Innocent Laborers....

India is sadly the home to the largest number of child laborers in the world. The increasing between the rich and the poor, privatisaton of basic services and neo-liberal economic policies are causes of major sections of the population out of the employment and without basic needs. This adversely affect  children more than any other group of society.

Various growing concerns have pushed children out of school and into employment such as forced displacement due to development projects, socio-economic zones , loss of jobs of parents in a slowdown, farmer’s suicide, aroused conflicts, and high cost of health care. Poverty and lack of social security are the main causes of child labour. The persistence of child labour is due to inefficiency of the laws that meanst to protect the children from hazardous labour. Such laws are not complemented correctly. There are loopholes in the administrative system because of which the actual number of child labourers goes un-detected. Lack of quality of universal education has also contributed to children dropping out of school and entering the labour force. Entry of multinationals into the industry without proper mechanism to hold the accountable has lead to the use of child labour.

Child labour is seen highest amont schedule tribes, Muslims, schedule castes and OBC children in India. The conditions in which children work is completely unregulated and they are often made to work without food, and at very low wages, resembling situations of slavery. Innocent labourers are seen working in areas such as beedi-rolling, brick kilns, carpet weaving, construction,  fire-works and matchstick factories, hybrid cotton seed production, leather factories, mines, quarries, silk and synthetic fiber production , etc. child labour is encouraged by employers who benefit by reducing general wage levels. The growing phenomenon is using children as domestic workers in urban areas. There are reported cases of physical, social and emotional abuse of child domestic workers. Child labourers are constant victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

Bonded child labour is a hidden phenomenon as a majority of them are found in the informal sector. Bonded child labourers are at very high risks for physical and sexual abuse and neglect sometimes leading to death. Child labour may also lead to trafficking of children.

There should be harsh penalties imposed on people involved and encouraging child labour. The loopholes in administrative system should be mended. Multinationals should be held accountable and penalized for using child labourers. By giving money, food, healthcare and other facilities parents can be lured to push their children back to school from factories.