Child labour in India

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Young boy stacking plates in Bangalore

Of 12.6 million children in hazardous occupations, India has the highest number of labourers in
the world under 14 years of age.[1] Although the Constitution of India guarantees free and
compulsory education to children between the age of 6 to 14 and prohibits employment of
children younger than 14 in any hazardous environment, child labour is present in almost all
sectors of the Indian economy[2] Companies including Gap,[3] Primark,[4] Monsanto[5] etc have
been criticised for using child labour in either their operations in India or by their suppliers in
India.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Sectors involved in child labour

o 1.1 Beedi manufacture
o 1.2 Diamond industry
o 1.3 Fireworks manufacture
o 1.4 Silk manufacture
o 1.5 Domestic labour
o 1.6 Construction
o 1.7 Brick kilns
 2 Initiatives against child labour
 o 2.1 Legislation
o 2.2 Non Governmental Organizations
 3 References

[edit] Sectors involved in child labour

Girl street vendor - A girl selling plastic containers for carrying Ganges water, Haridwar, India.

[edit] Beedi manufacture

A survey conducted between 1994 and 1995 revealed that child workers comprise of more than
30% of total hired workers in the beedi manufacture sector .[6] The United States Customs
Service subsequently banned the import of Beedis made in Ganesh Beedi Works of Mangalore [7]

[edit] Diamond industry

Further information: Child labour in the diamond industry#India

In 1997, the International Labour Organization published a report titled Child Labour in the
Diamond Industry,[8] claiming that child labour is highly prevalent in the Indian diamond
industry, as child labourers constitute nearly 3% of the total workforce and the percentage of
child labourers is as high as 25% in the diamond industry of Surat. The ICFTU further claimed
that child labour was prospering in the diamond industry in Western India, where the majority of
the world's diamonds are cut and polished while workers are often paid only a fraction of 1% of
the value of the stones they cut.[9] Pravin Nanavati, a Surat-based diamond businessman argued
that, since high cost diamonds could easily be lost or broken while cutting or polishing,
employing a child labourer would mean risking "lakhs of rupees" and “Around 8-10 years back,
some western countries deliberately created the impression that child labour is prevalent in the
Indian diamond industry" and called the boycott for monopolising in the sector. The South
Gujarat Diamond Workers Association secretary Mohan Dhabuwala, argued that while child
labour is highly prevalent in the construction and hotel industries, there are few child labourers in
the diamond industry of Surat, less than 1% according to their surveys, mainly because of stern
punishments and penalties for violation of child labour laws.[10]

In 1998, Madhura Swaminathan from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
argued that economic growth in Western India was associated with an increase in the number of
child workers over the last 15 years and that children work at simple repetitive manual tasks that
do not require long years of training or experience in low-paying hazardous works that involves
drudgery and forecloses the option of school education for most children.[11]

In 2005, an India-based management consultancy firm named A. F. Ferguson & Co.,

commissioned a study titled Child Labour from Gem and Jewellery Industry "to spread
awareness about child labor among the people connected with the industry" that is conducted at
663 manufacturing units at 21 different locations at Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West
Bengal and Tamil Nadu, as a GJEPC initiative. On February 12, the study is presented in a
seminar held by the Gem & Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Surat Diamond
Association, in Surat, India. The report argued that the use of child labour in India’s diamond
processing industry has been reduced from 0.55% 143 in 1998 to 0.31% in 2005 which is
estimated to be less than 1%, "while for the synthetic stone industry it is estimated to be two-
thirds less". Gem& Jewellery Export Promotion Council chairman Bakul Mehta, claimed that,
"Some 500 diamond factory owners took an oath in the city of Palanpur, Gujarat, (home town of
leading Gujarati diamond merchants) not to employ children in their factories. Similarly, in
Surat, 200 factory owners took the oath," and at GJEPC they, "Remain committed to eradicating
child labor from the Indian diamond industry” arguing "...the gem and jewelry industry cannot
even think of employing children, not only for moral reasons, but that a child could be injured
while polishing or cutting the diamonds." [12][13][14]

[edit] Fireworks manufacture

[edit] Silk manufacture

Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 350,000 bonded children are employed by the silk
industry in India.[15] As per Human Rights Watch, children as young as five years old are
employed and work for up to 12 hours a day and six to seven days a week.[16] Children are forced
to dip their hands in scalding water to palpate the cocoons and are often paid less than Rs 10 per
day.[17]

[edit] Domestic labour

Official estimates for child labor working as domestic labor and in restaurants is more than
2,500,000 while NGOs estimate the figure to be around 20 million.[18] The Government of India
expanded the coverage of The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act and banned the
employment of children as domestic workers and as workers in restaurants, dhabas, hotels, spas
and resorts effective from October 10, 2006.[19]

[edit] Construction

The misuse of adult labor can be found in the construction industry too. adults are found in
construction of both home and office buildings. In 2011, for the construction of the Asian Games
care house, the contractors had employed adults, for they had to be paid more, making it a small
issue.

[edit] Brick kilns

Each year, thousands of children are rescued from brick kilns, working in awful conditions.
Some of the children are actually sold to the brick kiln owners, and are not paid.

[edit] Initiatives against child labour

In 1979, the Indian government formed the Gurupadswamy Committee to find about child labour
and means to tackle it. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act was enacted based on
the recommendations of the committee in 1986. A National Policy on Child Labour was
formulated in 1987 to focus on rehabilitating children working in hazardous occupations.[20] The
ministry of Labour and Employment had implemented around 100 industry-specific National
Child Labour Projects to rehabilitate the child workers since 1988.[21]

[edit] Legislation

The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (1986) bans employment of children in
occupations related to

 Transport of passengers
 Manufacture and selling of crackers and fireworks
 Abattoirs
 Carpet weaving
 Manufacture of Beedi,cement, matches, explosives, soap, slate pencils, agate products,
agarbatti etc
 Building and construction industry
 Hazardous processes under the factory act
 Brick kilns etc

The violation of the act can result in punishments ranging from imprisonment for one month to
two years.[22]

[edit] Non Governmental Organizations

Many NGOs like CARE India, Child Relief and You, Global march against child labor etc have
been working to eradicate child labour in India.[23] In 2005, Pratham, an Indian NGO was
involved in one of the biggest rescue operations when around 500 child laborers were rescued
from zari sweatshops in North East Delhi [24]