Child labor

Mid-Semester Assignment No. - 1

SUBMITTED TO
AMITY LAW SCHOOL, MUMBAI
FOR THE PART FULLFILMENT
OF
BA.LLB (H) – SEMESTER 6

By
AJAY SAROHA
A70611119021
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Dr. Ravina Parihar

AMITY LAW SCHOOL

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2021-2022[Even Semester]
What is child labor?

Child labour is defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO), a UN subsidiary, as

"work that deprives children of their youth, their potential, and their dignity, and that is injurious
to their physical and mental development."

Child labour can be found in a variety of industries, including agriculture, manufacturing,

mining, and domestic work (i.e. prostitution). Children are coerced into child labour for a variety
of reasons, including migration, emergencies, a lack of suitable work, and poverty, which is the
most affecting factor.

What effects does child labor have on children?

Education is a vital part of a child's upbringing since it allows them to build the abilities they'll
need to succeed in today's world. Early work, on the other hand, hinders youngsters from
attending school and acquiring these skills. Because there is usually no other source of money in
the household, these youngsters are under a great deal of pressure to provide for their families.
Furthermore, the psychological consequences of child labour are frequently as serious as the
physical consequences, and can result in long-term stress. Children who have been subjected to
heinous acts of violence may develop mental diseases such as depression, guilt, anxiety, low
self-esteem, and hopelessness as adults.

What is happening in India?

Child labour is not limited to India; it may also be found in Africa, South America, and even
Europe. Children's exploitation in the production process has been a point of contention for
Western firms such as Gap. India is home to many of these facilities that exploit children in
exchange for free labour.

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra are the primary states in
India where child labour is prevalent. Over half of the country's entire child labour population
works in this area. The state of Uttar Pradesh has the biggest number of child labourers,
accounting for more than 20% of all child labourers in India. (2016 Save the Children) The silk
business, which is popular in the region, employs the majority of these juvenile employees.

"Children as young as five years old work for more than twelve hours a day, seven days a week
in industries. They must work in a squat position in small spaces with little light and little
ventilation, exposed to pollutants from the machines. They must perform various harmful
behaviors in order to make the silk, such as putting their hands in extremely hot water, which
causes blisters."

How many child laborers are there in India?

According to the ILO, there are around 12.9 million Indian children aged 7 to 17 years old
working. When youngsters labour or do unpaid employment, they are less likely to attend
school or only go on a part-time basis, locking them in a cycle of poverty. Every day,
millions of Indian girls and boys work in quarries and factories, or sell cigarettes on the
streets. The bulk of these children are between the ages of 12 and 17, and they work up to
16 hours a day to support their families. However, child labour in India can begin even
earlier, with an estimated 10.1 million children aged 5 to 14 years old working.

As youngsters get older, they get more interested in working. In India, 20 percent of all children
aged 15 to 17 are employed in dangerous sectors or jobs. Child labour in India is difficult to
quantify because it is frequently disguised and under-reported. In India, about 18 million
children aged 7 to 17 are classified as ‘inactive’, meaning they are neither working nor attending
school. These missing Indian girls and boys could be subjected to some of the most heinous
types of child labour.

What forms of child labor are there (Where do child laborers in India work?)

According to an ILO research, the agriculture sector (which includes cotton plantations and
rice fields) employs the majority of the world's child labourers (about 71 percent). Around
17% of children work in the service sector, primarily as domestic workers or in restaurants,
while another 12% work in the industry sector, including dangerous activities in mines.
Many child labourers in India work in textile mills, helping with carpet manufacturing, or doing
backbreaking labour in brick factories and quarries for pitiful salaries. Other child labourers
work for the tobacco industry, peddling "Bidis" cigarettes on the street. In businesses including
steel extraction, gem polishing, and carpet production, children are also exploited as cheap
labour. Child trafficking affects a shocking number of girls in India, whether by customary
bonding or organized criminality. Commercial sexual exploitation of children is one of the most
heinous forms of child labour, with an estimated 1.2 million children in India engaging in
prostitution.

What is the cause of child labor in India?

Despite the country's economic growth, India has a substantial poverty problem, with more than
a third of the population living in poverty. Poor families have little choice but to put their
children to work rather than teach them due to poor living conditions, limited income, and a lack
of job diversification. These youngsters are frequently sold to child traffickers by their parents in
order to alleviate their financial burden and acquire additional income.

Are there not Indian laws against child labor?

