UNDERSTANDING CHILD LABOUR OF INDIA:

FORMS,MAGNITUDE AND HAZARDS

Dr. Puja Singhal

Lecturer , Amity College Of Commerce and Finance

“Children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing
hazardous work”
(Article 32 of UN convention on the rights of the Child)

INTRODUCTION

Every child has the right to receive the best that the country and community have
to offer. Every child should grow in an environment that helps him or her to live a life of
freedom and dignity, in an atmosphere that provides education and opportunities to help
the child to grow into a worthy citizen. Unfortunately, a large chunk of our child
population is forced to work, often in the most hazardous conditions. The term child
labour brings before the eyes, a picture of exploitation of little, weak tender and
underdeveloped bodies, illiteracy and physical abuse in the form of beating by employers
and fatal accidents at work sites.

The issue of child labour began to emerge in the 19th Century as a matter of
concern in Europe and in the US. This concern initially centred on the long hours and
grim conditions under which children worked. It was only in the 20th Century that child
labour was begun to be seen as a matter of global concern for all nations and people of
the world. Employment of children is a widespread phenomenon, especially in a
developing country like India. They engaged in diverse activities in family labor or as
apprentices, paid workers, or self-employed children. Most of the children falling in the
last category have to live prematurely adult lives. They work for low wages and longer
hours in the most precarious conditions, damaging their physical and mental growth.
Many of them do not get even the protection of their parents or other close relatives, and
they have to stay away from the filial atmosphere of families
Definition of child labour

There is no universally accepted, precise definition of child labour.It has been

defined differently by different organizations, agencies and countries. Even within the
country, the definition of child labour may vary from state to state depending upon the
interpretation of the acts related to children. It is not same in all status that refers to that
employment of children.

“Child labour includes children prematurely leading adult lives, working long
hours for low wages under conditions damaging to their health and to their physical and
mental development, sometimes separated from their families, frequently deprived of
meaningful education and training opportunities that would open up for them a better
future.”

International Labour Organization(1983)

“When the business of wage earning or of participation in self or family supports

conflicts directly or indirectly with thw business of growth and education, the result is
child labour.”

Encyclopedia of Social Science

In India the term 'child labour' applies to the population of working children
ranging in age from 5 to 14 years. The minimum age prescribed by law varies from
industry to industry. For example, in factory work and in building construction it is 14
years, in mining it is 18 years for underground work and 15 years for work above ground.
On plantations and in non-industrial employment the minimum age is 12 years. In beedi
making it is 14 years, while in carpet weaving and cement manufacturing it is 15 years.
There is no law fixing a minimum age for employment in agriculture even though
agricultural work is the main occupation of many children .
Difference between Child work, Child Labour

The problem of child labour is not a new phenomenon, but was never highlighted
as it is today. It is important to make a distinction between 'child labour' and 'child work'.
Child work means that the child has time for play and education besides work. Child
labour, however, refers to children who are being forced to carry out the full-time work of
adults. The child labourers, no matter if they work full-time in the household, in
workshops, factories or in the agricultural sector, are deprived of education, play and a
normal childhood..

Different Forms of Child Labour

Child labour that is proscribed under international law falls into three categories:

● The unconditional worst forms of child labour, which are internationally defined as
slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and other forms of forced labour, forced recruitment of
children for use in armed conflict, prostitution and pornography and illicit activities.
● Labour performed by a child who is under the minimum age specified for that kind of
work (as defined by national legislation, in accordance with accepted international
standards), and that is thus likely to impede the child’s education and full development.
● Labour that jeopardizes the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either
because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, known as
“hazardous work”.1

UNICEF has classified child work into three categories:

Within the Family
Children are engaged without pay in domestic household tasks, agricultural pastoral
work, handicraft/cottage industries etc.

1 ILO: A future without child labour, Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work, Report I(B), International Labour Conference, 90th Session, Geneva, 2002, para. 26.
Within the Family but outside the Home
Children do agricultural/pastoral work which consists of (seasonal/ full-time) migrant
labour, local agricultural work, domestic service, construction work and informal
occupation e.g. recycling of waste- employed by others and self employed.
Outside the Family
Children are employed by others in bonded work, apprenticeship, skilled trades (Carpet,
embroidery, and brass/copper work), industrial unskilled occupations/ mines, domestic
work, commercial work in shops and restaurants, begging, prostitution and pornography.

