Child Labor and India

A proactive policy towards eliminating child labor

·       India has consistently followed a proactive policy to tackle child labor, and has adopted constitutional, statutory and developmental measures with a view to eliminating it.

·       The Indian Constitution prohibits the employment of children in factories, mines or other hazardous employment (Article 24); enjoins the State to direct its policy towards securing that children are not abused, that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength (Article 39 (e)); that children and the young are protected against exploitation and moral and material abandonment (Article 39(f)); and requires provision of free and compulsory education to children up to the age of 14 years (Article 45).

·       Indian labor laws are in compliance with ILO Conventions on child labor to which India is a Party.  India has ratified six ILO Conventions relating to child labor (see Annex A) and played a leading role in the adoption of ILO Convention No. 182 on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor at the 87^th Session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva in June 1999.  India has also ratified on 2 December 1992, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

·       Child labor in India is a socioeconomic phenomenon arising essentially out of poverty and lack of development.  There is certainly no intention whatsoever to use Indian children as a source of cheap labor.  Intensive measures are being undertaken to eliminate child labor in India. Action by others who would like to see the achievement of that larger goal should be supportive of the positive steps India is taking – which are in the same direction and have the same goal.

·       The overwhelming majority of working children in India are rural children in the unorganized, agricultural and allied sectors (the traditional sectors of the Indian economy that often provides employment for all members of a family).  They work primarily due to socio-economic factors and do so alongside and under the supervision of their parents/guardians. They do not fall in the category of “forced or indentured” child labor. Every working child cannot be regarded as a forced or indentured child laborer.  The distinction between children working in a family setting and “forced or indentured” child laborers must constantly be kept in sight.

·       Forced, bonded or indentured child labor is prohibited under Indian law.  India has ratified on 30 November 1954, the ILO Convention No.29 (Forced Labor Convention, 1930) and the bonded labor system has been abolished throughout India by an Ordinance with effect from 25 October 1975. The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act was passed by the Parliament of India in 1976 and given effect from 25 October 1975.  The Act provided for the abolition of bonded labor, the bonded labor system, and bonded debt.  Any child found in a bonded situation as per the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act is entitled to immediate release and rehabilitation.  Moreover, prompt and exemplary punishment as per the law is being meted out to any violators of the Act.  

·       The Act also provided for statutory institutional mechanisms to prevent bonded or forced child labor in the form of Vigilance Committees at the district and sub-district levels functioning under the Chairmanship of District and Sub-Divisional Magistrates.  Anyone who wants to file a complaint about the existence of bonded/forced labor in any part of India can do so before this Vigilance Committee.  By the Act, Executive Magistrates have been vested with powers of judicial magistrates for summary trial of offences committed by employers under the Act, for releasing bonded laborer(s), as also for issuing a release certificate. The Act also lays down stringent penal provisions against offending employers, including imprisonment up to 3 years and a fine.  To assist the State Governments in the rehabilitation of released bonded laborers, the Indian Ministry of Labor launched a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in May 1978 for rehabilitation of freed bonded laborers. Under the Scheme, the Government of India extends rehabilitation assistance of Rs.10, 000/- per freed bonded laborer.

India has had child labor laws in position for many decades.  Among the earliest was the Children (Pledging of Labor) Act, 1933.  It lays down that any agreement to pledge the services of a child either by parents or guardian shall be void. The most significant prevailing law is the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which is reflective of the political will, determination and commitment to the elimination of the pernicious system of child labor in India.  The Child Labor Act specifically:

(a)             Prohibits employment of all children under the age of 14 in specified hazardous and other enumerated industries. It prohibits employment of children in 13 occupations and 51 processes considered hazardous to the health and psyche of the child.

(b)             Regulates conditions in industries where children are still permitted to be employed (In order not to outlaw the passage of specialized handicraft skills from generation to generation, children continue to be permitted to work in certain occupations/processes which are innocuous or harmless for them).  Regulation now covers all the occupations and processes that are not specifically prohibited for employment of children. 

(c)             Establishes severe penalties for offending employers, including both fine and imprisonment.  Violation of the provisions under the Act is punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than three months that may extend to one year and/or a fine of not less than Rs.10, 000 that may extend to Rs.20, 000.

