A SOCIO LEGAL ANALYSIS OF CHILD LABOUR: CHILD RIGHTS IN INDIA
Historical development of Child
Rights in India
Childhood
is considered universally the golden age of one’s life, but what we need to understand
is that it is also the age of most vulnerability, especially when the children
are very young. Thus they need to be cared for and protected, and our country
has laws for the same. Also, the parent-child relationship is for the providing
love, care and protection to the children, and they become the ‘guardians’ of
the child, as the adults are responsible for the child’s welfare. So our
society is ingrained with this belief that children cannot be left to fend for
themselves and the structure of society and adult-child relationship have been
defined accordingly and followed customarily.
The Constitution of India, which came into force in January 1950, contains provisions for survival, development and protection of children, which form part of the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy under Part III of the Constitution. On the international front, there was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR) adopted in 1948, which contained specific references about child rights. Thus it was assumed that the UDHR is enough to ensure rights of the children, but due to the condition of the children in the post Second World War era, it was found to be inadequate and thus the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, on November 20, 1959. It was an acknowledgement that children were a special vulnerable group, and thus required specific measures and policies directed towards their protection.
However,
much before the 1959 Declaration came into existence the Indian Constitution
had reflected all 10 principles of the Declaration including the articles
contained in the UDHR. Nonetheless, the Government of India subscribed to the
principles 23 enshrined in the Declaration and ensured that adequate steps were
taken to guarantee these rights to children. .
In
1974, the National Policy for Children was adopted, which recognized children
as the nation’s supremely important asset and declared that it is the
responsibility of the State to nurture them. The scheme of Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS) was launched on 2 October 1975, which is considered
to be one of the largest outreach programmes for children in the world. This
scheme is implemented through a network of Anganwadi centres(AWC) at community
level, which has proven to be one of the best policy for child development and
education. In the same year, the Government ratified the ILO Convention No. 123
of 1965 relating to minimum age for underground work.
The
year 1979 holds great significance in the history of child welfare and
development. Being designated as the International Year of the Child (IYC) by
the United Nations General Assembly, number of activities and programmes were
undertaken throughout the world in this year. In India, a National Plan of
Action was prepared to observe the IYC. The main theme of the National Plan of
Action was ‘Reaching the Deprived Children’.
To
deal effectively with the problem of neglected children and children in
conflict with law, the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 was legislated, repealing the
then Children’s Act of 1960.
In
accomplishing all the milestones in child rights development, both at the
national and international level, the non-governmental and civil society
organizations have played an equally important role along with the Government
in virtually every aspect concerning children. The media’s role too has been
critical in shaping public opinion and creating mass awareness, about children
and their rights.
Problem of Child Labour
Child
Labour has been defined as "work situations where children are forced to
work on a regular basis to earn a living for themselves and their families, and
as a result they remain backward educationally and socially in a situation
which is exploitative and harmful to their health and to their physical and
mental development,” by the International Labour organization (ILO). Thus Child
labour refers to any work that subjects a child to economic exploitation or is
hazardous, or interferes with the child’s education, or is harmful to the child’s
health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. The worst
forms of child labor are those situations where children work for more than
nine hours in a day, with less than a minimum wages or no wages at all in
hazardous conditions with no safety and adverse effects on their health,
deprived of access to education and are forced to work outside of their
family's home.
Situation of Child Labour in India
The
magnitude of child labor and rate of workforce participation in India has enormously
declined in two decades. National Sample Survey data suggest that India’s child
workforce during 2009-10 was estimated at little over nine million (9.07
million) as against twenty-one and half million (21.55 million) in 2003. During
this period, the number of child employment has declined sharply by 12.48
million. As per the Census 2011, there are 1.26 crores economically active
children in the age-group of 5-14 years, whereas, it was 1.13 crores in the
2001 Census.
At
present in India the working children are found in organized, unorganized as
well as hazardous sectors in spite of several legislation & judicial
decisions. As child labour though declining, still continues unabated, the implementation
of the laws, and the laws in themselves have come under scrutiny. Child Labour
has interfered with the right of education and physical, mental, spiritual,
moral development of the children This ultimately results in hampering the
development of the nation. Thus we need to see the causes of child labour in
order to pave the way towards the total prohibition of the same from the
country.
Causes of Child Labour
Child
labour is a socio economic problem in India as poverty and social security is
considered to be the biggest cause of it. Parents and families who are poverty
stricken in India send their children to work for meager wages in order to
supplement their income and sustain their families. When there is an increasing
gap between the rich and poor and privatization of basic services as part of the
neo-liberal economic policies, it causes major sections of the population to
lose their employment and adversely affects children more than any other group.
Thus
poverty makes the child helpless, and in order to survive the child sacrifices
education and training, so even throughout the adult life remains in poverty.
Thus child labour gets people into a vicious circle, escaping which is
incredibly difficult, due to the socio-economic conditions.
Entry
of multi-national corporations into industry without proper mechanisms to hold
them accountable has lead to the use of child labour. Another cause of child
labour is illiteracy and It is observed that child labour also becomes a cause
of illiteracy, so vice versa alos becomes true, thus making it a vicious cycle.
