ABSTRACT The problem of child labour has been more serious in developing countries.

Due poverty,
hunger, illiteracy, ignorance, traditional thinking and lack of proper implementation of child labour laws
in our country ,the problem of child labour is still persist in our society. The children of age below 14
years have working in various fields and in very hazardous conditions. The number of child labour has
been increasing in our country and the number of child labour is more in our country as compared to
any other country in the world. Many provisions are provided in our constitution and in laws to control
child labour but socio-economic conditions prevalent in the country do not force children to get
compulsory education and to enjoy right to education. The attempt has been made in this paper to
provide brief account of child labour laws in our country, reasons for child labour and suggestions to
control child labour.
________________________________________________________________________

In developing countries it is impossible to control child labour as children have been considered as
helping hand to feed their families, to support their families and to feed themselves. Due to poverty,
illiteracy and unemployment parents are unable to bear the burden of feeding their children and to run
their families. So, poor parents send their children for work in inhuman conditions at lower wages. The
child labour lead to underdevelopment, incomplete mental and physical development, which in turn
results in retarded growth of children. Due to lack of proper implementation of child labour laws,
improper implementation of child welfare plans and improper checks by department of women and
child welfare, the problem of child labour has been still persisting in our society in urban as well as in
rural areas. Children in our country work as rag pickers, dish washers in dabhas, as labourers in small
factories, as domestic helpers in big cities. India has largest number of children employed than any other
country in the world. Around 90 million out of 179 million children in the age group of 6-14 year do not
go to school and are engaged in some occupation or other so around 50 percent of children of our
country are involved in child labour. A large numbers of children are engaged in cottage industries:
carpet, matches, firecrackers, bidis, brassware, diamond, glass, and hosiery, hand loomed cloth, leather
goods, plastic, bangles, sporting goods, at shops as helpers.

CHILD LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA Various laws have been made in our country since 1933 to control child
labour: 1. Children (Pledging of labour) Act 1933. 2. Employment of child Act 1938. 3. The Bombay shop
and establishment Act 1948. 4. The Indian factories Act 1948. 5. Plantation labour Act 1951. 6. The
mines Act 1952. 7. Merchant shipping Act 1958 8. The apprentice Act 1961 9. The motor transport
workers Act 1961 10. The atomic energy Act 1962 11. Bidi and cigar workers (condition of employment)
Act 1966. 12. State shops and establishment Act 13. The child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act
1986. 14. The juvenile justice (care and protection) of children Act, 2000. 15. Article 24 of our
constitution and section 67 of the factories Act, explicitly direct that children below the age of 14 years
are not allowed to work in factories. 16. Article 21A (added by the 86th amendment Act 2002) provides
that state shall provide free and compulsory education to children of age group 6-14 years. 17. Article 45
provides for free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years1 .

EFFORTS BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO CONTROL CHILD LABOUR The child labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act 1986 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in 16 occupation
and 65 processes that are hazardous to the children’s lives and health. According to Supreme Court’s
direction on 10th December, 1996, recovery notice have been issued to offending employees for
collection of a sum of Rs 2000 per child employed under the provision of Act. No child can be employed
in hazardous occupations. Many states including Haryana have constituted the child labour
rehabilitation –cum-welfare funds at district level and separate labour cells are being formed to address
the issue 2 . National child labour projects have been implemented by the central government in states
from 1988 to provide non-formal education and pre-vocational skills. From 2001, Sarve shiksha Abhiyan
has been launched to educate poor and employed children in all states. Ministry of women and child
development has been providing non-formal education and vocational training. Establishment of
Anganbadies is also a big step by the government for the welfare of children and their physical, mental
and educational development. CHILD LABOUR STASTICES IN HARYANA In Haryana according to census
there has been 131 percent increase in the incidence of child labour during 2001 as compared to 19913 .
Year no. of child labourers 1991 1,09,691 2001 2,53,491

