Chapter I
Introduction
The term ‘child labour' is used for employment below a certain age, which is considered illegal by law and customs. The age parameter of child labour varies from country to country and government to government. Child labour is a world phenomenon which is considered exploitative and illegal by many international organizations. According to India Survey, child labour means children under 14 years of age having to do work that is physically or mentally harmful and interrupt their education and social development. In the first half of the 19 century the factory act passed in Britain was the first general law against child labour.
Globally, 250 or more million children work in different sectors. Rural areas also included, it stands at 318 million. Poverty, debt, cheap labour, irreplaceable skills, vested interests of employers are the primary factors of child labour. But poverty and lack of education is the main barrier/problem of children which propels them towards factories, companies etc. without regard to the hazards of disease, injuries and accident.
This introductory chapter speaks of the rationale of the research study and a brief note about the study area.
1.1 Rationale of the Research Study
In 1996, “Minsan Lang Sila Bata”, an award winning documentary depicting the plight of child workers in the Philippines was shown on national television. It aroused a viewing public, most of whom were still unmindful of this phenomenon. The title alone vividly captures the opportunities lost by the youth when forced to work for survival. Economic theory has always emphasized the role of human capital for sustained economic growth. Global economic development in the coming decades will be contingent on how our youth will be prepared for greater productivity in their years of maturity. Isn’t child labour then really jeopardizing our country’s future?
With a growing awareness and response of both the public and private sectors on child labour incidence in the country, it is quite timely to undertake a national policy study to review the important research studies available on child labour and to assess key government policies and programmes responding to and affecting this phenomenon. Specifically, this study aims to:
- provide an overview of the nature, extent and predominant forms of child labour in the country based on available data disaggregated by age, sex, geographic distribution, industry, occupation
- analyze, with a gender-sensitive perspective, of the underlying causes of child labour, particularly economic factors (macroeconomic situation, poverty, labour market conditions) and issues relating to education (non-availability of schools, quality of education, etc.).
- perform an econometric and statistical analysis of the determinants of the prevalent forms of child labour at the cross section level
- review the international and national policies concerning child labour and assessment of the adequacy of policy responses towards the elimination of child labour
- examine the implications of the current child labour situation for the achievement of national development objectives
- review of child labour interventions in the country with a view to identifying best practices, replicable approaches and lessons learnt
- propose policy recommendations and an agenda for further research
1.2 A Brief Note about the Study Area
Tanuku is a good educational center as well as a business hub. There are a number of schools, colleges, vocational training institutes besides a large number of industrial units.
The town is inhabited by varied caste groups and people of different religions. There are a number of slums with a large migrant population who had come to the town in pursuit of a living. The total population is over a lakh excluding the suburban parts.
The irony is that in spite of the affluence, educational advances and industrial development of the town there lies in its close neighbourhood heartrending incidence of the evil practice of child labour. The social work researcher sincerely hopes the practice will be duly eradicated by the interference of state legislation and public initiatives. For effective analysis of data, the social work researcher has applied a computer package namely SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). This helps to throw light on the socio – economic dimensions of the practice of child labour and its implications with reference to Tanuku town.
Chapter II
Review of Literature
This chapter contains excerpts on definition, concept, significant characteristics, history, magnitude, causes, forms and initiatives pertaining to child labour from available literature.
2.1 Definitions and Concept
Asshad Ahmed’s ‘Child Labour in India: A Political Legal Study’ is a socio-economic and political-legal study having deep bearing on child labour in India. In fact it has become an acute and complex problem in our society and in spite of several laws prohibiting child labour in the industry, domestic affairs and elsewhere, there appears to little improvement in this direction. The author has weaved the whole theme comprehensively into seven chapters. They deal with meaning and concept of child labour and the magnitude of the problem.
Usha Sarma in her book ‘Child Labour in India’ comments that child labor in India is a human rights issue for the whole world. It is a serious and extensive problem, with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making factories, glass blowing units and making fireworks with bare little hands. According to the statistics given by Indian government there are 20 million child laborers in the country, while other agencies claim that it is 50 million.
L Mishra’s ‘Child Labour in India’ studies and analyzes the most recent reports on child labor in industries across the country to provide the first and fullest macro-perspective of the nature and scale of this pervasive and tragic problem.
The book ‘Rights of the Child in the Context of Tourism’ expresses the view that the most serious causes of the prevalence of child labour in India are livelihood and poverty as children are economic assets of poor families. In "Incredible India!" tourism is one more realm that pulls in a significant number of child labourers.