It
is also a product of such other different factors such as customs, traditional
attitude, reluctance of parents to send their children to school, lack of
education and awareness among the parents, urbanization and migration. Other
than these the inadequacy of the machinery implementing the laws contributes to
the problem of child labour pervading our society. Social Scientists also
consider economic globalization to be equally responsible for the growth of
child labor.
Constitutional Safeguards In India
The
Constitution of India has various provisions dealing with child rights, which
show the intention of the State to secure those rights. Article 15 (3) of the constitution authorizes
the state for the making any special provision for women and children.
Article 21:
no person shall be deprived of his life or his personal liberty except
according to procedure established by law. Article-21A:
The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the
age of 6-14 years in such manners as the state may, by law, determine.
Article 23:
Traffic in human being and beggar and other forms of forced labor are
prohibited and any contravention of this position shall be an offence
punishable in accordance with the law.
Article
24 provides that no child below the age of 14 shall be employed to work in any
factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. Article-38 (1)
provides that the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by
securing and protecting as effectively, as it may secure a social order in
which justice, social, economic and political shall be ensured.
Article
39 (E) proclaims that the State shall its policy towards securing that the
health forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age
or strength thus enjoins that childhood and youth are to be protected against
exploitation, against moral and material abandonment.
Article
42 and 43 provide for securing just and human conditions of work and hold out a
promise that the State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation,
economic organization or in any other way, for all workers, a living wage with
specified conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full
employment of leisure and social and culture opportunities. This in it’s widest
sense would definitely include child laborers.
Under
Article 45 the constitution provide free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of 14 years. The general provisions under
Article, 38, 42, 43, 45 and 47 of Directive Principles of State Policy, do not
deal directly with child welfare but provide strategy for promoting welfare of
children.
Article
46 makes provisions for promotion, with special care of the educational and
economic interest of SC and STs and other weaker sections of the society. Article
47 lays emphasis on raising standard of living of people by the State, which includes
children.
Legislative Provisions for protection of Child Labour
The
Factories Act of (1881) was the first law to define child and to prescribe
prohibitory regulations for employment of children below 7 years of age. The
Factories Act, (1948), prescribes prohibitory regulations for employment of
children below 14 years of age in any factory.
The
Shops and Commercial Establishments Acts of different States, prohibit
employment of children in the shops hotels, dhabas, street shops and commercial
places. The Motor Transport Workers Act (1961) absolutely prohibits employment
of children in motor transport and India Mines Act, (1952) prohibits employment
of children below 16 years in any underground mines. The Plantation Labor Act,
(1951) prohibit the employment less than age of 12 years.
Besides
the above legislations, (Conditions of Employment) Act, (1966), The Apprentice
Act, (1961), The Beedi and Cigar Workers, Contract Labor (Regulation and
Abolition) Act, (1970) and The Atomic Energy Act, (1962) are Acts which provide
that employment of children is a punishable offence. Protection of children
from sexual offence Act, 2012, too has several features that are child
centered.
Indian
Government felt the need to enact a single Act to deal with prohibition of
child labor and so The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was enacted
in 1986. The Act prohibited employment of children below the age of 14 years in
certain occupations and processes, including the transport of passengers, goods
and mails and other hazardous work in railways and ports, the process like
Beedi making, cement manufacturing, manufacturing of matches and explosives,
mica cutting, soap manufacturing, wool cleaning and building and construction
industries.
The
Act provides for regulations of conditions of work by prescribing minimum
working hours, prohibiting work at night, prohibiting overtime work, and weekly
holiday. Also the Act gives measures for health and safety of child workers and
emphasizes on maintenance of a register having details of children if employed
by any organization.
Judicial Trends of Child Labour
The
Indian Judiciary, especially the Supreme Court has given many land mark judgments
against the forced labour and employment of children, some of which are
discussed below.
The
Supreme Court in the case of Francis
Coralie v. Union Territory of Delhi[1]
emphasized that the right to life mentioned in Article 21 of Indian
Constitution includes the right to live with human dignity. This Article can
thus be made applicable for the overall development of a child as well. In the
case of People’s Union for Democratic
Rights v. Union of India[2]
the Supreme Court observed that it is a clear breach of Article 24 of the
Constitution to employ the children below the age of 14 in the construction
work. The court has prohibited any kind of violation of Articles, 23 and 24 and
spoke strongly against any form of forced labour.
The
Supreme Court in the case of Bandhua
Mukti Morcha v. The Union of India and others[3]
took cognizance of the employment and exploitation of children in carpet
manufacturing in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. In the case of Sheela Barse v. The Union of India[4]
the children who were working near furnaces in glass industry were released.
Conclusion
With
the above analysis, this Aritcle can be concluded by saying that Child labour has
existed as an economic practice and social evil since time immemorial. But it
was only after the advent of factory type units in the middle of the 19th
century that children began employed in the industries where they worked for
long hours and were exploited due to poor safety and hazardous conditions. Poverty
compels the low income poor households to depend on their children to
supplement the family income by earning wages. The absence of social safety
nets increases the dependence on child labour. A number of careful attempts
need to be taken to provide opportunities to students to avail education,
increase awareness in society and implement the laws effectively.
A SOCIO LEGAL ANALYSIS OF CHILD LABOUR: CHILD RIGHTS IN INDIA
Reviewed by Shiksha Srivastava
on
March 23, 2017
Rating:
Reviewed by Shiksha Srivastava
on
March 23, 2017
Rating:
No comments: