What are the objectives of the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,

1986? Is the Act successful in achieving those objectives? Discuss

Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 was the culmination of effort and ideas
that emerged from the deliberations and recommendations of various committees on child
labour. Significant among them are the National Commission on Labour (1966-69),
Gurupadaswamy Committee on Child Labour (1979). Sanat Mehta Committee (1984) and
others.
The basic objective of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act 1986, is to ban
employment of children below the age of 14 years in factories, mines and hazardous
employments and to regulate the working conditions of children in other employments.
According to the Act, no child shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the
occupations set forth in Part A of the Schedule or in any workshop wherein any of the
processes set forth in Part B of the Schedule is carried on, provided that nothing in this
Act shall apply to any workshop wherein any process is carried on by the occupier with the
aid of his family or to any school established by, or receiving assistance or recognition from
the Government. Also, the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette,
constitute 'the Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee' to advise the Central
Government for the purpose of additions of occupations and processes to the Schedule of
the Act.
The Central Industrial Relation Machinery (CIRM) in the Ministry of Labour is
responsible for enforcing this Act. CIRM is an attached office of the Ministry and is also
known as the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) [CLC(C)] Organisation. The CIRM
is headed by the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central). In addition, a Central Advisory Board
on Child Labour has also been constituted under the Ministry to review the implementation
of the existing legislations and suggest measures for welfare of working children.
The main provisions of the Act are:

No child shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of such

number of hours, as may be prescribed for such establishment or class of
establishments. The period of work on each day shall be so fixed that no period shall
exceed three hours and that no child shall work for more than three hours before he
has had an interval for rest for at least one hour.
No child shall be required or permitted to work overtime. No child shall be required or
permitted to work in, any establishment on any day on which he has already been
working in another establishment.
Every child employed in an establishment shall be allowed in each week, a holiday of
one whole day, which day shall be specified by the occupier in a notice permanently
exhibited in a conspicuous place in the establishment and the day so specified shall
not be altered by the occupier more than once in three months.
Every occupier shall maintain, in respect of children employed or permitted to work in
any establishment, a register to be available for inspection by an Inspector at all
times during working hours or when work is being carried on in any such
establishment showing:i.
the name and date of birth of every child so employed or permitted to work;
ii.
hours and periods of work of any such child and the intervals of rest to which
he is entitled;
iii.
the nature of work of any such child; and
iv.
such other particulars as may be prescribed.

The appropriate Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules
for the health and safety of the children employed or permitted to work in any
establishment or class of establishments.
Whoever employs any child or permits any child to work in contravention of the
provisions of this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment or with fine or with both.
Any person, police officer or inspector may file a complaint of the commission of an
offence under this Act in any Court of competent jurisdiction. No Court inferior to that
of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence
under this Act.

The 2001 national census of India estimated the total number of child labour, aged 514, to
be at 12.6 million, out of a total child population of 253 million in 5-14 age group. A 20092010 nationwide survey found child labour prevalence had reduced to 4.98 million children
(or less than 2% of children in 5-14 age group). The child labour problem is not unique to
India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many full-time.
In 2001, out of a 12.6 million child workers, about 120,000 children in India were in a
hazardous job. UNICEF estimates that India with its larger population, has the highest
number of labourers in the world under 14 years of age, while sub-Saharan African
countries have the highest percentage of children who are deployed as child labour. The
International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that agriculture at 60 percent is the
largest employer of child labour in the world, while United Nation's Food and Agriculture
Organisation estimates 70 percent of child labour is deployed in agriculture and related
activities. Outside of agriculture, child labour is observed in almost all informal sectors of
the Indian economy.
In summary, the prevalence of child labour in the country has decreased over the years but
owing to the large numbers involved it is still a major cause of concern for us all. Better
data have revealed the extent to which lower rates of school enrolment and attainment in
the developing world relate to child labour. The data also show the gender discrimination
prevalent in child labour, especially domestic labour by adolescents. Although aggregate
numbers suggest that more boys than girls are involved in child labour, it is estimated that
roughly 90 per cent of children involved in domestic labour are girls.
So are our present laws enough to prevent child labour, or is there a need for more
stringent laws? There is a disagreement on the subject amongst scholars. Some scholars
suggest any labour by children aged 18 year or less is wrong since this encourages
illiteracy, inhumane work and lower investment in human capital. Child labour, claim these
activists, also leads to poor labour standards for adults, depresses the wages of adults, and
dooms the economy to low-skill jobs only capable of producing poor quality cheap exports.
More children that work, the fewer and worse-paid are the jobs for adults. In other words,
there are moral and economic reasons that justify a blanket ban on labour from children
aged 18 years or less, everywhere in the world.
Other scholars suggest that these arguments are flawed, ignores history and more laws will
do more harm than good. According to them, child labour is merely the symptom of a
greater disease named poverty. If laws ban all lawful work that enables the poor to survive,
informal economy, illicit operations and underground businesses will thrive. The alternatives
for children who currently work, claim these studies, are worse: grinding subsistence
farming, militia or prostitution. Child labour is not a choice, it is a necessity, the only option
for survival. It is currently the least undesirable of a set of very bad choices. They suggest,
from their studies of economic and social data, incidence of child labour has rapidly reduced
following economic reforms and GDP growth. These scholars suggest economic

engagement, emphasis on opening quality schools rather than more laws, and expanding
economically relevant skill development opportunities in the third world to curb child labour.