Migrant Child Labour

Child migrate from the rural area to the urban or from smaller to larger towns
cities either with their families or alone. They migrate either for better employment
opportunities or to escape from bondage

Bonded Child Labour

Children are pledged by their parents guardians to employers in lieu of debts or
payment. The rates of interest on loans are so high that the amount to be repaid
accumulates every year, making repayment almost impossible
The phenomenon of urban child labour includes street children. These children
belong to three broad categories:
Children on the Street
• Working children who have families but spend most of their time in
streets
• They earn for themselves and may or may not contribute to the family
income.
Children off the Streets
• Working children who have left their families in villages or towns and
have migrated to the city.
• They do not have a place to live and hence spend their nights at the
railway platforms, bus stands etc.
 • They live independently and usually spend all that they earn in the
same day.
Abandoned/Orphaned Children
• Working children without families or whose families have abandoned
them
• They spend their lives on the streets without any kind of support and
are hence the most exploited and abused of the lot.

Invisible Child Labour

• Children work in the unorganized or/and informal sector
• They do not come under the purview of law
• They constitute a substantial proportion of the child labour in the
country
• Most of them do not go to school

Major Sectors Where Children Work

In India children work as a part of family labour or as wage earners, sometimes
as migrant labour. Very often they remain invisible and in bondage. They are found in
all the three sectors of the economy i.e. the Agrarian, manufacturing and Service
sectors
AGRARIAN SECTOR
In rural area children are engaged in agricultural and allied occupations as a part
of family labour or as individual workers. They may work as paid or unpaid workers
in different forms:
• Migrant Labour
• Invisible Labour
• Bonded Labour
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Children are engaged in various manufacturing process of different Home-based
industries such as Brassware, Lock, Match and Fire works, Diamond cutting, Gem
polishing, Glassware, Carpet making, Slate etc. Very often they work in sub-human
conditions and in exploitative situation. They may be working as:

• Migrant Labour
• Invisible Labour
• Wage Labour
• Self employed children

SERVICE SECTOR
• Self-employed Labour
• Invisible Labour
• Wage-based employment

Children work in different sectors of the economy. Census enumerates only those
workers who are engaged in economically productive work and working children are
counted as part of the labour force.

Among the male child workers, though about 52% are agricultural labourers and
in total about 83% are in agricultural sectors. Thus concentration of female child workers
in agricultural sector is more than that of male child workers. As an implication of this,
their presence in non-agricultural sector is only 12.61%. The overall picture reveals that
more and more female children are engaged in low paid jobs as compared to the male
children.

In Tamilnadu about 64% of the child work force is concentrated in agriculture and
allied activities. Though agriculture is the predominant occupation where children are
involved, employment of children in manufacturing and service sector is quite significant
in Tamilnadu with over 36% of the working children.
 According to a UNICEF report, World's Children 2006, India has the largest
number of working children and 17 per cent of them are under the age of 15. Girls aged
12-13 are the preferred choice of 90 per cent households.

Children of Age Group (5-14 years)

Activities Number of Children Number of Children (in 100's)
(%)
Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total
Children engaged in
"economic activities"
4.18 3.86 4.02 52967 45618 98392
Attended domestic duties
only 0.30 3.15 1.67 3770 37208 40788
Attended domestic duties
plus free collection of
goods, tailoring, weaving
for HH only 0.25 1.92 1.06 3178 22693 25897
Children at Work
4.73 8.93 6.75 59915 105519 165077
Attending schools
72.98 61.45 67.44 925350 725964 1651186
Children neither at work
nor at school
17.26 20.42 18.80 218889 241255 460205

Magnitude of Child Labour in India

India has the largest number of child labour in the world. There are varying
estimates of working children magnitude in India due to differing concepts and methods
of estimation.

