ANALYSING CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

ABSTRACT:

Child labour is a problem that has been around for a long time, and many countries are
still trying to deal with it. There are many laws in place to prevent child labour, but it is still a
problem all over the world. Child labour is a problem that can be very harmful to children. There
are many factors involved, including the severity of the problem and what can be done to help.
There are many reasons why child labour is common in India, but it has a lot to do with the way
the society is set up. Some people say that poverty is the main reason for many problems in our
world. Most child labour happens in rural areas since poverty is more common there. Many
families in rural areas struggle to make a living, so some of their children are forced to work to
help their families earn more money. This can be extremely difficult for the children and cause
them to become extremely stressed. This paper looks at the reasons why children are often
forced to work and also reviews the laws related to child labour at the national and international
levels The purpose of this paper is to look critically at child labour in India. The study found that
child labour was very harmful to India's development.

KEYWORDS: child labour, poverty, covid-19, forced labour and prevention

INTRODUCTION:

Some children in India don't have a lot of fun during their childhood. Many people
are forced to work under very difficult conditions where their suffering never ends. There are
laws in place to prevent children from working, but unfortunately, this does not always stop them
from being exploited as cheap labour. The authorities can't do anything to stop children from
being employed as labourers, because the laws meant to protect them from this don't always
work. Poverty is one of the main reasons for child labour. Children are often forced to work in
industries that are not properly regulated, without enough food or wages, and without any way
to rest. They are hurt physically, sexually, and emotionally. in 1979, Government formed the
first
committee called Gurupadaswamy Committee to study the issue of child labour and to suggest
measures to tackle it. The Committee examined the problem in detail and made some far
reaching recommendations. It observed that as long as poverty continued, it would be difficult to
totally eliminate child labour and hence, any attempt to abolish it through legal recourse would
not be a practical proposition. The Committee felt that in the circumstances, the only way
left was to ban child labour in hazardous areas and to regulate and better the conditions of work
in other areas. It recommended that a multiple policy approach was required in dealing with the
problems of working children.

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OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this paper are :
1) To analyse the various responsible factors for child labour
2)To explain who covid 19 affected the child labour
3) To understand how child labour affects the society
4) to understand the types of child labour

RESEARCH QUESTION:
1. How covid 19 affected child labours
2. What are laws protecting child labour at the national and international level

CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

In India, children frequently work long hours in dangerous conditions. This is because, for
numerous families, it's the only way to make a living. The number of children in India between
the age of 5 and 14 is 259.6 million. Of these,10.1 million(3.9% of the total child population) are
working, either as ‘ main workers’ or as ‘ borderline workers’. There are a lot of children who are
not in academia in India, which means they are not getting the education they need. According
to the study, the number of children working has dropped in India by 2.6 million between 2001
and 2011.

The number of children working has been declining overall, but it's been more conspicuous in
pastoral areas where there are numerous lower jobs available. Meanwhile, the number of child
workers has been increasing in civic areas, where there's a lesser demand for labour in lower
professed jobs. Child labour isn't the same in both pastoral and civic areas in India. In pastoral
areas, it's frequently done by children who are helping their families earn a living. In civic areas,
child labour is frequently done by children who are working in dangerous and unwelcome jobs.
One of the reasons child labour exists is because there's a lot of poverty in India. A third of the
population lives in poverty, so there are a lot of children who are suitable to work and earn
plutocrats. Poor families have little or no wealth, so they've to shoot their kiddies to work to
make wealth rather than tutoring them. Frequently, these children are tended by their parents to
child merchandisers to lessen their profitable burden and to gain a redundant plutocrat. The
Indian government has taken away in the past many decades to help cover children from
working.

The Bonded Labor( Abolition) System Act of 1976 and the Child Labor( Prohibition and
Regulation) Correction Bill of 2016 prohibited employers from using children to do work that was

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dangerous, unhealthy, or else not applicable. The Indian government has set up panels to probe
the exploitation of children. This is to ensure that children aren't being taken advantage of and
ed 653 children who wereare being treated fairly. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has
been working to help child workers since the late 1980s. They have enforced many systems to
help these kiddies get back on their bases. Non-government associations( NGOs) have been
set up to help the government in its fight to end child labour. These associations work to raise
mindfulness about child labour and help the government to put an end to it

IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON CHILD LABOURS

During the COVID- 19 epidemic, numerous children in India were forced to stop going to
schools and rather work in granges and manufactories. This made the child labour problem that
formerly was indeed worse. The International Labor Organization( ILO) says that global child
labour is declining, but the COVID- 19 epidemic might stop this trend. There are a lot of people
who are going to be in poverty this time, and that means that a lot of families will have to shoot
their children to work. A study set up that when poverty rises, further children are likely to be
working.