‘The Small Hands of Slavery: Bonded Child Labour in India’ by Estes and Weiner throws light on the commercial and sexual exploitation of children all over the world.
‘Combating Child Labour: Legal Approach’ by S Wal emphasizes the need to “create an awareness among the people of the continuing curse of child labour and to pressurize the power that be to implement various Constitutional guarantees and pieces of legislation aimed at the eradication of child labour”.
The Indian Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade issued a voluminous report entitled ‘Child Labour in India: A Perspective’. The report describes the factual situation of the exploitation of child labourers.
In a study of ‘Child Labour in India's Carpet Industry’, Levison et al (1996) found that "there is a competitive cost advantage to hiring child labour with its magnitude relatively small for industrialized country sellers”.
Ms Rama Ghosh, of the VV Giri National Labour Institute in the Ministry of Labour, India, explained that the Ministry of Labour in India is carrying out various activities to eliminate child labour and coordinates child labour related legislations.
‘Child Labour’ (Issue 1) by California Legislative Assembly finds that evidence from Egypt and India suggests that the own-wage elasticity of child labor is positive and higher for younger children. For rural India, the own-wage elasticity was estimated at about 0.8.
2.2 Historical Perspective
Edith Abbott’s: "A study of the Early History of Child Labour in America" is an informative book on the history of child labour in the American continent.
S Wal’s ‘Child Labour in Various Industries’ describes the history and conditions of child labour in India right from the time of Indian Factories Act.
‘The Pivot of Civilization in Historical Perspective’ by Margaret Sanger on the history of child labor in the English factories in the nineteenth century throws a suggestive light on this situation.
‘Helping Your Child Learn History’ elucidates how laws were made against child labor and for mandatory schooling when America was becoming a manufacturing economy, during the Industrial Revolution.
2.3 Nature of Child Labour
India continues to host the largest number of child labourers in the world today.
According to the Census 2001, there were 12.7 million economically active children in the age-group of 5-14 years. The number was 11. 3 million during 1991 (Population Census) thus showing an increase in the number of child labourers. Workers in general are classified into main and marginal workers by the population census. Census data shows that there is a decline in the absolute number as well the percentage of children (aged 5-14 years) to total population in that age group classified as main workers from 4.3 percent in 1991 to 2.3 percent in 2001. But there was a substantial increase in marginal workers in every category of workers irrespective of sex and residence. As a result, despite the number of main workers declining from 9.08 million in 1991 to 5.78 million in 2001, the total number of children in the work force increased. A large part of the increase was accounted for by the increase in marginal workers, which increased from 2.2 million in 1991 to 6.89 million in 2001. The trends between 1991 and 2001 of declining main child workers along with increasing marginal workers may indicate the changing nature of work done by children. This is also to be seen in the context of decelerating employment growth in general in the economy during the last decade.
The Department of Statistics, Government of India, organized a pilot time use survey in six states of India between July, 1998, and June, 1999. This study was conducted in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya. The time-use survey shows that boys and girls spend 21.46 hours a week on SNA activities, which is about 47 percent of the time spent by an adult on SNA activities. Girls (6-14) participate in extended SNA activities much more than participant men of all ages. Thus, while girls spend 13.01 hours on household management, 10.64 hours on community services and 11.17 hours on care activities, the corresponding data on time spent by men are 6.76 hours, 7.99 hours and 6.12 hours respectively.
More significantly, analyzing the data, Indira Hirway states that “more than 32 percent ‘nowhere’ children, who do not go to school, are largely engaged in economic or in extended economic activities. In the case of girls, their low attendance in school is not only due to their participation in economic activities but also due to the responsibilities borne by them in extended SNA activities.”
2.4 Forms of Child Labour
Whilst child labour takes many different forms, a priority is to eliminate without delay the worst forms of child labour as defined by Article 3 of ILO Convention 182:
(a) All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) The use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
Labour that jeopardizes the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out is known as “hazardous work”.
2.5 Magnitude of Child Labour
There is across the board decline in the incidence of child labour in the Southern and Western Indian States and UTs between 1991 and 2001. However, there has been an increasing trend in the Eastern and North Indian States and UTs. While the Kerala and Tamil Nadu stories are well known, it is heartening to see that the state of Andhra Pradesh, that had a dubious distinction of having the largest child labour force in the country, shows very remarkable reduction in work-force participation, along with a dramatic increase in the enrollment of children in school.
