Labour and Industrial Law

CHILD LABOUR

Submitted by

Amisha Yadav

Division: A

PRN: 18010224206

of

Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA

Symbiosis International (Deemed University)

In

August, 2022

Under the guidance of

Mr. Purvish Malkan

Course-in-charge

Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA

 INTRODUCTION
Today, there are millions of children in the world who work full time. They do not attend
school and lack a proper nutritious diet. More than half of these children are exposed to the
worst and most exploitative forms of child labour which may include forced labour, harmful
environment or even slavery.
A child, as defined by the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 is a being
below the age of fourteen years. Child labour on the other hand refers to the exploitation of
the labour of children who are too young to be working. It is a consequence of poverty, lack
of education, social and economic backwardness, or sometimes even family tradition. These
children are paid or are sometimes even unpaid and work in workshops, establishments,
factories, mines and in the service sector such as domestic labour.
The first legislation for the protection of child labour was in the Indian Factories Act, 1881
which provided for the prohibition of employment of children below 7 years of age, the act
also provided for the limiting the work hours additionally providing for 4 days holiday in a
month. Later, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 was adopted which
aims at prohibiting children from entering into hazardous occupations. Further, the Child
Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2016 put a complete prohibition on
child labour irrespective of the nature of work, be it hazardous or not. The Factories Act,
1948 puts a prohibition upon the employment of children who are below 14 years old and
also places rules on when can pre-adults (ages between 15 to 18 years) be employed at
factories. Most importantly, the Constitution of India prohibits forced labour, exploitation and
promotes free education for children up to the age of 14 years. These provisions have been
enshrined under various Articles.
TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING
I interviewed a 11 year old boy who works at a puncture repair shop outside a garage located
near Sector 34 Metro Station in NOIDA. It was a short interview about his education and the
work that he does. At first the boy was reluctant to give the interview however, he became
comfortable after a few questions.
Question 1. What is you name? How old are you?
Answer 1. My name is Akshat, I am 11 years old.
Question 2. How long have you been working here?
Answer 2. I have been working here for the past 1.5 years.
Question 3. Do you go to school?
Answer 3. No, I have never been to school.
Question 4. Why did you not attend school?
Answer 4. We are 4 siblings, 3 sisters and I, we do not have money to go to school. My
father passed away in a road accident last year and my mother does household chores at 3
houses. She is hardly able to earn much so all of us have to work.
Question 5. What do your siblings do?
Answer 5. One of my sisters is 3 years old so she accompanies my mother to work, one of
the other sisters is mentally disabled and the other one is a also goes to houses to do daily
chores. During the lockdown period my family has seen the worst days, there were days
when we did not have food to eat. My mother was removed from work and my father was left
without work as people were not travelling.
Question 6. What are you working hours?
Answer 6. I came here around 7 am in the morning, school vans and tempos get their tyres
refilled and I work until 5 pm in the evening.
Question 7. Who owns the shop you work at?
Answer 7. The shop I work at is owned by Upendra Bhaiya.
Question 8. Who brought you here to work at the shop?
Answer 8. My father brought me here. He was a rickshaw puller, he asked me to work here
and support the family. Last year in March he met with a road accident and he passed away.
Ever since, I am left with all the responsibility, I have to work very hard.
Question 9. Did you know that you can get education for free at any Government School and
your family would also get ration for your education ?
Answer 9. No, I did know this. But I will work hard and make my younger sister go to
school. I cannot study now, I have to earn money.
Question 10. How much are you paid for working at the shop? Are you satisfied with it?
Answer 10. I get Rs. 3,500 a month for repairing punctures and refilling air in tyres. Who
wants to settle for less. My family needs money, I want to work inside the shop and do works
like washing the cars and repairing the parts, I have heard they get paid more.
Question 11. Do you get holidays? If yes, how many?
Answer 11. Yes I get an off every Tuesday and on festivals.
Question 12. Are you happy working here?
Answer 12. Yes, I have made friends here. I am given 1 meal also, I am satisfied.
 ISSUES IDENTIFIED
 Akshat has been working since the age of 9 years. He has been a victim of child labour
for the 2 years. He is only 11 years old and has to work 10-11 hours a day for a mere
amount of Rs. 3,500 a month. He has to undergo such hardships at such a tender age due
to poverty even though Child Labour is prohibited by the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986.
 Akshat and his family are badly struck with poverty and additionally have a lack of
information with respect to education and the Government schemes of free education for
children. They are blinded by the urge to earn money and survive.
LAW APPLICABLE
The laws applicable are as follows:-
 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016
 The Factories Act, 1948
 Right to Education Act, 2009
 Article 21A and 24 of the Indian Constitution which talk about Right to Education and
Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc. respectively.

