Open Access Research Article
A Discourse on Child Labour Policy in India (By- Sulochana Anu)
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A Discourse on Child Labour Policy in
India
Authored By- Sulochana
Anu
Institute Of
Company Secretaries Of India
Abstract
A childhood is a time of learning and
exploring, but a large number of children in India are deprived of such
childhood, due to their poor socio-economic condition. Child labour has its own
adverse such has malnutrition, hyperactivity, traumatized behaviour etc. It
also affects the welfare of the children by denying them educational
opportunities.
As per the data of 2011 Census, India had
10.13 million child labourers, between the age of 5-14. With some states
reporting a higher prevalence of child labour than others, Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh - which together constitute
nearly 55% of the total population of working children in India.
This article highlights the child labour
policies and its constitutional provisions in an attempt to bridge the gap of
lack of awareness of Child Labour Laws in India.
Constitutional
Provisions
Government of India stands committed to the elimination of
child labour in the country. Our Constitution provides for universal protection
of children from involvement in economic activities and pursuit unsuited to
their age and this provision is envisaged in the Fundamental Rights (Article
24).
Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution
strongly emphasizes this commitment.
Constitutional
Provisions
Article 21 A Right to Education
The State shall provide free and
compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years in such manner
as the State, by law, may determine.
Article 24 Prohibition of employment
of Children in work establishments
No child below the age of 14 years shall be
employed in work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous
employment.
Article 39
The State shall, in particular,
direct its policy towards securing the health and strength of workers, men and
women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not
forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or
strength.
Realizing the heterogeneity of this
issue, the Government has embarked on a holistic and multi-pronged approach to
eliminate child labour from the country in a framework, beginning with children
working in hazardous occupations and processes and progressively covering those
working in other occupations also.
National
Child Labour Policy
The constitutional and legislative
provisions assuring protection to children against employment has been
elaborated in the National Child Labour Policy announced in 1987. The policy
addresses the complex issue of child labour in a comprehensive, holistic and
integrated manner
(i)
It
provides for legal action for enforcement
(ii)
It
focuses on general development programmes for the economic empowerment of the
families of children as well as projects-based action in areas of high
concentration of child labour.
Legal Protection Of Children At
Work
Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Act, 1986
1. Under the Child Labour (Prohibition
& Regulation) Act, 1986 the engagement of children up to 14 years was
prohibited in certain hazardous occupations and processes and to regulate the
conditions of work of children in other employments.
2. The Government has also enacted the
Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 which came into
force with effect from 1st September, 2016. The Amended Act, named the Child
and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 interalia covers
complete prohibition on employment or work of children below 14 years of age in
all occupations and processes; linking the age of the prohibition of employment
with the age for free and compulsory education under Right to Education Act,
2009; prohibition on employment of adolescents (14 to 18 years of age) in
hazardous occupations or processes and making stricter punishment for the
employers contravening the provisions of the Act (The Child and Adolescent
Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986)
3. Subsequent to the amendment in Child Labour
Act, Government has framed the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation)
Amendment Rules, 2017. The act envisages provision for prevention, rescue and
rehabilitation and convergence, definition of “help” in the family enterprises
owned by the family of the child and regulation of child artists to ensure
their safety and security. The Rules also provides for District Nodal Officer
(DNO) and Task Force under the chairmanship of District Magistrate to ensure
that the provisions of the Act are properly enforced.
Child and Adolescent Labour
(Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986
During the past years approximately
15 lakh inspections were carried out, resulting around 0.10 lakh prosecutions
out of which more than 4530 convictions were obtained.
The Ministry has framed a Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP) creating a ready reckoner for trainers, practitioners
and monitoring agencies to ensure complete prohibition of child labour and
protection of adolescents from hazardous labour ultimately leading to Child
Labour Free India. Standard Operating Procedure.
The Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017
The Act defines the jurisdiction of both
Central and State Governments in implementing the Act. The Central Government
is the “appropriate Government” in relation to establishments under the control
of the Central Government or a railway administration or a major port or a mine
or oilfield. In all other cases, the State Government is the “appropriate
Government”.
The State Action Plan issued by the
Ministry enumerates the actions arisen on the part of State Governments/UTs
after enactment of the Amendment Act.
As per the recommendations of the
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the Schedule of hazardous occupations and
processes of the Act has been divided in two parts namely
Part A
It covers a list of hazardous
occupations and processes in which adolescents are prohibited to work and
children are prohibited to help in family or family enterprises
Part B
It covers an additional list of
occupations and processes where children are prohibited to help in family or
family enterprises. The Schedule of Hazardous Occupations and Processes.
PENCiL (Platform for Effective
Enforcement for No Child Labour)
The Ministry has developed an online portal PENCiL (Platform for
Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) which is functional w.e.f.
26.09.2018. The purpose of this portal is to provide for a mechanism for both
enforcement of the legislative provisions and effective implementation of the
National Child Labour Project (NCLP).
The Portal has the components like
Complaint Corner, State Government, NCLP, Child Tracking System, and
Convergence.
Now, complaint of child labour can be
registered electronically on the Portal to the concerned District Nodal
Officers (DNOs) for taking prompt action. (www.pencil.gov.in)
National Child Labour Project (Nclp) Scheme
1. Government had started the
National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme in 1988 to rehabilitate working
children in the child labour endemic districts of the country. As on date the
Scheme is sanctioned in 313 districts of 21 states in the country.