Data on child labour is enumerated by agencies like census ,National sample

survey, some times ministry of Human Resource Development also conduct survey of
estimating the number of child labour in India.The size of child labour will be clear from
the following tables and graphs.
1. Age, Sex, Area wise Distribution of Child Labour:

According to the census of population estimates in 1981, 13.59 million child labour out
of 263 million child population (5.1%) were working in the country. In 2001 this had
reduced considerably. There were 3.59 million child labourers (this includes 2144519
main as well as 1450784 marginal workers within the 5-14 years age cohort) out of a total
child population of 253 million (1.42 % ) in the country. Census estimates of child labour
traditionally seem to be underestimates. As per the NSS (National Sample Survey
Organization) data, there were 16.33 million child workers in 1972-73, 16.25 million in
1977-78, 17.36 million in 1983. The decline in the numbers of labouring children is
reflected even in the NSS estimates. If we look at the age wise distribution of persons by
principal activity to get a rough estimate of child workers, we find that by 1993-94, NSS
reported the extent of child labourers to be 9.27 million and further down to 5.94 million
in 2004-05 (as per the latest Employment-Unemployment Survey of 61st Round, table
17). These estimates exclude the subsidiary workers (see table1). Children in the age
group of 5-14 years constituted 0.53 percent of male marginal workers and 0.62 percent
of the female marginal workers in 2001. Thus there were early 1.29 million child workers
as subsidiary workers and hence about 7.23 million total child workers in the country in
2004-05. Comparability of data strictly cannot be maintained over time, but the statistics
indicates that the magnitude of child labour has declined from early 1980s quite
substantially. Nonetheless their persistence in the present high overall economic growth
scenario is alarming in itself and an issue to reckon with.

Table 1 Estimates of Child Labour in India, 1972-73 to 2004-05(million)

2. State Wise Child Labour Distribution in India

For the states, child population could be ascertained from the NSS for the
combined group of 5- 15 years. However the work force participation rates are provided
separately for the age groups 5-9 and 10-15 years. In order to arrive at the numbers of
child workers (males, females, rural and urban areas separately) the work force
participation rates of the age group between 10-15 years is applied to the child population
of 5-15 years and hence the extent of workers may not be accurate. In fact these may be
over estimated considering that participation ratios for 5-9 years are far lower. Keeping
this caveat in mind let us look at the state wise distribution of child labour (as a share of
the total workers in each state) as given inTable 2

Table-2 State-wise Child Labour Distribution (5-15years) 2004-2005

3 Trend Of number of child labour from 1971 to 2001:

Table 3 shows the state wise number of children starting from the year 1971 to
2001.Trend shows that the number of child labour has declined upto 1991 for all the
states; the trend is same for the whole economy. This may be to a decline in the number
of people below poverty line. But in the census 2001 the number of children working for
a wage has increased for majority of the state including the whole economy. Their
number was 11285349 in 1991,which has increased to 12591667.This may be due to
the implementation of the LPG strategy which reduced social sector spending by the
state, increased unemployment and poverty by down sizing the public sector. On the
other hand there is growth of industrialization in the private sector. Private
entrepreneur took the advantage of flexible labour laws to use the children in their
factory. We can quote the view of such an entrepreneurs made during the Industrial
revolution in Britain in the 17th century.

TABLE-3 State-wise Distribution of Working Children in India (1971 -2001)

State/UTs 1971 1981 1991 2001 Percentage
(census 2001)
 Andhra 1627492 1951312 1661940 1363339 10.83
Pradesh
Assam 239349* ** 327598 351416 2.79
Bihar 1059359 1101764 942245 1117500 8.87
Chhatisgarh - - - 364572 2.89
Gujarat 518061 616913 523585 485530 3.85
Haryana 137826 194189 109691 253491 2.01
Himachal 71384 99624 56438 107774 0.85
Pradesh
Jammu and 70489 258437 ** 175630 1.39
Kashmir
Jharkhand - -- - 407200 3.23
Karnataka 808719 1131530 976247 822615 6.53
Kerala 111801 92854 34800 26156 0.21
Madhya 1112319 1698597 1352563 1065259 8.46
Pradesh
Maharashtra 988357 1557756 1068418 764075 6.07
Manipur 16380 20217 16493 ** --
Meghalaya 30440 44916 34633 53940 0.43
Nagaland 13726 16235 16467 ** --
Orissa 492477 702293 452394 377594 3.00
Punjab 232774 216939 142868 177268 1.41
Rajasthan 587389 819605 774199 1262570 10.03
Sikkim 15661 8561 5598 16457 0.14
Tamil Nadu 713305 975055 578889 418801 3.33
Tripura 17490 24204 16478 21756 0.17
Uttar 1326726 1434675 1410086 1927997 15.31
Pradesh
Uttaranchal - - -- 70183 0.56
West Bengal 511443 605263 711691 857087 6.81
Andaman 572 1309 1265 1960 0.01
and Nicobar
Islands
Arunachal 17925 17950 12395 18482 0.15
Pradesh
Chandigarh 1086 1986 1870 3779 0.04
Dadra and 3102 3615 4416 4274 0.04
Nagar
Haveli
Delhi 17120 25717 27351 41899 0.33
Daman and 7391 9378 941 729 0.01
Diu
Goa - -- 4656 4138 0.03
Lakshadwee 97 56 34 27 0.00
p
Mizoram *** 6314 16411 26265 0.21
Pondicherry 3725 3606 2680 1904 0.01
India 10753985 13640870 11285349 1259166 100.00
7

