CHILD LABOUR CULTURE IN INDIA

The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that:

• is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or
• interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

 As per the National Census 2011, there are close to 10.1 million child labourers in India, in the age group of 5 to 14 years.

• 10.13 million child labourers between 5-14 years in India (2011 Census data)

• Child labour in 2011 has decreased by around 20% from 2001 Census Figures

• There are 22.87 million working children in India between 15-18 years.

• As per 2011 Census, 1 in 11 children are working in India (5-18 years)

• 80% of the child labour in India is concentrated in rural areas

• International Labour Organisation 2016 data indicates that there are 152 million working children in the world between 5-17 years, of which 23.8 million children are in India. So 16% of the working children (or every 6th working child) in this age group is in India.

•  It  reveals that a large number of children engaged in these occupations are working with their families, thus exempting them from the proposed ban. Allowing children to work in family enterprises is likely to have far reaching implications affecting not only their education and learning outcomes but also their health and overall development.

• Child labour in India, somehow, has become a social norm that we accept and tolerate in our society. This exploitative and abusive practice will continue unless society adopts a zero tolerance attitude towards it. Children continue to be exploited and abused because the State and people do not address children’s issues comprehensively and effectively. 

• However, only ‘rescuing’ children, often will not help. What is required is addressing the reasons that force children to work. Children work mainly to help their families because the adults do not have appropriate employment and adequate income. Children also work because there is a demand for cheap labour in the market. When children are forced to work long hours their ability to get adequate nourishment and to attend school is limited, preventing them from gaining education.

• There is today global attention on India’s child labour problem - A recent U.S. Department of Labor featured India among 74 countries with “significant incidence of critical working conditions” in the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. Children are forced into child labour as they are 'caught in the crossfire' of poverty, and become a source of money for their family.

 This section provides in-depth information on several sectors of child labour :-

1. Garment industry
Child labour runs rampant in India’s garment industry, hidden away in small, owner-operated enterprises or home setups. A Save the Children’s report on the garment industry in Delhi (2015) found that the Capital’s 8000 plus garment labourers experience loud noise, poor lighting, poor ventilation and sharp tools. 36% of home workers are never paid. The report opened Delhi’s eyes to the practice and made the city realise that the city needed government, civil society, communities and industries to come together and end the practice.


2. Brick kilns
India’s brick kilns traditionally have used child labourers, with children assisting their parents, working long hours and neglecting their education. Save the Children’s Brick Kiln Project sees volunteers provide children immediate access to education, facilitating their mainstreaming into formal education via their Bridge Course Centre (BCC). Additionally, the NGO has partnered with NMCS for a hand washing campaign in brick kilns. 70 schooling centres across factories have given children a ray of hope, and the those who support an NGO like Save the Children have engaged factories to operate with a zero child labour policy. This has helped 16,000 children escape a future of building bricks



3. Unorganised sectors
Child labour can be easily spotted in India's unorganised sector children are hired as cheap and fast workers in tea shops, dhabas, small shops, and as personal servants and errand boys. After the unorganised agriculture sector, it is the unorganised, informal sector which is the biggest child labour employer.  The largely family owned informal sector prefers child labour for low costs and 'easy to hire, easy to fire' outlook towards children. Even school going children work in after-school home-based labour.


4. Agriculture
2011 Census data shows that the agriculture sector might be India's biggest buyer of child labour. Children are hired for everything from cotton and cottonseed production to sugarcane, soybean and paddy transplantation, and work long hours for low pay and poor living conditions. Save the Children has protected 8 lakh children living in cotton communities in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, after freeing 65,000 children from child labour in a pilot project across 1,866 villages of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Thousands of farmers pledged for child-labour free processes.


5. Fireworks
India's fireworks sector is one of the biggest, yet most well-hidden employers of child labour. It has been repeatedly noted in Sivakasi, the South Indian town that is famed across India for matches and fireworks.

These children work long hours, especially during India's festive season, in cramped conditions. Direct exposure to chemicals used in fireworks harms their lungs, skin and triggers ailments in the future. With hidden child labour, small manufacturers of both licensed and unlicensed fireworks are able to keep costs low and make large profits.

Conclusion
India's 2006 amendment to the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act needs support to be implemented from non-governmental organisations like Save the Children. If you desire to help a poor child in any way, give donation to Save the Children is the fastest way to realise this noble goal.