World Day Against Child Labour

General Studies Paper -2

Context: In 2002, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) established June 12th as the World Day Against Child Labour to raise awareness about the global issue of child labor and advocate for its elimination.

About

• This year, in 2024, the day is observed under the theme, “Let’s Act on Our Commitments: End Child Labour,” which emphasizes the need for collective action to eradicate child labour and protect children from exploitation.
• This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. It’s also a chance to encourage all stakeholders to enhance their implementation of the two main conventions on child labour, namely Convention No. 182 and Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment or Work.

What is Child Labour?

• Child labour is defined as any work that is inappropriate for a child’s age, physical, or mental capacity, and its far-reaching consequences can have devastating effects on their development and future.
• In India, the Constitution explicitly prohibits children under the age of 14 from working in mines, factories, or hazardous occupations. Similarly, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines a child as anyone below the age of 18 who should not be involved in hazardous work.
• The activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays are not included in the Child Labour.
• Article 24 of the Indian constitution prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory or mine or employed in any hazardous employment.

Types of Child Labour

• Hazardous Child Labour: This involves children working in dangerous environments or performing tasks that pose significant risks to their health, safety, or morals. Examples include mining, construction, manufacturing with hazardous chemicals, and work involving heavy machinery.
• Domestic Child Labour: Children, predominantly girls, are employed within households for tasks like cooking, cleaning, and childcare. This often involves long hours, minimal pay, and potential exposure to abuse.
• Bonded Child Labour: Children are forced to work to repay a debt incurred by their family. This traps them in a cycle of exploitation, as the debt often becomes insurmountable.
• Child Trafficking: Children are recruited, transported, or harbored for the purpose of exploitation, which can include forced labor, sexual exploitation, or organ trafficking.
• Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC): Children are used in commercial sex acts, including prostitution and pornography. This is a grave violation of their rights and well-being.

Child labour in India: Data Facts

• According to UNICEF, child Labour amounts to approximately 13% of our workforce, or in other words, 1 in every 10 workers in India is a child.
• According to the Census 2011, there are approximately 10.1 million child labourers in India aged between 5 to 14 years.
• Boys constitute about 5.6 million and girls about 4.5 million of the total child labour population.
• The prevalence of child labour in rural areas (14%) is close to three times higher than in urban areas (5%).
• The majority of child labourers (around 70%) work in the agriculture sector, including farming, livestock, forestry, and fisheries followed by 20% in services.
• Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of child labourers, approximately 2.1 million.

Impacts

• Health and Physical Development: Child labour accompanied by poor nutrition stunt a child’s growth and development.
• Educational Impact: This will increase school dropouts and absenteeism and missing out on education results in low literacy rates and lack of essential skill.
• Economic Impact: Child labour contributes to the cycle of poverty. As children grow up without proper education and skills, they are likely to remain in low-paying, unskilled jobs.
• Social Inequality: Child labour reinforces social inequalities, as children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be pushed into work.

Steps Taken to Eradicate Child Labour in India

• Indian Constitution: Article 21 A (Right to Education): The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years in such manner as the State, by law, may determine.
  • Article 23: Any type of forced labour is prohibited.
  • Article 24: It states that a child under 14 years cannot be employed to perform any hazardous work in any factory or mine.
  • Article 39: It states that “the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused”.
• Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation) 1986: It prohibits children under the age of 14 years to be working in hazardous industries and processes.
• National Policy on Child Labour, 1987: It contains the action plan for tackling the problem of child labour.
• Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015: It governs laws relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with the law.
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012: It seeks to prevent commercial sexual exploitation of children.
• Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill: There are specified penalties for offences divided into “trafficking” and “aggravated trafficking”. It widened the scope of “victims” to include transgender persons.
• National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme: The government initiated it in 1988 to rehabilitate working children in 12 child labour endemic districts of the country and expanded with time. This is the major Central Sector Scheme for the rehabilitation of child labour.
• The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (CALPRA): CALPRA states that no child shall be allowed to work for more than five hours in a day, and for not more than three hours without rest. The provisions of CALPRA also state, that at least 20% of the income earned by the child from the production or event is to be directly deposited in a fixed deposit account in a nationalised bank in the name of the child which may be credited to her/him on attaining majority.
• Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL): It is an electronic platform that aims at involving Centre, State, District, Governments, civil society and the general public in achieving the target of child labour free society.

International Efforts

• The United Nations made 2021 the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, calling for urgent action needed to meet a goal of ending the practice by 2025.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target 8.7 adopted by world leaders in 2015, include a renewed global commitment to ending child labour.
• ALLIANCE 8.7: It is an inclusive global partnership committed to achieving Target 8.7 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It works for eradicating forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour around the world.
  • The International Labour Organization (ILO) currently serves as Secretariat for Alliance 8.7.

Challenges in Tackling Child labours

• Poverty and Economic Pressures: High poverty rates force families to rely on the income generated by their children to meet basic needs.
• Lack of Access to Quality Education: Insufficient educational infrastructure, lack of schools, and poor quality of education discourage attendance and completion.
• Weak Enforcement of Laws: Inadequate implementation and monitoring of child labour laws due to corruption, lack of resources, and administrative inefficiencies.
• Informal Economy and Unregulated Sectors: A significant portion of child labour occurs in informal sectors like agriculture, domestic work, and small-scale industries, which are hard to regulate.
• Cultural Norms and Social Acceptance: In many communities, child labour is culturally accepted and seen as a norm, making it challenging to change mindsets.
• Migration and Displacement: Migrant families and displaced populations are more vulnerable to child labour due to lack of stable income and access to social services.
• Lack of Awareness: Many parents and communities are unaware of the long-term negative impacts of child labour and the benefits of education.
• Gender Disparities: Girls are particularly vulnerable to exploitation in domestic work and are often kept out of school to help with household chores.
• Child Trafficking: Trafficking of children for labour is a significant issue, exacerbated by weak law enforcement and border controls.
• Impact of COVID-19: The pandemic has exacerbated the situation, pushing more children into labour due to economic hardship, school closures, and lack of access to remote education.

Way Ahead

• Ensuring Access to Quality Education: Empowering children with the knowledge and skills needed to break free from the constraints of child labour.
• Strengthening Enforcement of Labour Laws and Providing Social Protection: Implementing robust labour law enforcement and comprehensive social protection measures to safeguard children from exploitation.