2. The NCLP scheme is a Central
Sector scheme. Under the scheme, project societies are set up at the district
level under the Chairpersonship of the Collector/District Magistrate for
overseeing the implementation of the project. Under the NCLP Scheme, children
in the age group of 9-14 years, withdrawn from work are put into Special
Training Centers, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational
training, mid-day meal, stipend, health-care facilities etc. and finally
mainstreamed to the formal education system.
·
Children
in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education
system through a close coordination with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
·
Adolescent
labour identified in the age group of 14 to 18 years working in hazardous
occupations /process are provided with vocational training opportunities
through existing scheme of skill developments. In addition, efforts are also
made to target the families of these children so as to cover them under various
developmental and income/employment generating programmes of the Government to
raise the economic standard of the family.
·
At
present, there are around 3000 NCLP training centres being run in the country
with an enrolment of approximately 1.20 lakh children. Since inception about
13.00 lakh working children have already been mainstreamed to regular education
system under the NCLP Scheme.
·
To
ensure involvement of State Government in implementation and monitoring of the
NCLP Scheme and to make awareness generation activities to curb the menace of
child labour it has been decided to form State Resource Centre (SRC) in every
State/UT under the Chairmanship of State Labour Secretary.
The PENCil portal developed by the Ministry connects Central
Governments, Districts and all Project Societies. The SRCs will coordinate and
monitor the implementation of the NCLP Scheme in their respective State through
PENCiL portal and also update its reports on the portal. Government has
enhanced the amount of stipend from Rs.150/- to Rs.400/- per month per child,
rates of honorarium for volunteers and other parameters of the scheme. Further,
the volunteers involved in the scheme would be provided incentive on the basis
of their performance. This new initiative would motivate them to improve their
quality and efficiency. Government has simplified the guidelines for
implementation of NCLP Scheme and decided to expand the coverage of the Scheme
in all districts having incidence of child labour.
The Ministry of Labour &
Employment has issued instructions to State Governments for conducting survey
on child labour in such districts where there is a possibility of incidence of
child labour.
Guidelines of NCLP Scheme Recent
Modifications in the Scheme Convergence of Government Programmes: As Child
labour is an outcome of various social economic problems such as
poverty, economic backwardness, lack
of access to basic services, illiteracy etc, the Government is taking very
focused and concerted efforts towards the convergence of the on-going
developmental schemes at the Central Government, State Government and the
District level. Government of India initiatives to bestow certain rights and
schemes for Employment Generation and Social Security are all part of the
efforts to eliminate child labour. Under the revised NCLP guidelines, much
emphasis has been given for its convergence with Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and
other schemes.
School uniforms and text books to
each child in the NCLP schools (STCs) is sought for under SSA whereas
nutritious cooked mid-day meal is ensured though Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme of
the Government.
The provision of primary health care
including health check-ups and maintenance of health cards is also provided
through School Health Programme under NRHM.
The educational rehabilitation of the
children is also to be supplemented with economic rehabilitation of their
families.
Involvement Of Various Ministries As Comrades To Fight
Against Child Labour
The Government is adopting a
sequential approach with focus on proper rehabilitation of not only the working
children but their families also through revised NCLP scheme and convergence of
various developmental schemes of the Government.
Ministry of Women and Child
Development
To provide for food and shelter to
the children withdrawn from work through their schemes of Shelter Homes, etc as
part of the Integrated Child Protection Programme.
Ministry of Rural Development
To provide employment opportunities
to the parents of the children near their place of residence under MGNREGA.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food
and Public Distribution
To provide subsidized food grains
under the Food Security Act. Re-alignment of NCLP Scheme with RTE Act, 2009
With the enactment of Right to Education Act, 2009, there has been a
need for realignment of the NCLP Scheme
with the provisions of RTE Act, 2009.
Ministry of Human Resource
Development vide
their letter No. 10-4/2009-EE.4 dated 2.7.2010 intimated that the NCLP Schools
can serve as special training centres for unenrolled and out of school children
in accordance with the provisions of Section 4 of the RTE Act and Rule 5 of the
Right of Children for free and compulsory education (RTE) Rules, 2010.
Important Judgements on CHILD LABOUR
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has
issued various directions to the State Governments for effective participation
in eradicating Child Labour which include
i.
completion
of survey of children working in hazardous employments;
ii.
payment
of compensation amounting to Rs.20,000 – Rs. 50000 and/or with jail time of
between six months to two years, for the offending employer for every child
employed in contravention of the provisions of the Act.
Rehabilitation & Welfare Fund
The constitution of a separate cell
in the Labour Department of the appropriate Government for the purpose of monitoring.
Provision of Child & Adolescent
Labour Rehabilitation Fund
Ø In order to give the statutory back
up for the rehabilitation Fund, the Government has made a provision in the
Child Labour (Prohibition of Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 for constitution
of Child & Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund at district level to
ensure that child and adolescent is not only rescued but his future is secured
by the amount collected in fund for his welfare and education.
Ø The amount of fine realized from the
employer of the child or adolescent shall be credited in the rehabilitation
Fund and an amount of fifteen thousand will also be credited by the appropriate
Government for each of the child or adolescents rescued from work.
The ILO Convention On Child Labour Policy
India ratified ILO conventions No.138
(minimum age of entry to employment) and 182 (worst form of child labour) on
13.06.2017.
The ratification of the Convention
No.138 and 182 move a step ahead in the direction of achieving the goal of eradication
of child labour from the country as it would be legally binding to comply with
the provisions of the Conventions.
By ratifying these two core
conventions, India joins majority of the countries who have adopted the
legislation to prohibit and impose severe restrictions on the employment and
work of children.
Article Information
A Discourse on Child Labour Policy in India (By- Sulochana Anu)
Authors: Sulochana Anu
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/07/20
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
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