What is Child Labour?
There are many definitions for child labour. The most widely
accepted definition is - “Any girl/boy below 18 who does full-time work to
sustain self and family (and) or any child who works in an environment that’s
hazardous to his/her mental, physical, social, educational, moral and emotional
development is a Child Labourer.”
But
the simplest definition would be – “every child out of school is a potential
child labourer.”
Why is the theme ‘Go for the Goal’? What
has football got to do with child labour?
In Jalandhar and Meerut India and in some parts of Pakistan, thousands
of children, some as young as 6 spend tedious hours stitching foot balls for very
meager wages (or) for no money at all if they have been sold into debt bondage.
Stitching balls is an extremely labour intensive job that can lead to
multiple health problems. A report by ‘Bachpan
Bachao Andolan’ found that children involved in stitching balls had cuts on
their fingers that had become septic, deformed fingers, chronic back and neck
pain from sitting hours in a hunched position and poor eyesight from arduous
squinting.
Children not in school can be forced to
stitch for 10-12 hours a day, while those still in school can stitch 3-4 hours
a night after school. Whether children work full time or go to school, spending
their leisure time stitching balls can have a detrimental effect on their
physical and psychological wellbeing.
Despite more than a decade of industry
monitoring and several
positive attempts to clean up the industry, the problem has largely been pushed
further behind closed doors or across borders, with many soccer ball manufacturers
moving their operations to India.
How many child labourers are there in India?
According
to the 2001 census, India has 12.6 million children (highest in the world)
working in very hazardous occupations. It is an increase of 1.4 million children
compared to the 1991 census, which had 11.2 million child laborers. But these
are just the official figures. Given the invisibility of so many children who
work in the unregulated or informal sectors, a more accepted number figure is
44 million. And if the definition, ‘every child out of school is a potential
child labourer,’ is accepted, the number rises to an alarming 80-100 million.
What kind of other works do these children
do?
Children
are employed in almost all sectors and industries that make up 3.1% of the
total workforce in India. They work as domestic workers, in factories,
agriculture, tobacco industry, rag pickers, shoe industry, leather industry,
construction, petty shops and some are even pushed into prostitution.
What are the causes of Child Labour?
Poor
economic status, i.e., poverty is believed to be the first and foremost reason
for child labour. The second is what could be called as ‘Economic shocks’ –
These are incidents such as illness, accidents, disasters, and cultural and
ceremonial customaries that requires a lot of money to cross over or get rid
of, which in almost all cases comes through the form of borrowing. The other
more common reasons would be Ignorance about the importance of education, Lack
of interest in studies, Discrimination of the girl child etc…
Aren’t there any legal provisions to
curtail this?
Yes
there is – “The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (1986) &
Juvenile Justice Care and protection Act 2000.” There are many other laws that
address child labour and their exploitation like, The Factories Act (1948), The
Indian Mines Act (1923), The Employment of Children Act (1938), The Plantations
Labour Act (1951) and The Beedi and Cigar workers Act (1966). All of these, and other acts, regulate
different aspects of child labour such as the minimum age of employment,
banning certain industries and processes from the employment of children and
setting minimum standards for workplace facilities.
Then why is child labour still so widespread?
There
are many reasons why ‘Child Labour’ is still not curtailed.
1.
None of the laws ban child labour outright.
2.
Lack of awareness.
3.
Non-implementation of existing laws.
4.
Lack of awareness and non-cooperation from the civil society, i.e, we the
people.
Click here to read more on the transformed life of former child labourers