ANALYSIS
Poverty and lack of awareness and education are one of the major causes of child labour in
India which is evidently seen in our case of Akshat. He is an 11 year old boy who repairs
punctures at a garage in sector 34 in NOIDA. He has to work at such young age, not by will
but due to the circumstances. He has never attended schools and earns a mere amount of Rs.
3,500 a month and works 10 hours a day. Working at a Garage and repairing punctures forms
a part of prohibited processes as per Section 3 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986 read with Entry 8, Part II of the Schedule to the aforesaid act.
Moreover, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 has
completely prohibited the employment of children below 14 years of age. Additionally,
section 22 of the Factories Act, 1948 provides that “… no young individual shall be allowed
to clean, lubricate or adjust any part of machine which would expose the individual to the
risk of injury…” This garage is run by the owner in a busy area of the city with a police
station within 2 km of its vicinity however, the practices still continues. There is no action
against the owner of the shop and the owner does not even care to educate the child himself.
This shows a clear lack of enforcement of the laws against child labour in the area. And this
a situation that is not just restricted to one area, it is a problem that the entire country is
facing. There are many children like Akshat who are forced to work and lose out on the
beautiful stage of life, which is childhood and are devoid of a fruitful life.

Analysing the second issue which deals with lack of knowledge with respect to Right to
Education it can be said that despite the fact that Article 21 A of the Indian Constitution
which in now amended, requires the government to guarantee free and compulsory education
for all children between the ages of six and fourteen years. The State Governments have
developed numerous programmes to offer children free and required education in accordance
with this provision. However, the set goals that the "welfare state" supposed to have achieved
by offering free and mandatory education to the children have failed due to a lack of public
awareness and a lack of accountability on the part of State Government officials. The fact that
Akshat was unaware of his right to education is saddening, none of his siblings attended
school as a result of this.

SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION

Child labour in India still continues to persist even after the enforcement of multiple
legislations to prohibit the same. This is due to poor implementation by the executive. The
main reason why children engage in child labour is because their parents or guardians think it
is normal for them to work, and occasionally it is necessary for the children’s own and their
families’ survival. This situation needs to be overcome in order to progress as a nation on the
international front.
Following are certain suggestions for the improvement of the situation with respect to child
labour:-
- Spreading awareness with respect to “Right to Education” and Government policies
for free education. Communities with awareness of child labour and its legal
implications are considerably more able to understand and address concerns affecting
children.
- Long-lasting societal change depends on policymaking, and advocating for improved
laws requires demonstration as to how the change might be highly advantageous to
the people. Therefore, there is a requirement of formulation and implementation of
more stringent laws against the menace of child labour.
- When Indian firms publicly employ child labour in sectors like retail, hospitality, and
menial labour, it receives an unsaid approval. There is a need for discouraging people
 from employing children in their homes and offices by sensitising them on the issues
my means such as NGO’s.
Making child labour a public concern is necessary in order to effectively combat it. While
officials and the government can only implement rules, neglecting daily child
maltreatment and malnourishment must also, whenever feasible, be combated at an
individual level by us.