This is because poverty makes it harder for families to get food, apparel, and other necessities,
which can lead to children working to make ends meet. The lower figures may just reflect how
numerous cases have been reported since the epidemic started, and how to complete
examinations are being done. Childline help working immorally in India in 2016. Out of all the
interventions that were done in 2017, 35 were related to soliciting and 21 were related to
conditioning which is considered dangerous. There were also 2473 interventions related to child
labour, but this number gradationally dropped until it reached 734 in May. Still, it isn't
inescapably representative of the factual number of children who are working.

TYPES OF CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

There are a lot of different types of work that children do in India. Some of these jobs are in
factories, others are at home, and still, others are in slave-like conditions.

1. Industrial child labour

The industrial sector in India is accused of employing more than 10 million children between the
age group of 5 to15 which includes 4.5million girl children and 5.5 million boys who are
employed in small and informal industries like garment, industries, brickkiln, agriculture,
fireworks, diamond and mining industries

2. Domestic child labours

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Most domestic child labourers are employed by wealthy families to take care of the daily chores
of the families. domestic child workers constitute 10% of the total child labour in India poverty is
the main factor for domestic child workers

3. Bounded labours

Bonded child labour refers to children who are forced to work to repay a debt their parents or
a guardian owe. Villagers working in the agricultural industry are
more likely to have this type of labour

4. Slavery
Slavery is the worst kind of child labour slavery is a condition in which one person is owned by
another. most children slaves will be sold as labour or for sexual exploitation

5.Forced labour
If a child is made to do something against his or her will then its called forced labour

6.Beggary :
When poor parents don't have any way to earn, they often beg on the roads andt they
also accompany their children with them. some parents used to cut some body parts of their
children to gain more sympathy

Distribution of child labour in various sectors

In India more than 71% of children are working in the agriculture sector 17% are working in the
service sector which includes domestic workers and restaurant workers and 12% of child
labourers work in industries

CAUSE OF CHILD LABOR IN INDIA

Poverty

When families can't afford to meet their basic needs, they often have to send their children to
work to help make ends meet. This can be especially tough on kids, who are often forced to
work long hours for little pay. Poverty is one of the main reasons why children work. It's often
linked to other factors, like low literacy, lack of good job opportunities, natural disasters, climate
change, and conflicts. If we don't try to fix poverty, we can't help the children who are forced to
work in it. And without child labour, poverty would be less common.

Lack of access to quality education

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‘The availability and quality of schooling are among the most important factors.’ A school needs
to be a welcoming environment, with appropriate class sizes, a curriculum designed for the local
context, and affordable for rural communities. Getting children into school and getting them out
of dangerous work is one important way to create a quality education for all.

Lack of access to decent work

If children are working, it often means that their parents are not educated. They should be
provided with good jobs which may stop their children from being employed. The parents should
also be made aware of the ill effects of child labour.

Natural disasters and climate change

Farmers in rural areas have to send their children out to work when their crops are destroyed by
natural disasters or climate change. This is because there are no other options available to
them. Families who farm in rural areas are especially vulnerable to changes in the weather, like
less rainfall or erosion. When crops are destroyed or farming land is ruined which will lead to
children are used to repair the damages

Conflicts and mass migration

Child labour is often a result of conflict or disaster. This is because children are often the most
vulnerable and can be easily injured or killed. children are more likely to be exploited because of
a rise in economic shocks, a breakdown in social support, and problems with education and
services that protect children. There is a lot of child labour in countries that are affected by
conflict. Children can be at risk of getting involved in armed conflict, which is one of the Worst
Forms of Child Labour

Corruption

Corruption and child labour are indirectly connected with each other. Wherever there is
corruption there will also be poverty. Poverty is directly connected to child labour and
corruption will stop peoples from escaping poverty which will lead to increase in child
labour

ACTS PREVENTING CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

In India, child labour is more common than in other nations. 90 million of the 179 million children
—those between the ages of 6 and 14—have jobs and are not attending school. It is a factor in
the 50% of kids in our nation who work as children. To prevent child labour, many laws have
been passed in India since 1933.