Source: Census of India (Borrowed from V. V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida)
Notes: Includes figures of Mizo district also which then formed part of Assam, Census could not be
conducted, Census figures 1971in respect of Mizoram included under Assam Figures for 1991 and 2001
relate to workers for age group 5-14 years State-wise Distribution of Working Children According to
2001Census.

Graph of growth of child labour in India

Growth of child labour since 1971 from the above data for the Indian economy is
depicted with help of the following graph. The graph is showing a declining trend
from 1981 to 1991 and an increasing trend thereafter.

Comparison of 1991 census to 2001 census regarding size of child labour

The Census of India-1991 recorded 11.20 million working children, while the Census-
2001 has recorded 12.66 million working children in the ages of 5-14 years (Fig.1).
Ninety percent of the children workers were from rural areas. The proportion of working
children to the child population aged 5-14 years, registered a marginal decline from 5.4
percent to 5 per cent during 1991-2001.
 There was an increase in the magnitude of child labour during 1991-2001 in spite
of the tremendous efforts made by the Government, United Nations and other
international agencies and NGOs for universalizing primary and elementary education
and removing children from work through education and other rehabilitative
interventions. The results depicts that only education interventions without integrating
poverty alleviation programmes in the policy may not yield desired results of reducing
child labour.

Andhra Pradesh state witnessed synergy of efforts between government, ILO,

trade unions and NGOs during 1991-2001 in scaling up education initiatives for out-of-
school children, but the strategy was not effective enough as the children dropped-out
without completing the full cycle of elementary education and joined back in the
workforce. The 2001 reported marginal decline in the magnitude of child labour during
1991-2001, but it still recorded the second highest magnitude of child workers after Uttar
Pradesh. The field work conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh
strengthens the view as a significant proportion of children have dropped out from
schools without completing full cycle of elementary education. Majority of the dropped
out children were from extreme poverty families and preferred children to work for
family sustenance. Thus the policy makers and planners need to incorporate and integrate
poverty alleviation and strengthening livelihood opportunities along with education
initiatives to release children from work.

Causes of Child Labour

The issue of child labour cuts across policy boundaries and is cause and consequence of
poverty, displacements, illiteracy and adult unemployment. Extreme forms of poverty
play a crucial role in encouraging child labour. This implies that child labour cannot be
addressed in isolation. Among factors contributing to child labour are rapid population
growth, adult unemployment, bad working conditions, lack of minimum wages,
exploitation of workers, low standard of living, low quality of education, lack of legal
provisions and enforcement, low capacity of institutions, gender discrimination,
conceptual thinking about childhood, etc. One or more of the above contribute to the
large numbers of children working under exploitative or hazardous conditions; Several
studies have recognized child labour connections with human deprivation- illiteracy, food
insecurity, distress displacements, gender inequity, social and human underdevelopment,
conflict situation and insecurity and poor governance.

Above chart explains that combination of factors work together for prevalence of child
labour. These factors are education deprivation of the child and parents, food deficit at
home, unemployment status of any family member for more than 6 months and families
with no or less land.. Therefore the elimination of child labour requires multi pronged
strategy of making schools accessible, providing quality education in schools, attacking
food deficit scenario at home through poverty alleviation programmes and providing
employment to adults. The strict compliance and enforcement of child labour laws and
other labour laws will automatically encourage adult employment along with provision of
minimum stipulated wages.

