CHILD LABOUR

Made By;-SASHIKANT TIWARI

The change starts within each one of us, and ends

only when all children are free to be children.” –

Craig Kielburger

• Families with normal lives

and a steady income have

parents who go to work and

children who go to school

and have time to play.

• This is not the case for the

218 million child laboures

who daily find themselves

working long hours under

harsh, dangerous and

exploitative conditions.

What is child labour??

• Child labour means work that is done by children

under the age of 15 (14 in some developing countries)

which restricts or damages a child's physical,

emotional, intellectual, social and/or spiritual growth.

• Social exclusion and discrimination are important

factors that keep children out of school and force

them to work.

Ending poverty and increasing access to education

are therefore crucial tools in the fight against ending

child labour.

Why should we care?

• . "Our greatest natural resource is the

minds of our children." - Walt Disney

Because of their unique and vulnerable

position, children are denied the basic

working rights and wages given to adults

Child Labour- Facts and Figures• India has the largest number of working children in the world (60- 115

million)

• Estimated 15 million children are bonded labourers* (latest figures from Human Rights Watch -1999)

• 400,000 children in hazardous industries

• About 300, 000 children, aged 5 to 15 – forced to work in carpet industry

• 100,000 children, in the age group 6-14 years, are working in the diamond industry

• About 5000 children, in the age group of 5- 16 years are employed in the silk industry of southern Karnataka

• Child Prostitution: 15% of India’s estimates 2.3 million prostitutes are children

• Globally, 218 million children are child labourers.

• 126 million of these children are engaged in hazardous

work.

• 73 million working children are less than 10 years old .

• Every year, 22,000 children die in work-related accidents.

• The largest number of working children-122 million-are in

the Asia-Pacific region.

INDUSTRIES EMPLOYING CHILD LABOUR

• Agriculture

• Beedis

• Brassware

• Mining

• Fireworks

• Gemstones

• Glassware

• Silk and Textile Industry

• Stone Quarries

• Prostitution

• Fireworks and Matches

• Carpets

• Domestic Workers

• ………

What is bonded labour?

There are 3 types of Bonded Labour:

• The first is when a child inherits a debt carried by his or her parents.

• Another form of bonded labour occurs when a child is used as collateral for a loan. For example, a parent facing an unusually large or urgent expense would use this method to obtain necessary money.

• Finally, a child worker can enter into bondage to their employer by requesting an advance on future wages they expect to earn.

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR

Poverty

• Poor families need to keep as many family

members working as possible to ensure income

security and survival. This makes it very difficult

for poor families to invest in their children's

education. In fact, educating a child can be a

significant financial burden.

In many instances "free" public education is in

fact very costly to a poor family.

EDUCATION

• Poor families are expected to purchase books, school supplies and uniforms, and sometimes even pay

teachers' wages.

• Many poor families weigh the cost of sending their children to school against the cost of the income lost

by sending their children to work.

• Many children live in areas that do not have adequate school facilities, so they work. Many countries do not have free compulsory education for all, which is an

obstacle to sending working children to school.

What needs to be done?

The international community has the funds to provide free primary education-a necessary tool to combat child labour.

• Better access to education

• Social awareness and activism

• The rehabilitation of child labourers.

• Legislation and proper enforcement child labourlaws

• In turn, governments need to devote resources to education so that: Schooling is compulsory, of good quality and relevance, and is of little or no cost to poor families.

• Success Story: In 1994, Malawi made primary education free. From one academic year to the next, enrolment increased by roughly 50 percent, and more of the new students were female than male.

Some initiatives that can be effective in

combating child labour:

• Improving child labour legislation and laws

• Enforcement of child labour legislation and laws

• Increasing quality, relevance and access to education

• Vocational training

• Equality for women and girls

• Replace child workers with adults

• Am I wearing a child’s work?

How do you know if what you are

buying was made using child labour?• Consumers should check if labels state that the product is union made.

• Watch for the labels of campaigns such as Rugmark who is working to end child labourin the carpet industry and Fairtrade Mark.

• These types of labels provide a guarantee that children were not involved in the production of the item.

• If you don't know ...ask! The sales staff may be able to provide you with the information you need. Then contact the company explaining your concern.

The Situation Today

• There are 28 million fewer child labourersthan there were four years ago!

• This means that the work being done to stop child labour is truly creating positive change.

• But there is still much more to be done.

What can we do?

Short Term- Immediate Goal

Awareness Generation

Increase awareness in your group, town, city through presentations, group discussion sessions etc

Hold awareness generation programmes this June 12th , marking ILO’s World Day Against Child Labour

Campaigns

Demand that Govt. of India ratify ILO C182 convention

Demand State Govts., district collectors, factory inspectors enforce relevant laws

Medium Term

Social Labeling, similar to Rugmark campaign

Support NGOs working for rescue and rehab

Insist on “no child labour” policy in all of our projects’ supply chain

Long Term

Support livelihood generation processes

Organization of processes for enforcement of relevant laws

Laws in India

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986 and defines a child as "a person who has not completed their fourteenth year of age."

Exceptions/ Loopholes of this law:

•Only prohibits child labour in twenty-five “hazardous” industries (hazardous – only as defined by adult labour standards)

•Glaring loopholes and exceptions allow employers to violate the principles of this law e.g. child members of the employer’s family can be employed in such occupations - many employers use “extended family” child members as labourers

•Tacitly allows use of child labor, even in hazardous occupations or industries.

•The act is also inapplicable to government-sponsored programs

• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

• Abolishes the "bonded labour system" and covers all of the many permutations of the bonded labor system in modern India.

• Other Laws • Factories Act, 1948

• Beedi and Cigar Workers Act, 1966

• Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989

• Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979

• Contract Labour Act, 1970

• Minimum Wages Act, 1948

• Plantation Labour Act, 1951

• Apprentices Act, 1961

• Shops and Establishments Act, 1961

Remember