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The Indian Constitution says that child labor is a wrong practice and standards should be set by law to eliminate it. The Child Labor Act of 1986 implemented by the government of India makes child labor illegal in many regions and sets the minimum age of employment at 14 years. No wonder the barely 10-year-old Raju at the dhaba said he was 14. Exploiters threaten kids in many ways and the child has no way out but to lie to keep his “job.” IndiaBy: Brandon Royall/ Camry Lafayette
2011-2012 news paper Child Labor In India • India, an IT giant and the world's second-fastest growing major economy, has millions of Rajus: all under 14 years of age, some as young as 4 or 5, and all toiling hard just to get a square meal to keep body and soul from parting company. Child labor is a dagger through India's soul. The country has the dubious distinction of being home to the largest child labor force in the world, with an estimated 30 percent of the world's working kids living here.
WORKDAY • Most India street children work. In Jaipur, a common job is rag-picking, in which boys and girls as young as 6 years old sift through garbage in order to collect recyclable material. The children usually wake before dawn and carry their heavy load in a large bag over their shoulder. Children can be seen alongside pigs and dogs searching through tr
WORKDAY • Generally the minimum age for employment is 13 years. This is lowered to 11 years where the child carries out supervised delivery work that involves delivering newspapers, advertising material or similar items between the hours of 6am and 6pm .
Why They Work • Most affected by poverty and social inequality are India’s children, millions of whom have lost one or both parents. Orphaned and abandoned children live on the streets or in underfunded institutions. In some cases, children who remain in their homes are forced to take on the role of a deceased parent, leaving school to find jobs – including migrant work.
Kumar’s Story • Arun Kumar is a 14 year old boy who • lives with his uncle and two younger siblings in Amni village, a day’s journey by bus from Patna, the Bihar state capital. • Two days before we met, Kumar had been returned home by a local nonprofit organization, supported by Save the Children, from a rice mill in the state of Haryana, where he had been working 18-hour days, seven days a week. He had been paid 800 rupees (a bit less than $20) a month.
Family/home life • WSWS correspondents spoke to some child labourers in Chennai about their working and living conditions. Ramesh, 14, lives with his mother and younger sister in Ayanavaram, a Chennai suburb. His mother works in an embroidery company and earns 100 rupees ($US2) per day. “Her work starts at 10 am and she returns home at 9 pm. There is no work for her many days. I studied up to 6th standard, but I found it difficult to continue my studies. When I was 11 years I took this job in order to learn mechanical work. My work starts at 9 am and finishes at 7 pm. I get paid 50 rupees ($1) per week”. • Parvathi, 12, lost her parents at a young age. Her elder sister Selvi is 16. “Our mother’s elder sister sent us to a Christian mission hostel. There we ate only low quality rice and rasam every day. Apart from study time, we used to do washing and cleaning. Since we didn’t want to stay in the hostel any longer, our auntie took us home. She persuaded my sister to get a job in a leather company and I found a job in an export company. I get paid 800 rupees ($16) per month.” • For her work in the leather factory, Selvi gets 900 rupees ($18) a month. “Since I started this job I have been suffering from breathlessness. I often fall sick and have to go to a government hospital for treatment. I have become slim as a result,” she said.
Laws for child workers • The most violated human rights are children rights. Around 185,000 children are working as domestic labour (2001 census). Is the most highlighted problem globally. The children’s are being forced in many labour works, domestic works, bonded labour, rag picking, forced to work in roadside eateries, prostitution, in factories etc. Causes:Poverty, child trafficking, ignorance of parents, discrimination of gender, children are easily targeted only for the reason that they cannot raise their voice as adults. Child Labourlawa India :Children who are engaged in labour work for economic gains, harmful works or hazardous works below the age of 14 years.In India there are many Laws enacted to protect the rights of children which are as follows:The Child Labour Act, 1986.The Factories Act, 1948The Mines Act, 1952The Bonded Labour System Abolition ActConstitutional provisions:Article 24 provides: strictly prohibits children to work in hazardous environment.Article 21, 45 gives the right to education to all the children below the age of 14years.Article 39 declares the duty of the State to provide the children a free and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity.
Educational opportunities • Illiteracy and inter-generational povertyChild labor perpetuates inter-generational poverty and hinders the achievement of education for all. Often the parents of child laborers were child laborers themselves, who grew up to be semi-skilled, illiterate or semi-literate, and unemployed or underemployed adults. Their poverty compelled them to send their own children to work prematurely, thereby jeopardizing the future of their children. Child labor robs children of educational opportunities that impart the knowledge and skills they need to obtain better jobs as adults. It is difficult to escape from inter-generational trap of child labor and poverty
Average age of teens working The Indian government has taken a step forward by enacting a law to ban domestic work and some other forms of labor by children under age 14, Human Rights Watch said today. The law goes into effect on October 10, but to be effective, the Indian authorities will need to improve upon their weak enforcement of existing child labor protections.
Dangers for teen workers • Working in factors with all of and dusts and the betting. • And working in the dumps and with all the bulldozers and all the glass and all the diseases and things cold fall on you. • And working on the streets that people cold kid nape you and kill you and you cold gent rune over.