Child labour in Haryana Owing to typical problems of poverty and social insensitivity to the employment
of children, the problem of Child labour continues to exist in the State. However, the problem is not
endemic. It is virtually non-existent in the prohibited hazardous occupations. The child labour in the
State is generally found in the establishments of dhabas, tea-stalls, restaurants and automobile repair
workshops etc. It has been the endeavour of the Haryana Government to bring about optimal
development of children by providing them nutrition, health care, education, general, physical and
emotional support. It has been striving for the achievement of these goals in accordance with the duties
assigned by the constitution of India in Article 39 (e)(f), 45 and especially so under Article 24 regarding
prohibition of employment of Children. Haryana State has also prepared a 'State Plan of Action' for the
children which is a very comprehensive document encompassing the various critical areas like health,
nutrition, education and environment with issues like girl child, child labour and children especially in
difficult circumstances. A 'Child Labour Cell' at headquarters has been constituted to pay special
attention towards elimination of Child labour. The Cell is headed by a Joint Labour Commissioner.
Moreover, the necessary directions have been issued to the Inspectorate staff to ensure that working
hours of such children do not exceed six hours. The other State Government departments which are
involved in the task of rehabilitation of Child labour are Health, Education and Social Welfare
departments. The Health department has been instructed to get the Child Labour medically examined
and issue health cards in the districts. The Project Director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and Director, Primary
Education have also been requested to enrol the Child labour in schools. The Child labour who were
found in non-hazardous occupations are also being got enrolled in the primary schools and non-formal
education centres. Efforts are being made to start special projects of informal education for these
children. The meeting of various Associations of the employers are held at the level of senior
functionaries of the Labour Department to educate and advise them not to employ Child Labour in their
establishments. No doubt, Haryana State is not having any Child labour endemic area as per Govt. of
India norms, yet the State Govt. is fully cognizant of its responsibility for undertaking of the programs of
progressive elimination of child labour. The State Government is not only trying to fulfil the
Constitutional and Statutory obligations to uplift and rehabilitate the Child Labour families but also
trying to bring them in the main stream of the society. OBSTACLES IN THE WAY OF PROPER
IMPLEMENTATION OF CHILD LABOUR LAWS Followings are some big obstacles in the way of proper
implementation of child labour laws: 1. Non-awareness among citizens about child labour laws. People,
who are employing children, are not aware about the child labour laws, its provisions, penalty on
defaulters. 2. Vicious circle of poverty, a large number of people are living below poverty line, they do
not have money to support their families so that they send their children for work and to earn money
for their living. 3. Illiteracy: Illiterate people are not able to earn more and do not able to read and
understand about rules and regulations. 4. Lack of political will and ineffective role of local government
regarding in controlling child labour. 5. Lack efficiency in administrative machinery responsible for
implementing the law. 6. Unemployment 7. Will of parents. 8. Lack of educational and health facilities
SUGGESTIONS 1. Proper implementation of welfare schemes for children by the concerned authorities.
2. NGOs can play a very effective role in rehabilitation of child labourers. 3. Media is also an important
tool to create awareness about child labour laws. 4. Major role can be played by local governments in
controlling child labour. 5. In schools with free education, monetary help in the form of scholarship
should be provided to the students of economically weaker families. CONCLUSION Child labour can be
checked only when we people have little concern about the physical, mental and educational
development of children around us. It is the duty of civil society not to physical help from them but
provide them their childhood. REFERENCES 1. www.ecoindia.com 2. www.indian child.com 3. Times of
India.indiatimes.com

Over the past two decades India has put in place a range of laws and programmes to address the problem of child
labour. UNICEF and its India partners are working together to ensure that children are protected from work and
exploitation which is harmful to their development They are working to ensure that children remain in economically
stable family homes and get the opportunity to go to school and be educated. Child labour cannot be dealt with in
isolation. It is intrinsically linked to socio-economic factors. More specifically, UNICEF has also initiated work with
employers and the private sector to assess and address the impact of their supply chain and business practices on
children.
The causes and nature of child labour

The factors that contribute to child labour – including “hazardous” child labour –include the poverty and illiteracy of a
child’s parents, the family’s social and economic circumstances, a lack of awareness about the harmful effects of
child labour, lack of access to basic and meaningful quality education and skills training, high rates of adult
unemployment and under-employment, and the cultural values of the family and surrounding society.
Often children are also bonded to labour due to a family indebtedness. Out of school children (OOSC) or those
children at risk of dropping out can easily be drawn into work and a more vulnerable to exploitation. Girls, especially
those from socially disadvantaged groups, tend to be at a higher risk of being forced into work.
Other reasons for children being forced into work:

· Poverty and a lack of livelihood options lead to a child’s “need” to contribute to the family income,
· Due to conflicts, droughts and other natural disasters, and family indebtedness,
· Rural poverty and urban migration also often exposes children to being trafficked for work.

Children are employed because they are cheap and pliable to the demands of the employer and not aware of their
rights. The risks that these children face can have an irreversible physical, psychological and moral impact on their
development, health and wellbeing.
Types of child labour: A recent change
The types of child labour have changed in recent years due to enforcement of legislation, awareness amongst buyers
about child exploitation, and international pressure. Child labour is now more invisible because the location of the
work has changed from the more formal setting of factories, to business owners’ homes. There has also been an
increasing involvement of children in the home-based and informal sectors.
Children are engaged in manual work, in domestic work in family homes, in rural labour in the agricultural sector
including cotton growing, at glass, match box and brass and lock-making factories, in embroidery, rag-picking, beedi-
rolling, in the carpet-making industry, in mining and stone quarrying, brick kilns and tea gardens amongst others.