The existing provisions of the above two Acts are comprehensive enough to prohibit the practice of indentured or forced child labor in India.  Under the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, every allegation or complaint received is referred to the State Government and the District Administration and all of them are investigated by the Vigilance Committee at the district or sub-divisional level.  Moreover, feedback received after the investigation is also shared with the complainant.  Additionally, if any child is found to be working in hazardous employment, the employer is prosecuted under the provisions of the Act and the child working in any such establishment is released from work and rehabilitated through National Child Labor Projects and projects run by other agencies/organizations.

The Indian judicial system has independently and effectively intervened on the child labor issue.  The Supreme Court of India issued in December 1996 a number of directives regarding the removal of children from hazardous industries/occupations/processes and the provision of welfare support for such children. The Court decree requires that any offending employer, in addition to other fines or penalties under the law, pay Rs.20, 000/- to a child labor rehabilitation fund.  Interest derived from this fund is to be paid as wage compensation to the families of children on the condition that the child attends school. In addition, the Court has directed that an able bodied adult member of each such family be given employment by the State Government. In cases where the State Government is unable to provide such employment, it is required to pay Rs.5, 000/- per child to the Fund.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in India has also been monitoring the implementation of Government policy and programs on identification, release and rehabilitation of child labor in selected districts of the country.  The Commission entertains complaints related to child labor and bonded labor and after investigations, gives appropriate orders for compliance.  The Supreme Court of India in its order-dated 11.11.97 has requested NHRC to be involved in dealing with the issue of bonded labor.  In pursuance of the Supreme Court Order, a Central Action Group (CAG) was constituted in 1998. Two Special Rapporteurs have been appointed by the NHRC to review and look into bonded labor and child labor issues.  They make periodic visits to districts and interact with local people, NGOs and Government functionaries to ascertain the position at the ground level.  Their reports are studied by the NHRC and follow up action initiated in consultation with the Ministry of Labor.

There are widely divergent views as to the magnitude of child labor in India, due to the different methods of estimation used which range from pure guesswork to over-generalization from small samples.  A head count of the number of working children, however, has been done only during the decennial Census. The Census Commissioner of India is the sole authority with the requisite machinery (manpower and resources) capable of undertaking an operation of this magnitude. Census figures, therefore, give by far the most accurate and authentic data on child labor population in India. As per the 1991 census, the number of working children in India was 11.28 million.  The bulk of the working children are engaged in rural areas and in agriculture and allied employments.  Cultivation, livestock, forestry and fisheries account for 85% of the working children.  Most of the children work alongside and under the supervision of their parents/guardians.  In urban areas, manufacturing services, repair, etc. account for only around 10% of working children.  A large majority of these children assist their parents in home-based work to supplement family income.  Most of these are in the unorganized, cottage and tiny sectors.

The Government of India announced a National Policy on Child Labor in 1987.  It envisages strict and effective enforcement of child labor related laws, convergence of services for the benefit of the parents of working children in order to improve their economic conditions and launching of projects in areas of high concentration of child labor.  Projects to rehabilitate children working in hazardous industries like match & fireworks, glass and bangle making, lock making, carpet weaving, slate, gem cutting and gem polishing, brassware, etc. were started following the announcement of the National Policy. Major impetus to the program for the welfare and rehabilitation of child labor was, however, given from 1994-95 onwards when a large number of projects across 11 Indian States were put into operation.  80 National Child Labor projects for the rehabilitation of nearly 200,000 children are under implementation. They envisage door-to-door surveys, launching awareness generation programs to sensitize employers, parents and children and imparting education, nutrition and vocational training to the children withdrawn from work.  For the Ninth Plan Period (1997-98 to 2001-02), an allocation of Rs. 2,610 million has been made for the National Child Labor Projects.

Industry specific projects have also been undertaken for the prevention of employment of children and the withdrawal and rehabilitation of children.  Some of the child labor projects are rehabilitating children in specific industries.

The Government of India’s initiatives have been augmented by similar initiatives by the ILO. India was the first country to join the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPECL) and has been participating in it since 1992.  130 action programs have been taken up mainly through NGOs, central employers and central trade union organizations for implementation under the IPECL during 1992-98.

