CHILD
LABOUR AND THE
LAW Ashok Priyadarshi
The ban on
CHILD labour has received the legal verdict by the pronouncement of the Supreme Court that child labour is banned in India. The apex court has even cautioned that practice of child labour will invite punishment and payment of fine of Rs. Twenty Thousand. (M.C. Mehta vs. State Of Tamilnadu (1996) 6 SCC 756). This has made India a First major Asian country, where child labour stands banned not only by the rule of law now also by a judicial verdict. It has been cautioned that by labour, a Child''s development can be endangered and it will effect Physical development including general health, co ordination, strength, and vision. The root cause for child labour has been poverty, which derive the children to
hazardous labour. It has been found that the parents of these child labourers are often unemployed or underemployed and desperate for secure
employment and income. A study shows that the foundation of India''s industrial edifice is based on child labour and according to the census 4.66% of the child population in India are working children. The Gurupadswamy report specifies that the arenas of the employment of children in India are beedi making, glass, carpet, handloom industries, fire and match factories, jari making, embroidery, precious stone polishing, foundries, repair shops, hospitals, restaurants, canteens, tea shops, service stations, rag picking and casual labourers in general. Most of the areas in which these children are employed are taken to be hazardous and continuous work for 12 hours a day leads to mental and physical retardation. The Article 24 of the Indian Constitution forbids employment of children below the
age of 14 years to work in any factory or mine or be engaged in any hazardous employment. In the year 1986 the Indian Parliament has further specified the labour law involving the children by enacting a separate law known as the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. This law has been enacted taking the full consideration of the UN Convention of the Right Of The Child. The law prevents the employment of children below the age of 14 years in factories and industries etc. After attain the said age he can be engaged in such establishments as shop, commercial establishment, workshop, farm, residential hotels, restaurants, eating houses, theatre or other places of amusement or entertainment. Each employer has to maintain a register regarding the children employed by him. The law has also fixed the hour of working and no child above the age of 14 years is allowed to work more than three hours in a stress and a restriction has been imposed that the child should not be engaged for work between 7 Pm and 8 am and over time. The law prohibits the employment of the children in occupation which are hazardous. The Supreme Court even holds( Employment of children in construction industry has been defined as hazardous employment P.U.C.L.Vs.Union Of India AIR 1982 SC 1473. Transport of passengers, goods or mail by the railway. (Similar provisions are there under section 21 of the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961.Cinder picking, cleaning of ash pits or building operations, Catering establishments, construction work in the railway premises. The UNICEF has drawn some specific action that is urgently needed for the ending of child labour. 1. Immediate elimination of hazardous and exploited child labour that hampers the physical, socially, cognitive, emotional or moral development of the child. 2. Provision of free and compulsory education and to ensure that all children attend school on a full time basis until completion. 3. Wider legal protection is to be given to the children by framing laws and rules which covers the large child work in the informal section of the economy, including work on the streets and farms, domestic worker or within the child''s own household. 4. Registration of Birth for all children as it is essential to allow trcise of child rights for education, health care and other services, and to provide employers and labour inspectors with evidence of the age of the child. Some still believes that this problem cannot be controlled until some thing is down to control poverty, rising prices etc., the root causes of this curse. There is some weakness in the law, which prevents in eradicating Child Labour from the root itself and it can be done only, if the legislature makes the law much strong and harsh. It also has to be seen that it has to be implemented in true sense. If we are allowing young persons to work, firstly we will have to bring in uniformity in the age definition and see the labour welfare laws like the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Workmen''s Compensation Act, 1923, Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, Employees Provident Fund and Misc. Provisions Act, 1952, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Act, 1983 are not ignored. Ms.Nandana Reddy of Government of India Advisory Committee On Child Labour believes in organising working children to fight for their rights. No specific courts have been established for dealing with cases where a child is involved, a large number of children are seen working still at railway stations and in hazardous establishments. To curb this curse a national movement has to be started.
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