Here we elaborate only few reasons of child Labour

Poverty
In the countries where child labour exists, it is often stated that poverty is the main reason
why children are sent to work and that poverty should first be solved to eradicate child
labour. But, as experts state, 'child labour also perpetuates poverty as children become
part of the destructive inter-generational cycle of repetitive impoverishment’2, 'child
labour adds to unemployment of adults as they take the jobs of as many unemployed
adults, reduces the need for technological innovations which is so essential to the
expansion of exports’3, 'holds wages down and, hence, increases the number of families
living below the poverty line’4.This vicious circle can be explained through following
figure. Two important causes of child labour as stated by many labour experts, are the
vested interest of employers in cheap child labourers and the inefficiency and inadequacy
of existing primary education facilities. The first cause implicates that child labour serves
the interest of employers; they can pay low wages, extract more work, make maximum
profit and remain free of any labour unrest. Child labourers are also victims of physical,
mental and sexual abuse by employers. The second cause implicates that children lose
interest in education because Government schools are often poorly run and maintained,
lack teaching materials and (motivated) teachers.

: Poverty and child labour5

Adult Unemployment and Child Labour

Many researchers have observed that, since adult’s work could be done by children at
much lower wages, employers prefer to hire children rather than adults.( Diamond and
Fayed ,1998) According to this empirical evidence, child labour thus increases adult
unemployment, which in turn forces adults to put their children to work, generating a
vicious circle.

2 Unicef, India. The Progress of Indian States, 1995, p.63.

3 Neera Burra, Born to Work. Child Labour in India, 1995, p. xii.
4 Cited by M.P. Joseph, National Programme Coordinator, IPEC, ILO, Area Office, New Delhi, in 1993 at a workshop
in New Delhi on 'Trade Unions Child Labour and IPEC'. Published by National Labour Institute, Noida, Uttar
Prasdesh, India, 1995.
5 Unicef, India, 1995, 'The Progress of Indian States', p. 63.
This idea has also been implemented by the ILO itself in the book “Combating Child
Labour”, where it is asserted that “…child labour is a cause of, and may even contribute
to adult unemployment and low wages…”. (ILO,1998, p. 90)

In developing countries, improvement in the condition of adult workers results in the

decline of child labour, since parents can then ‘afford’ to take their children out of the
labour force (Goldin, 1979; Horan and Hargis, 1991; Bonnet, 1993; Basu, 1999; Ray,
1999). Hence, one route to curbing child labor is to intervene in the adult labour market.
However, much depends on how we intervene. If we adopt policies which raise the
marginal productivity of adult workers, thereby raising wages and employment, all is
well. On the other hand, the effect of a minimum wage legislation to bolster adult wages
can be complicated. In some circumstances this may cause a drop in the incidence of
child labour. But the analysis gets complex if the increase in wage causes adult
unemployment to increase. This is because in most developing countries unemployment
benefits are non-existent; so it is likely that adults who are unemployed will send their
children to work. So a minimum wage can result in a higher supply of child labour. This
will typically cause an increase in child employment, which, in turn, will cause further
losses in adult employment and further additions to the supply of child labour. The full
impact of this multiplier-like process can be large.

"Nimble Fingers," And Other Myths Of Child Labor

The "nimble fingers" theory is applied to some of the harshest industries employing
children, including the carpet, silk, beedi and silver industries. It asserts that children
make the best products in these occupations thanks to their nimble fingers which are,
according to the myth, better able to tie the tiny knots of wool, unravel thread from
boiling silk cocoons, and solder tiny silver flowers to a chain. In this view, child labor is
not an evil, but a production necessity. This rationalization is a lie. In fact, children make
the cheaper goods; only master weavers make the best quality carpets and saris.

The myth that children must be trained at the "right" age-at six or seven years of age, or
younger-contends that children who go to school, postponing their craft training until
adolescence, either will be unable to adequately learn a skill or will be at an irreparable
disadvantage in comparison with those who did begin working as young children. A study
on child labor in Varanasi summarized the calculation behind this logic:

Any number of justifications are available at the community level in support of children
taking up a job at an early age. It is said that in order to learn the craft properly one has to
start working away from the family. Further, in order to become an accomplished artisan
one has to start working at an early age. Those who start working at the "late" age of 12
years might pick up the craft within a few months but they would never be able to pick up
speed in their work. As against this, those starting at the "right" age of six or seven years
become very good workers after an apprenticeship of 5 to 6 years. Whatever be the truth
behind the general belief, it ensures continuous availability of child labour at low wages.
Literacy and Child labour

All children not attending schools are potential child workers and they need to be
addressed in a holistic framework. According to the latest census figures of 2001 released
in August 2005, out of 226 million children aged 6-14 years, 65.3 million children (29%)
were not attending any educational institutes at the time of the survey. The proportion of
out-of-school boys was 25%, while it was 33% for girls. In spite of the official age of 6
years for enrolling children in class I, a significant proportion of children aged 6 years
(60 percent) were not attending schools. On an average 20-25 percent aged 7-10 years
were not attending schools and a large proportion of children aged 10-14 years drop-out
of schools. The results strengthen the observation that due to awareness children get
enrolled in the schools at ages 7 -10 years, but eventually they drop out of schools either
due to poor education quality or due to pressure from parents to work and sustain family
livelihoods.

