FOCUS CHILD LABOUR Prof. Hrudaya Ballav Das
There is urgent need to prevent the trend of migration of children from their place of stay to other parts of the country
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BLURB
It is estimated that among 80million inter-state migrant children, about 40million work in construction industry, brick units, and tile manufacturing industry. As many as 20million children work as domestic servants, eight million as sex workers and 12million in mines and other hazardous employments
TEXT
June 12 is observed as World Day Against Child Labour. Campaign for the rights of children and continuance of child labour are contradictions in terms. So long as there is child labour, the rights of the child and justice to juveniles cannot be ensured.
Rights of child are a belated recognition of the mankind, but it is gratifying to note that the UN General Assembly passed the convention on the rights of the child 28 November 1989. India ratified the UN convention in 1992. The UN conventions are as follows: Right to survival: This includes the right to life, the highest attainable standard of health, nutrition and adequate standard of living. Right of protection: This includes freedom from all forms of exploitation, abuse, inhuman or degrading treatment and neglect including the right to special protection in situations of emergency and armed conflicts. Right to development: This includes the right to education, support for early childhood development and care, social security and the right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities. Right to participation: This includes respect for the views of the child, freedom of expression, access to appropriate information and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Child labour is the negation of rights of the child. In the best interests of children and with due respect to the UN convention on the rights of the child, India re-enacted the law on children, namely Juvenile Justice (care & protection) Act 2000. The law is in respect of juveniles who come in conflict with the law of the land and children in need of care and protection. It calls for providing for proper care, protection and treatment to children, by catering to their development needs. The law calls for a child-friendly approach to the adjudication and disposition of matters in the best interests of children and for their ultimate rehabilitation, making them a part of the main-stream of the society.
The architects of our Constitution have also made provisions and built-in safeguards in the interest of the children, as children are supreme national assets. Our Constitution has forbidden child labour and employment of children of tender-age in factories, mines and in other hazardous employments. The Constitution also proscribes forced labour (bethi) and bonded labour by way of legislations like bonded labour system (abolition) act and child labour (prohibition and regulation) act and the children (pledging of labour) act. On the face of these constitutional mandates, sadly, child labour and huge migration of children for labour outside the state and outside the country and more particularly child exploitation continues unabated.
The most disquieting feature, in this context, is that the reasons for huge migration of children are mostly unidentified and such migration is unregulated by the state. Children, sometimes with their family, migrate to unknown destinations for engagement as labourer for their bare sustenance. Migration of child for labour is predominantly for economic support. Mostly, they are trafficked for forced labour. On many occasions, they are exploited by the labour contractor/dalals/middlemen engaged for the purpose. Many children are kidnapped and girl child is sexually abused, or forced into prostitution and boys are forced to beggary or rag-picking from the streets or garbage yards.
Once a child steps out of his home and is migrated to a different place and workplace with a different environment, he is exposed to serious risks to his life and there is also the health hazard. In many cases, children are employed in works which are unsuited to their health and tender age. Even if children are forbidden from working in factories, mines and other hazardous jobs prohibited by Constitutional mandate, the ground reality is that they are being employed. It is in this context that the child labour prohibition act is now in the process of amendment.
There are several instances of children being sexually abused, traumatised and tortured by employers who do not even pay the minimum wage to them. Many children are employed by antisocial elements for transporting drugs and other contrabands. There is no data or statistics regarding migration of children to different places in the country and even to destinations abroad, but their condition in general is pathetic. It is estimated that among 80million inter-state migrant children, about 40million work in construction industry, brick units, and tile manufacturing industry. As many as 20million children work as domestic servants, eight million as sex workers and 12million in mines and other hazardous employments.
The scourge of child labour, child abuse and child exploitation would increase in view of the globalization, poverty, conflict, war, organized crime, violence and natural disaster etc. The duty of the state, therefore, is to nurture children keeping in mind their best interests, and cater to their developmental needs. There is urgent need to prevent the trend of migration of children from their place of stay to other parts of the country. The campaign launched by Youth Service Center, an NGO of Bolangiri district, is a step forward in this direction.
In promoting child rights and ensuring better care, the state should liaise with voluntary organisations and social action groups working in this field. Legislative policy and amendments to child labour prohibition law would go a long way in minimising child labour and child migration. A campaign against child migration has started in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Talangana. There is need for a push in this direction in Orissa as well. It is unfortunate that although we have 13 major labour-related legislative enactments against child labour and exploitation, and nine major social legislations against social exploitation, which provide protection to children, child labour continues unabated.
The state and the civil society must rise to the occasion. The Supreme Court came down heavily on the Union Government and state governments, recently, for not implementing the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. The court directed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to act as a nodal agency with NGOs to monitor the implementation of JJ Act. The campaign against child labour should be a collective push, involving governments, judiciary, voluntary organizations and the media.