NGO’s are also an active partner in the efforts towards elimination of child labor.  Under the Grant-in-Aid scheme of the Ministry of Labor, Government of India, numerous NGOs are being financially assisted for taking up welfare projects for working children.  Such assistance is also given for action-oriented research/study on child labor and preventive measures to discourage assertion of children into employment.

There is an elaborate mechanism for monitoring the implementation of programs for the identification, release and rehabilitation of child labor.  This includes: 

·                  The National Authority for Elimination of Child Labor (NAECL) was established in 1994-95 to set the policy and program for the elimination of child labor, particularly in hazardous industries, and to coordinate the various child labor programs implemented by the various Ministries of Government of India.

·                  A Standing Group to evolve a mechanism for dealing with the problem of child labor was constituted under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary in April 1998.  Members of the group include the Secretaries of the Ministries of Textiles, External Affairs, Commerce, Labor, Rural Development and the Department of Education, Women & Child Development, Legal Affairs, Health and Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.

·                  A Central Monitoring Committee on child labor constituted by Government of India on 30.12.98 under the Chairman of Union Labor Secretary is responsible for the overall supervision, monitoring and evaluation of National Child Labor Projects in various States.

·                  A National Resource Center on Child Labor (NRCCL) set up at the National Labor Institute in Noida, UP, in March 1993.  The Center is engaged in the documentation, publication and creation of a data bank on child labor, research and training, media management and technical support services etc. and assists Union and State Governments, NGOs, policy makers and others.  A Child Labor Cell has also been set up at the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad with a similar mandate.

·                  The State Governments have set up State Level Monitoring Committees for monitoring the implementation of National Child Labor Projects in their respective states and similar bodies also function at the district level under the Chairmanship of the District Collector & Magistrate.

Poverty, unemployment/under-employment and illiteracy, are the most important factors that contribute to child labor. Given the complex socio-economic dimensions of the problem, improvement in the living and working conditions of parents and in their economic conditions is crucial to the elimination of child labor. Education is also an indispensable component for eliminating child labor.  The support of various Ministries has been enlisted with a view to adopting a multi-dimensional strategy to ensure that the benefit of development programs percolates to this group. These include the Ministries of Rural Development, Urban Affairs & Employment, Human Resources Development (Department of Education), Social Justice and Empowerment and the Department of Women and Child Development.  As a result of their collective efforts, priority has been accorded to the parents and family members of working children for coverage under poverty eradication and employment generation programs.

Several other programs have contributed substantially to the reduction of the number of working children in India.  Thus, the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) is the single largest program in the whole world for pregnant mothers and children in terms of immunization, nutrition and pre-primary early childhood education. To fulfill the constitutional commitment to free and compulsory universal primary education, nearly 600,000 schools have been set up.  A massive non-formal education program with the involvement of NGOs, with thrust on enrolment of girls has been launched for those children who cannot be enrolled in the formal system as also for school dropouts.  The National Literacy Mission has been launched since 1988 to remove parental illiteracy and promote functional adult literacy. The Department of Education is also implementing the District Primary Education Program that covers working children in a large number of child labor endemic districts. 

Tremendous efforts continue to be made directed at social mobilization, sensitization and awareness generation of the community, employers, parents, teachers and all sections of society, etc. through multi-media campaigns at national, state and local levels. Employer’s organizations and trade unions have also been mobilized for sensitizing employers, workers and the society at large, and have also taken up programs for the welfare and rehabilitation of child labor.

As mentioned earlier, forced/bonded/indentured child labor is prohibited under Indian law with immediate and exemplary punishment as per the law being meted out to any offender. Furthermore, the complete and early elimination of child labor in India is the ultimate objective of the Government of India. This goal cannot be achieved in one stroke.  However, the social sector programs in general, and the program for the welfare of children in particular, have resulted in significant improvement in the child labor scenario in India. Only multi-dimensional strategies that provide access to education opportunities, open avenues for gainful employment and eradicate parental illiteracy can eventually eliminate child labor. Given the complexity of the problem, the socioeconomic scenario and the availability of resources, a sequential, progressive, and integrated approach towards the early elimination of child labor will continue to be adopted in India.