In 1993, the Indian government passed a legislation forbidding harmful occupations or

activities that could affect girls and boys under the age of 18's mental, spiritual, moral, or
social development. However, child labour persists for a variety of reasons. For example,
some people take advantage of legal loopholes that enable children to be employed if the
activity is part of a family company. As a result, having youngsters sell cigarettes on the
street as part of a family business could be considered legal. Furthermore, many business
elites, such as mine owners, occupy political office and wield significant power. Companies
may have little interest in eliminating low-cost labour from their operations.

Child labour laws were tightened in 2006 and again in 2016, making it illegal for children
under the age of 14 to work as domestic help or service staff in restaurants and hotels. Child
labour in family businesses, on the other hand, is still tolerated. Furthermore, the ban does
not apply to minors between the ages of 15 and 17, who are merely forbidden from
conducting "hazardous" labour. These restrictions also do not apply to activities that expose
children to pesticides, such as field work or physically demanding work like carpet
weaving.

To guarantee that these regulations are enforced, the Indian government is now working on a
new law that would enhance the penalty for employers who hire children under the age of 14,
raising the penalty from a fine to a multi-year prison sentence.

After thorough consultation with stakeholders, the Government of India has notified an
amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Central Rules. The Rules establish
a wide and specific framework for child and adolescent worker prevention, prohibition, rescue,
and rehabilitation. It also clarifies concerns relating to family assistance and family businesses,
as well as the concept of family in relation to children, with specific measures integrated into the
rules. It also ensures that artists who have been granted permission to work under the Act are
protected in terms of working hours and working conditions. The rules provide explicit
provisions including enforcement agencies' roles and obligations in order to ensure proper
implementation and compliance with the Act's provisions.

The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act of 2016 is a law that prohibits
and regulates child labour.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, was enacted by the
government and went into effect on January 1, 2016. The Amendment Act makes it illegal to hire
minors under the age of 14. The amendment further outlaws the employment of adolescents aged
14 to 18 in dangerous jobs and procedures, while also regulating their working conditions in
those cases where they are not prohibited. Employing any kid or adolescent in defiance of the
Act by an employer is now a cognizable offence under the amendment.

The amendment authorizes the competent Government to confer such powers and impose such
obligations on a District Magistrate as may be necessary to ensure efficient implementation of
the Act's provisions. In addition, the State Action Plan has been distributed to all States/UTs in
order to ensure that the Act is implemented effectively.

The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 prohibits and regulates child labour.
"No child under the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or
employed in any hazardous employment," according to Article 24 of the Indian constitution. A
kid is defined by the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 as a person who has
not reached the age of fourteen. Its goal is to restrict child employees' hours and working
conditions, as well as to prohibit them from working in hazardous industries.

The ILO's basic conventions on child labour

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations body that was founded in 1919.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) brings together governments, companies, and
employees from 187 member countries to set labour standards, develop laws, and implement
programmes that promote decent work for all women and men.

The ILO's main method of action is to establish International Labour Standards in the form of
Conventions and Recommendations. Conventions are international treaties and documents that
bind the countries that ratify them to legal responsibilities. Recommendations are non-binding
statements that serve as guiding principles for national policies and actions.

Child Labor Policy in the United States

The action plan for addressing the problem of child labour is contained in the National Policy on
Child Labor, which was published in August 1987. It includes:

 A legislative action plan,

 a project-based action plan of action for launching projects for the welfare of working
children in areas with high concentrations of child labour, and
 A project-based action plan of action for launching projects for the welfare of working
children in areas with high concentrations of child labour.

The NCLP Scheme was established in 1988 to rehabilitate young labourers in accordance with
the National Child Labour Policy. In the first instance, the Scheme aims to take a sequential
approach, focusing on the rehabilitation of youngsters working in hazardous vocations and
procedures.
What needs to be done to stop child labor in India? (Conclusion)

Much more needs to be done in India's political landscape to end exploitative child
exploitation: child labour laws must be toughened and enforced more aggressively.
Furthermore, acute poverty, which is a root cause of child labour, must be addressed.
Ending child labour in India requires addressing poverty and inequality.

It is equally critical to have access to education in order to escape the cycle of poverty and child
labour. Children who complete higher levels of school are more likely to find decent work as
adults and can use their earnings to support themselves and their families without having to rely
on child labour. Despite the fact that schooling is obligatory and free for children up to the age of
14, pervasive poverty leads families to priorities feeding their children above sending them to
school. As a result, many youngsters miss school or do not go at all because they must work.