CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA - NATIONAL CHILD LABOUR PROJECT SCHEME - WHY CHILD LABOUR REFUSES TO GO AWAY ?

       UNITED NATIONS considers , " Any work carried out to detriment and engage children (5-14 years) is violation of International law and national legislation and if the work deprives them of schooling or puts them under dual burden of schooling and work is CHILD LABOUR. " 

       1,44,783 Child labourers rescued , rehabilitated in last 3 years and mainstreamed under National Child Labour Project Scheme during the last 3 years . 30979 child labourers , 47635 child labourers and 66169 child labourers were rescued , rehabilitated and mainstreamed in 2016 -17 , 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively .

 1. The government is following a holistic and multipronged strategy for elimination of child labour completely , which is an outcome of various social economic problems such as poverty , economic backwardness and illiteracy.

2. According to the 3rd end of childhood Index 2019 , a part of changing lives in our lifetime- Global Childhood Report 2019.

3. India was ranked 113 in 176 countries on the well being of children with 769 score out of 1000. The Index was released on May 28 , 2019 by "SAVE THE CHILDREN " , a United Kingdom based non-profit organization which works for child rights.

4. The government has amended the Child Labour (PROHIBITION AND REGULATIONS ) Act, 1986 and enacted child labour (PROHIBITION AND REGULATIONS ) Amendment Act , 2016 which inter-alia covers complete prohibition on employment or work of children below 14 years of age in all occupations and process.

5. The 2016 Act prohibits the employment of Adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupation and process.

6. Government is implementing the NATIONAL CHILD LABOUR PROJECT (NCLP) SCHEME for the rehabilitation of child labour.

7.Under the NCLP scheme , children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP special training centre , where they are provided with bridge education , vocational training , mid-day meal , stipend health care etc. before being mainstreamed into the formal education system.

8. 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) . The "SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN " the dream project of the ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE GOVERNMENT was launched in 2001 to provide free and compulsory education to children between 6-14 years.

9. The WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR (12 JUNE ) is an INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO) initiative first launched in 2002 aiming to raise awareness and activism to prevent child labour.

10. Launched in 2017 by the government , platform for effective enforcement for No Child Labour portal has less than 1000 complaints being registered till now.

11. The 86th Amendment to the Constitution , 2002 aims to provide free and compulsory education to children of age group 6-14 years.

12. The setting up of the NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS (NCPLR ) was yet another big move. It works under the aegis of the women and child development ministry.

13. As per census data 2011 , the number of working children in the age group of 5-14 years is 1.01 crore. There are 22.87 million working children in India between 15-18 years.

14. 80% of the children labour in India is concentrated in rural areas.

15. ILO 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.

16. India ratified ILO convention no 138 ( minimum age for employment ) and convention no 182 (worst form of child labour ) in June 2017 , to symbolise it's commitment and initiative for the eradication of child labour and attainment of sustainable development goal 8.7 related with curbing of child labour.

17. ILO convention no 138 , which requires States to set a minimum age under which no one shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation , expert for light work and artistic performance.

18.ILO convention no 182 , India reaffirmed it's commitment for the prohibition and elimination of worst form of child labour including slavery , forced labour and trafficking ; the use of children in armed conflicts , use of children for prostitution , pornography and in illicit activities (drug trafficking ) and hazardous work.

      DIFFICULTY BIN COUNTERING CHILD LABOUR :

1. To effectively combat child labour , the centre in 2019 amended the child labour (PROHIBITION AND REGULATIONS ) Act , 1986 . While the amendment seeks to completely ban child labour , it allows children to render help in "FAMILY ENTERPRISES " and allows adolescents to work in certain occupation not considered hazardous.

2. Change in the nature of child labour , it is becoming more home based , difficulty in regulations.

3. India for a long time ignored the provisions of the ILO convention 138 that occupation (in which minors cannot ne employed ) should also include those which can reopendise the safety and morals of young persons.

4. It points out that the treatment meted out by employers can make a work environment hazardous.

5. Adolescence are not aware of the industries that are safe to work in.

6. Lot of children are susceptible to disease as they do waste collection without any safety gear.

7. Disbursal of the rehabilitation fund is not very timely , and the number of cases where disbursals take place is also very minimal due to the small number of cases that are registered under the law against child labour .

      WAY FORWARD : 

1. Better implementation of legal provisions.

2. Institutions of local governance like PANCHAYATI RAJ Institution should be sensitized and empowered toward prevention of child labour in their jurisdiction as well as rehabilitation of formal child labourers.

3. Proper counseling of parent is certainly a very crucial step awareness building programmes with parents and communities should be conducted through which people at large can understand the ill effects of child labour.

4. Implementation of livelihood like MGNREGA and others with all sincerity.

5. The private sector has a very important role to play in protecting children from harmful work, in improving conditions and removing hazards from the environment of young workers. We also believe that employers that are aware of the risks of harmful work for children and what is acceptable and not acceptable for a child on young workers to do , are crucial for the protection of children.

Thanking you..