Surprising is the case of Himachal Pradesh, which has shown significant increases in school attendance and in literacy levels. However, there is a dramatic increase in the percentage of children in the age-group 5-14 years who are classified as workers, both main and marginal
2.6 Causes and Consequences of Child Labour
Causes: Some common causes of child labor are poverty, parental illiteracy, social apathy, ignorance, lack of education and exposure, exploitation of cheap and unorganized labor. The family practice to inculcate traditional skills in children also pulls little ones inexorably in the trap of child labor, as they never get the opportunity to learn anything else.
Absence of compulsory education at the primary level, parental ignorance regarding the bad effects of child labor, the ineffictivity of child labor laws in terms of implementation, non availability and non accessibility of schools, boring and unpractical school curriculum and cheap child labor are some other factors which encourage the phenomenon of child labor. It is also very difficult for immature minds and undeveloped bodies to understand and organize themselves against exploitation in the absence of adult guidance.
Poverty and over population have been identified as the two main causes of child labor. Parents are forced to send little children into hazardous jobs for reasons of survival, even when they know it is wrong. Monetary constraints and the need for food, shelter and clothing drives their children in the trap of premature labor. Over population in some regions creates paucity of resources. When there are limited means and more mouths to feed children are driven to commercial activities and not provided for their development needs. This is the case in most Asian and African countries.
Illiterate and ignorant parents do not understand the need for wholesome and proper physical, cognitive and emotional development of their child. They are themselves uneducated and unexposed, so they don’t realize the importance of education for their children.
Adult unemployment and urbanization also cause child labor. Adults often find it difficult to find jobs because factory owners find it more beneficial to employ children at cheap rates. This exploitation is particularly visible in garment factories of urban areas. Adult exploitation of children is also seen in many places. Elders relax at home and live on the labor of poor helpless children.
The industrial revolution has also had a negative effect by giving rise to circumstances which encourage child labor. Sometimes multinationals prefer to employ child workers in the developing countries. This is so because they can be recruited for less pay, more work can be extracted from them and there is no union problem with them. This attitude also makes it difficult for adults to find jobs in factories, forcing them to drive their little ones to work to keep the fire burning in their homes.
Consequences:
· Stunted growth of future generation
· Inability to harness human resources
· Inability to contribute to development
· Inability to benefit from development
· Citizens with accumulated frustration
· Adult unemployment
· Depreciation in wages
· Perpetuation of poverty
· Persistence of child labour
· Perpetuation of economic inequality
· Increased abuse of children
· Increased illiteracy
· Ignorant populace
· Citizens with inferiority complex
· Malnourished citizens
· Sick citizens
· Political instability
· Early morbidity of citizens
· Mental deformity of citizens
· Perpetuation of ill treatment
· Inter generational phenomenon of child labour
· Increased bottlenecks in the development process
· Wasted human resources
· Wasted human talents and skills
· Scientists, artists and persons of eminence lost to child labour
2.7 Initiatives for the Eradication of Child Labour
As per Article 24 of the Constitution, no child below the age of 14 years is to be employed in any factory, mine or any hazardous employment. Further, Article 39 requires the States to direct its policy towards ensuring that the tender age of children is not abused and that they are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength. Recently, with the insertion of Article 21A, the State has been entrusted with the task of providing free and compulsory education to all the children in the age group of 6-14 years. Consistent with the Constitutional provisions, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986, which seeks to prohibit employment of children below 14 years in hazardous occupations and processes and regulates the working conditions in other employments. In the last 5 years, the number of hazardous processes listed in the schedule of the Act has increased from 18 to 57 and occupations from 7 to 13. A National Policy on Child Labour was announced in 1987 which emphasized the need for strict enforcement measures in areas of high child labour concentration. In order to translate the above policy into action, the Government of India initiated the National Child Labour Project Scheme in 1988 to rehabilitate the working children starting with 12 child labour endemic districts of the country. Under the Scheme, working children are identified through child labour survey, withdrawn from work and put into the special schools, so as to provide them with enabling environment to join mainstream education system. In these Special Schools, besides formal education, they are provided stipend @ Rs.100/- per month, nutrition, vocational training and regular health check ups. In addition, efforts are also made to target the families of these children so as to cover them under various developmental and income/employment generation programmes of the Government. The Scheme also envisages awareness generation campaigns against the evils of child labour and enforcement of child labour laws.
ILO launched IPEC Programme in 1991 to contribute to the effective abolition of child labour in the world. India was the first country to sign MOU in 1992. The INDUS Project envisages direct interventions in the identified 21 districts spread across five states for identification and rehabilitation of child labour. The strategy under the project is to complement and build up on the existing government initiatives.