Work is often gender-specific, with girls performing more domestic and home-based work, while boys are more often
employed in wage labour. In general, the workload and duration of the working hours increases as children grow
older. Getting accurate, detailed information about children working in different sectors is a major challenge because,
in many cases, children work in informal sectors such as agriculture, and in urban settings in restaurants, motor
repair workshops and in home-based industries.
Challenges to ending child labour

Child labour is not uniform. It takes many forms depending upon the type of work that children are made to do, the
age and sex of the child and whether they work independently or with families. Due to this complex nature of child
labour, there is no one strategy that can be used to eliminate it.
Combatting child labour requires long term co-ordinated action which involves many stakeholders and the
government. This includes educational institutions, mass media, NGOs and community-based organizations as well
as trade unions and employers. It is important that the attitudes and mindsets of people are changed to instead
employ adults and allow all children to go to school and have the chance to learn, play and socialize as they should.

Education is a key to preventing child labour and has been one of the most successful methods to reduce child
workers in India. This includes expanding education access to schooling, improving the quality and relevance of
education, addressing violence in schools, providing relevant vocational training and using existing systems to ensure
child workers return to school.

Big Picture
India’s 2011 census showed that:

· There were more than 10.2 million “economically active” children in the age group of five to 14 years – 5.6
million boys and 4.5 million girls,
· Eight million children were working in rural areas, and 2 million in urban areas,
· Although in rural settings the number of child workers reduced from 11 million to 8 million between the 2001
and 2011 censuses, over the same period, the number of children working in urban settings rose from 1.3 million to 2
million,
THE POLICY FRAMEWORK SURROUNDING CHILD LABOUR

The key international laws dealing with child labour include the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC)
and the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment of
1973 (ILO Convention138) and on the Worst Forms of Child Labour of 1999 (ILO Convention182).
India has not ratified either of the two ILO conventions and also made a reservation to article 32 of the CRC at the
time of ratification stating that it would apply the article in a progressive manner, according to its national legislation
and international commitments, especially in relation to the minimum age.
Related national legislations:
· Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (1986), “to prohibit the engagement of children in certain
employments and to regulate the conditions of work of children in certain other employments” (preamble of the CLPR
Act). It excludes a section of toiling children in the unorganized sectors including agriculture, as well as household
work.
· National Policy on Child Labour (1987), with a focus more on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous
occupations and processes, rather than on prevention.
· Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 (the JJ Act) and amendment of the JJ Act in
2006: includes the working child in the category of children in need of care and protection, without any limitation of
age or type of occupation. Section 23 (cruelty to Juvenile) and Section 26 (exploitation of juvenile employee)
specifically deal with child labour under children in need of care and protection.
· The Right to Education Act 2009 has made it mandatory for the state to ensure that all children aged six to
14 years are in school and receive free education. Along with Article 21A of the Constitution of India recognizing
education as a fundamental right, this constitutes a timely opportunity to use education to combat child labour in
India.

Indian legislation protects children from exploitation:

· The Child Labour Prohibition Act 1986 bans the employment of children below the age of 14 in many
professions, such as domestic labour, and in the hospitality trade for example in roadside dhabas (restaurants),
restaurants, hotels, motels and spas. It does not ban child labour in agriculture.
· The Right to Education Act 2009 ensures all children 6-14 years have the right to free and compulsory
education.
· The Indian Constitution ensures the right of all children 6-14 years to free and compulsory education; prohibits
forced labour; prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in hazardous occupations; and promotes policies
protecting children from exploitation.

· Whoever employs a child or permits a child to work is punishable with imprisonment from three months to one
year or with fine no less than INR 10,000–20,000 rupees or with both.

· The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 defines child as being below 18 years of age.
Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ratified by India in 1992, all children have the right to be
protected from work that is dangerous, or that might harm children’s health or education.

UNICEF has long experience in working against child labour in India. Most programmes focus on children in specific
types of work, for example cotton production in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh, metalwork and carpets in Uttar Pradesh and tea gardens in Assam. These programmes reach
tens of thousands of children and their families in areas with high levels of child labour.
UNICEF has been working to reduce and eliminate child labour using a combination of the following
strategies:

· Reform of existing legislation, for example setting a minimum age for child labour, that brings policy coherence,
· Law enforcement to ensure the implementation of the Child labour Act,
· Expanding education access, improving quality and relevance of education, addressing violence in schools,
· Awareness-raising and mobilization of families and communities against the exploitation of children,

· Social protection programmes and cash transfers to improve the economic situation of families and to reduce
the “need” to send children to work,

· Strengthening child protection systems, including the Integrated Child Protection Scheme and implementation
of Juvenile Justice Act,

· Working towards convergence between government departments to prevent child labour and rehabilitate
existing child labourers.