisonment for 3 month
which can be extended to 1 year or Rs. 20,000
fine.

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 Part – A Schedule : occupations
• (1)Transport of passengers, goods or mails by railway;
(2) Cinder picking, clearing of an ash pit or building operation in
the railway premises;
(3) Work in a catering establishment at a railway station,
involving the movement of a vendor or any other employee of
the establishment from one platform to another or into or out
of a moving train;
(4) Work relating to the construction of a railway station or
with any other work where such work is done in close
proximity to or between the railway lines;
(5) A port authority within the limits of any port.

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 Part – B schedule : occupations
(1) Bidi-making.
(2) Carpet-weaving.
(3) Cement manufacture, including bagging of cement.
(4) Cloth printing, dyeing and weaving.
(5) Manufacture of matches, explosives and fire-works.
(6) Mica-cutting and splitting.
(7) Shellac manufacture.
(8) Soap manufacture.
(9) Tanning.
(10) Wool-cleaning.
(11) Building and construction industry.

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 National Policy on Child Labour
• A National Policy on Child Labour was
formulated in 1987. The Policy seeks to adopt a
gradual and sequential approach with a focus on
rehabilitation of children working in hazardous
occupations & processes in the first instance.
• In 1988, the National Child Labour Project
(NCLP) Scheme was launched in 9 districts of
high child labour endemicity in the country. The
Scheme envisaged running of special schools for
child labour withdrawn from work.

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 International Working Group
• The International Working Group on Child
Labour was set up (1990-1997) by the
Defence of Children International and the
International Society for Child Abuse and
Neglect for designing strategies to address
the issue of Child Labour Globally with
Nandana as its Chairperson

Dr. Hanumant Yadav 14

 2013: National Policy for Children
• 2013 Policy was in Continuation from 1974 Policy
“to affirm the Government’s commitment to the
rights based approach in addressing the continuing
and emerging challenges in the situation of children.”

It provided a more comprehensive commitment of
the state to holisitic support, progressive
jurisprudence and mechanisms, utilisation of
technology, evidence based approaches etc.


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 The Child Labour Amendment Bill, 2012

• Prohibits employment of children in all occupations

and processes to facilitate their enrolment in schools
in view of the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009;
• Prohibit employment of adolescents (persons who
have completed fourteenth year of age but have not
completed eighteenth year) in hazardous occupations
and processes and to regulate the conditions of
service of adolescents in line with the ILO Convention
138 and Convention 182, respectively.
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 Provisions of Act 2012
• The penalty for employing a child was
increased to imprisonment between 6 months
and two years (from 3 months-one year) or a
fine of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 (from Rs 10,000-
20,000) or both.
• The penalty for employing an adolescent in
hazardous occupation is imprisonment
between 6 months and two years or a fine of Rs
20,000 to Rs 50,000 or both.
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 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

• Complete ban employment of children below 14 in all occupations

and enterprises, except those run by his or her own family.
• The Act defines children between 14 to 18 years as adolescents
and bars their employment in any hazardous occupations.
• The Act makes child labour a cognizable offence attracting a
jail term of up to two years and penalty up to fifty thousand
rupees.
• The Act has a provision of creating Rehabilitation Fund for
the rehabilitation of children.

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Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

• The provision will not apply to the child if ,

• (a) helps his family or family enterprise, which is other than
any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the
Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations;
• (b) works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment
industry, including advertisement, films, television serials
or any such other entertainment or sports activities
(except the circus, subject to such conditions and safety
measures, as may be prescribed)
• Provided that no such work under this clause shall effect
the school education of the child.
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Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

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Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Amendment Act, 2016

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