1. Minimum wages act 1948

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Under this act, the government fixed minimum wages that should be provided to the workers
and labours including child labour. Type of work and class of workers are taken into
consideration while fixing the wages

2.The child labour act 1986

This act prohibited children who are less than 14 to be employed in hazardous
Occupation

3. The Indian factories act of 1948

This act gives the rules that the factories should follow while employing per adults 15-18 And
this act prohibited the employment of children below the age of 14 in factories

4. The apprentice act 1961

This act rules that until a person satisfies the standard of education and physical fitness test and
attains the age of 14 he cannot undergo apprenticeship training.

5. The mines act of 1952

This act provides that no child should be employed in mining work

6. The plantation labour act of 1958

This act makes it compulsory to provide a fitness certificate before employment of anyone
above 12 years and not employ anyone who is below 12 years

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS FOR COUNTRIES

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The CRC is a human rights convention that exhaustively establishes the rights of children.
Under the CRC, a child is anyone under the age of 18 years, unless else noted in public
legislation. The Convention establishes in transnational law that States and Parties must insure
that all children – without demarcation in any form – benefit from special protection measures
and backing; have access to services similar as education and health care; can develop their
personalities, capacities and bents to the fullest eventuality; grow up in an terrain of happiness,
love and understanding; and are informed about and share in, achieving their rights in an
accessible and active manner

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The international convention on the right of the child

This convection protects children from economic exploitation and performing

Hazardous work which is harmful to their health and development and interferes with their
education also requires the government to set up minimum age for employment and to regulate
the working hours

ILO LAW TO PREVENT CHILD LABOUR

ILO minimum age convention no 138

Ilo minimum age convention no 138 prohibits children who are below 15 to be employed
in work. Also allows children who are 14 years of age to work for some specified period only if
the work does not harm the health or education of the children's

ILO WORST FORM OF CHILD LABOR CONVENTION NO 182

This convention pressured countries to take immediate action to eliminate and prohibit
the worst forms of child labour like sexual exploitation of children and slavery

EFFECTS OF CHILD LABOUR ON SOCIETY

The presence of a large number of child laborers is regarded as a serious issue for the growth
of the country. Children who work fail to get the necessary education. They don't get the
opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and psychologically. In terms of the
physical condition of children, children aren't ready for long monotonous work because they
become more exhausted than grown-ups. This reduces their physical conditions and makes the
children more vulnerable to disease Children in dangerous working conditions are indeed in
worse condition. Children who work, rather than go to an academy, will remain illiterate which
limits their capability to contribute to their well-being as well as to the community they live in.
India cannot eradicate poverty and illiteracy as long as Indian childrens are working as child
labour

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CONCLUSION

Some 152 million children, comprising 64 million girls and 88 million boys, are presently working
worldwide. This accounts for nearly one in 10 of all children worldwide. In India alone, there are
roughly 10 million children laboriously engaged in, or seeking, work.

This is despite significant enterprises that have been taken by the UN, ILO, and individual
countries in recent times. The efforts Failure to reduce the figures of children being exploited in
work situations from the socio-artistic fabric that facilitates and condones the offence, the huge
demand for cheap child workers in husbandry, mining, carpet-weaving, and garment, slip-up the
kiln, and other diligence, and also the wide poverty that continues to be both a cause and
function of child labour.
The eradication of child labour is a necessary step to be taken to develop a free and moderate
society, but will only be possible with the cooperation of all sections of society and law
enforcement agencies. The part of commercial diligence in permitting the use of child workers
needs to be estimated further. Sensible global population growth and the education of children
are important angles of this process.
In addition, there should be applicable perpetration of the laws relating to child labour that was
epitomized and outlined. Governments and their monitoring departments have to play an
effective part in this process.
In addition, legislation must be executed and offenses must carry applicable forfeitures and
corrections. It's necessary for the police and government agencies to completely probe similar
cases, for prosecutors to seek maximum penalties and for courts to support these enterprises.
It's only if these cases are being seen to be treated veritably seriously in medicolegal
surroundings that the point will be made that child labour isn't being blinked by society