Rural economy is characterized by higher levels of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy

compared to the urban economy, as the per capita rural incomes and the head count of the
population below the poverty line is lower in urban than in the rural areas. The
unemployment rate during 2004-05 was nearly 82 and 83 persons per thousand persons in
the labour force for rural and urban areas (nearly 59.4 million unemployed in rural areas
as compared to 20.5 million unemployed in the urban areas). Adult literacy rates in rural
areas were much lower at 54.5 percent as compared to 75.2 percent in the urban areas.

In the years following market reforms (particularly in the period between 1999-00
to 2004-05) the poverty level has declined remarkably. Urban-rural differentials in
poverty levels too have narrowed down significantly at least at the aggregate level.
Variations between states abound. The gap between rural and urban poverty is still quite
noticeable in several states and poverty levels in rural areas are quite high in Bihar, MP,
Maharashtra, Orissa, UP, WB, Jharkhand, and Chhatisgarh. From the following table it is
clear that there exists a positive relation between the number of child labour and the head
count ratio of poverty.

The correlation between the incidence of child labour and unemployment rate on daily
status basis is found to be negative and not very significant. The relation appears to be
weaker in case of urban areas. Evidently this suggests that child labour is not a symptom
of unemployment alone and the problem has to be viewed in conjugation with other
factors too. Legislation alone is unlikely to solve the problem of child labour, creation of
more opportunities for adult employment seems to be a far better way

The incidence of child labour is seen to be associated with the overall literacy levels of
population and also appears to be significant and negative. (The relationship continues to
be as strong as compared to 1981, when it was -0.75). Increasing the education levels and
overall literacy among the population is another important method for effectively
bringing down the magnitude of child labour in the country. School participation has also
been found to be higher where parental literacy was more (S Chakravarty, 2004) and thus
improving parental literacy is an effective tool for reducing incidence of child labour.
Adult education leads to improved opportunities for adult employment which reduces the
necessity of child labour.

Hazards of Child Labour

"Child labour has serious consequences that stay with the individual and with
society for far longer than the years of childhood. Young workers not only face
dangerous working conditions. They face long-term physical, intellectual and
emotional stress. They face an adulthood of unemployment and illiteracy."

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan

UNICEF classifies the hazards of child labour into three categories, namely (i) physical;
(ii) cognitive; (iii) emotional, social and moral:

I. Physical hazards

There are jobs that are hazardous in themselves and affect child labourers immediately.
They affect the overall health, coordination, strength, vision and hearing of children. One
study indicates that hard physical labour over a period of years stunts a child's physical
stature by up to 30 percent of their biological potential. Working in mines, quarries,
construction sites, and carrying heavy loads are some of the activities that put children
directly at risk physically. Jobs in the glass and brassware industry in India, where
children are exposed to high temperatures while rotating the wheel furnace and use heavy
and sharp tools, are clearly physically hazardous to them.

Following table shows the nature of work done by children and some major health
effects in different industries

Industry Nature of work Health effects

(Number of child
workers)
1. Glass industry Blowing, helper, loam Respiratory diseases,
carrier, grinding musculoskeletal disorders
(50,000)*
2. Brassware industry Polishing, soldering, Respiratory diseases,
grinding musculoskeletal disorders
(45,000)*
3. Lock industry Soldering, hammering, Chrome and nasal ulcers,
polishing, packing respiratory diseases
(60,000)*
4. Scissors and knife Grinding Respiratory diseases
industries**
5. Sports goods Finishing, sewing, Skin diseases, injuries
manufacture dyeing, packing

