Observation Visit – Phase I
Name of the Agencies :
Hotels, Rice Mills, Shops & Establishments & Prawn Processing Units
Period of Visit : 10 February 2011 & 11 February 2011
Time : From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
As the study is about child labour which is rampant in shops and establishments, hotels, rice mills etc. the social worker deemed it fit to make a pre-survey of the scenario of child labour in Tanuku town. After a discussion with the project guide, the daily visit schedule has been tentatively prepared and followed. The actual area where the child is working is visited. This is to trace the respondents for field work and responses to the schedule. Mostly these visits which span over a couple of days are observation-based to identify the names and addresses of the child labourers employed in different enterprises in the town. The social worker sometimes found resistance from the establishment owners as they are anxious that the social worker is some authority in a disguise. As the owners employing children receive fines under the Child Labour Act, a number of employers resisted to permit interaction with the child labourers in their establishments. But the social worker could convince them that it is only for an academic purpose that the study is being conducted and their identities would not be revealed under any circumstances.
This Observation Visit for two full days helped the social worker to gain the knowledge of the realities at the ground level of the workplace and to observe the feelings of the child labourers at work.
On the basis of the Observation Visit the children below fourteen years of age working in various business units in Tanuku town could be identified by the social worker along with their place of domicile. On the whole 111 children could be traced during the Observation Visit out of which a sample of 29 child labourers have been picked up for the survey. Child Labourers belonging to ten areas in Tanuku Municipal limits have been picked up as respondents for the survey at the rate of about four from each area on an average. This is as follows where due care has been taken to make the sample a representative sample.
S. No. Area Name of the Child Labourer
01 Sajjapuram 01. D. Lakshmi
02 Old Town 01. C Aashirwadam
02. P Ratna Kumar
03. Y Vinay
04. B Rambabu
03 Main Road 01. M Prasanna
02. T Santosh 03. J Mutyalu
04. Sheik Ismail
05. S Tulasi
06. N Sridevi
07. S Prakash
04 Housing Board Colony 01. I Sai
02. K Bharat
03. N Prem Kumar
05 Teachers’ Colony 01. Shahnaz
02. A Raghav
03. Jacob
04. R Ramani
06 Velpur Road 01. C Gunna Babu
02. A Mary
03. G Vijaya Kumari
04. M Venkateswarlu
05. B Joga Rao
06. L Vasu
07. K Yesu
07 Ikea Nagar 01. G Surya 02. P Madhu
03. V Balamma
This Observation Visit helped immensely to identify the respondents by their domicile in different areas of the town. This was very useful for the field survey that was conducted between 20 February 2011 and 27 March 2011 with intermittent gaps.
Comments:
The observation process involved various hardships and practical constraints especially to the social worker who is a woman. The employers of child labourers were not at all cooperative and were averse to allowing access to the information that the social worker sought to gather. The study and the proposed project helps to expose the scenario of child labour and also to explore the inherent dimensions involved in the employment of children below fourteen years. The employers of child labourers need to develop awareness of the social implications of their encouragement to the practice of child labour and must take a humanitarian stand with regard to extending cooperation to the social worker as such study will help ameliorate the pathetic condition of the victims of the evil practice of child labour and set their future right in a desirable direction.
Observation Visit – Phase II
Name of the Agency visited :
Office of the Labour Officer, Tanuku
Period of Visit : 19 February 2011
Time : From 10.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.
The social worker went to the Labour Officer of Tanuku town and met along with him the surveillance staff of the Department of Labour. Efforts have been made to elicit the reflections of the staff of the Labour Department regarding the position of child labour in Tanuku. Moreover, the measures taken by the department to eradicate the evil practice of child labour and punitive measures being taken by them with regard to those who hire child labourers, the frequency of their visits to the organizations to identify the employment of children below fourteen years of age in hazardous and heinous work, the process of booking cases and fines imposed by them have formed the issues of the talk with the officials concerned. This helped the social worker understand the scope of the Child Labour Protection Act and rehabilitation exercises initiated by the State and the initiatives of the non-governmental organizations as well as private trusts and foundations.
Comment:
During the Observation Visit, the social worker found that the Child Labour Protection Act is not properly implemented. Though a fine of Rs. 25,000/- is stipulated in the Act for those who employ children below 14 years of age, the employers are not deterred by the provisions of the Act. Child labour is cheap and the employers are able to reduce costs by hiring child labourers. They are manipulating the state machinery to their advantage and they are able to continue hiring children. No child labour schools are available in the town. Even if they were available, it is not easy to change the mindset of child labourers which has been corrupted by the apparent earnings and freedom of work. Periodic checks are essential to control and eradicate child labour. Otherwise all the statutory measures will amount only to paper protection. Empowerment is not possible without inspiration and motivation.
The Observation Visit greatly helped the social worker to take a look at the multiple faces of the problem of child labour.
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