(30,000)*
6. Carpet industry Weaving, making of Deformities of fingers,
thread balls respiratory diseases
(290,000)*
7. Tanneries** Curing, finishing, Skin diseases
packing
8. Wood furniture & Sawing, polishing, Respiratory diseases,
 handicrafts** packing injuries
9. Chikan embroidery** Embroidery, packing Deformities of fingers
10. Making silver & gold Hammering, packing Exposure to lead
foils**
11. Gold & silver smithy** Ornament making, Exposure to lead
polishing, packing
12. Agate industry** Artificial ornaments Respiratory diseases
13. Livestock tending & Grazing & cutting of Injuries
forest work wood

(245,000)*
14. Hosiery workers Sewing, packing Injuries

(8,000)*
15. Beedi making Rolling of beedis Musculoskeletal
disorders, respiratory
(7,000 at Trichur)* diseases

16. Chalk making** Breaking, packing & Respiratory disease,

piling of chalk premature death
17. Match making and Frame filling, ignitable Musculoskeletal
fireworks paste making, match disorders, respiratory
head coating disorders, eye infections,
(50,000-80,000)* burns

* Rough estimates
** Large numbers of child workers

II. Cognitive hazards

Education helps a child to develop cognitively, emotionally and socially, and needless to
say, education is often gravely reduced by child labour. Cognitive development includes
literacy, numeracy and the acquisition of knowledge necessary to normal life. Work may
take so much of a child’s time that it becomes impossible for them to attend school; even
if they do attend, they may be too tired to be attentive and follow the lessons.

III. Emotional, social and moral hazards

There are jobs that may jeopardise a child’s psychological and social growth more than
physical growth. For example, a domestic job can involve relatively ‘light’ work.
However, long hours of work, and the physical, psychological and sexual abuse to which
the child domestic labourers are exposed make the work hazardous. Studies show that
several domestic servants in India on an average work for twenty hours a day with small
intervals4. According to a UNICEF survey, about 90 percent of employers of domestic
workers in India preferred children of 12 to 15 years of age. This is mostly because they
can be easily dominated and obliged to work for long hours and can be paid less than
what would have to be paid to an adult worker.5 Moral hazards generally refer dangers
arising for children in activities in which they are used for illegal activities, such as
trafficking of drugs, the sex trade, and for the production of pornographic materials.

What is being done to eradicate child labour?

On October 10th 2006, Government introduced a new amendment in Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. According to the amendment, a ban was imposed
on employment of children (less than the age of fourteen) in dhabas, restaurants and
hotels and as servants or domestic help as well. Any violation of this ban would lead to
imprisonment up to two years and/or fine of Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000. However, just after
two months, in December 2006, over 1,670 cases of such violation have been detected by
many State Governments.

To eradicate child labor, 76 child labor projects have been sanctioned under the National
Child Labour Project Scheme for covering 150,000 children. Around 105,000 children
are already enrolled in the special schools. The Ministry of Labour has asked the
Planning Commission for about Rs.1500 crore to cover all the 600 districts under the
National Child Labour Project (NCLP) as against the 250 districts at present. Children
working in 57 hazardous industries, in dhabas and homes (in the 9-14 age group) would
be covered under this project. Government schemes like the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan have
been implemented.

Coverage under National Child Labor Project

Sanctioned Coverage Actual

State Districts Coverage Children
Schools Children Schools
Andhra Pradesh 20 807 43550 610 36249
Bihar 08 174 12200 173 10094
Gujarat 02 040 2000 023 1254
Karnataka 03 100 5000 024 1200
Madhya Pradesh 05 138 9800 087 6524
Maharashta 02 074 3700 024 1200
Orissa 16 430 33000 239 14972
Rajasthan 02 060 3000 054 2700
Tamil Nadu 08 379 19500 307 14684
Uttar Pradesh 04 150 11500 105 7488
West Bengal 04 219 12000 164 8250

Total 76 2571 155250 1810 104615

What can be done about child labour?

There are many approaches, and no single magic solution. The following suggestions
may be helpful to eradicate this social malaise.

1. Education for Child Labour

The NGO and private schools can plan non formal education classes in the
evening as it seems to be the most convenient time for these children. In the event of
some children not coming every evening due to the nature of their work, the classes can
be held on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings depending upon their free time. By
having class in the evenings and on the holidays, we can utilize the existing school
premises both of municipal and private schools all over the city. The benefits of this
collaborative venture is that the coverage of the programme would be larger at a low cost.

2.Consumer education

As consumers, we are the driving force behind the global economy - let's drive it in the
right direction. We can raise awareness, we can question stores about the labour
conditions under which their goods were made, and we can demand proper labeling. If
they can tell us what's in a product, they can also tell us who made it. Where labeling
exists (eg, Rugmark for hand woven carpets) support these products. Pester multinational
companies to adopt codes of conduct for themselves and their subcontractors

3. Strengthen unions
Trade unions also play a crucial role in preventing and eliminating child labour. Adult
workers who have the right to organise, negotiate and bargain for a living wage do not
have to send their children to work. Where strong unions exist, child labour is
diminished. Unions not only strongly oppose child labour on the grounds of social
justice, they also resist the hiring of children at wages that undermine their own.

4. Health care for Child Labourers

Mobile health teams could make regular weekly trips to the areas where working
children population is heavily concentrated. The scheme must also ensure relevant
referral back up services.

5 Income Generation Activity for Families Depending in Child Labourers

The income of families based on child labour is not very high. They send their
children for work to earn additional income. Therefore, there should be emphasis on
income generation activities and providing training to those families with the help of Self
Help Groups.

6. Banking Facilities for Working Children

Most of the working children don’t know how to save? For this banks must
organize programmes for the child labourers. Bank officials should meet employers and
self – employed children to encourage them to bank with them. They can eventually also
educate the children on various investment schemes. Once a child has banked for few
years with the bank, he should be able to avail of credit facilities to launch a business of
his own.

Last but not least , we can also participate in the eradication of child labour by just not
employing them and by making some charity for their welfare
Conclusion

Sensitization and coordination across society

From the foregoing discussion, the conclusion which emerges is that Child labour
is a much graver issue that one can imagine. It is a multidimensional problem that
involves various reasons such as continued poverty, illiteracy, ignorance of parents etc.,
contributing to this problem in a variety of ways. Further in Bihar bonded labourers after
being released from the clutches of contractors, again went back to the same contractor
with the slogan that “Food is more important than liberty”. Hence only freeing child
labour from exploitation is not sufficient, they should be properly rehabilitee. At present a
complete eradication of child labour problem seems impossible, but they can only be
assured of their safety, healthy working condition, medical benefit, housing, insurance,
recreational facilities, free meal system at their place of working, books, stationery,
uniform etc and the important aim should be to educate them near their place of working
to develop their personality for their future prospects.

One thing that has become clear is that the labour law enforcement machinery
alone cannot solve the problem. Identification of child labour as well as the removal from
work and the rehabilitation of child workers require coordinated efforts from various
segments of society, including NGOs, trade unions, employers and employer
organizations, and different government organs dealing with education, rural
development, industrial growth, law and order, social welfare, development of children's
and women's affairs and others in addition to the Department of Labour. Steps have
already been initiated within the States as well as at the central government level. The
M.V.F. of Andhra Pradesh has taken up the issue of child labour and is trying to educate
them .With M.V.Fs efforts over 4, 00,000 working children are now in schools. The ILO's
International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour, UNICEF and such other
organizations are extending active support in this respect.

The problem cannot be eliminated in one full sweep. A gradual, consistent and
coordinated process is needed. But the speed of this process will accelerate with
increasing sensitization of various segments of the Indian society to the issue and with the
spread of literacy and education, particularly among the female population of India.

References:

1 Basu Kaushik, The Intriguing Relation between Adult Minimum Wage and Child
Labour.
2 Child labor challenge and response, V.V. Giri National Labor Institute.

3Child Labor in India, an Overview, V.V. Giri National Labor Institute.

4. Human Rights Watch, Jan 2003,Vol 15,Small Change -Bonded Child Labor in India’s
Silk Industry

5 Jain Mahaveer ,Insights on Child Labour,Manak Publications Pvt Ltd, 2006.

6.Jain Mahaveer,Saraswat Sangeeta, Child Labour from different perspectives, Manak

Publications Pvt Ltd, 2006.

7 Kruijtbosch Martine ,Child and adult labour in the export-oriented garment and gem
polishing industry of India with case studies from Tirupura, Bangalore, Jaipur and Trichy
1996,2nd version .

8 Mehta Niti,Child Labour in India: Extent and Some Dimensions ,2007.

9. Sahoo Sarbeswara ,Why Child Labour as an Institution Persists? ,Indian Institute of

Dalit Studies, New Delhi

10 Satyarthi Kailash ,Chairperson Global March Against Child Labour,India country

report 2006.

11 www.childprotection.org.ph
12 www.infochangeindia.org

13 www.ilo.org