I NEED AN ARTICLE ON CHILD LABOUR

Here are a few points on which you could elaborate. Hope that helps!

  • Violence against children knows no boundaries. Violence cuts across race, class, religion and culture. In every country of the world there are children who continue to fear and experience violence. No country or region is immune.

  • Violence against children is never justifiable or acceptable. States are obligated to protect all children from all forms of violence. International human rights law is based on respect for every person’s human dignity. Children, as people, should receive no less protection than adults.

  • In over 100 countries, children still suffer the threat or reality of corporal punishment with canes, belts or other implements in sc hools.

  • In at least 30 countries, sentences of whipping or caning are still being imposed on children in penal systems.

  • Children are most frequently sexually abused by someone they know, often a member of their own family. Harmful traditional practices are generally imposed on children at an early age by family or community leaders. Much of this violence is hidden behind closed doors or because of shame or fear.

  • Frequently, children experience physical, cruel or humiliating punishment in the context of discipline. Insults, name-calling, isolation, rejection, threats, emotional indifference and belittling are all forms of violence that can damage a child's well-being.

  • Fighting and bullying are also examples of violence against children in schools. Often bullying is associated with discrimination against students from poor families or marginalized groups, or those with particular personal characteristics such as appearance or a disability.

  • 10

Introduction

Child labourers are exploited, exposed to hazardous work conditions and paid a pittance for their long hours of work. They belong to the unorganized labour force. The Constitution of India says that:

Child labourers are exploited, exposed to hazardous work conditions and paid a pittance for their long hours of work. They belong to the unorganized labour force. The Constitution of India says that:

(a) No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any hazardous employment (Article 24)

(b) Childhood and youth are to be protected against exploitation and against moral and material aban�donment (Article 39 (f)).

(c) The State shall endeavour to provide within a period of 10 year from the commencement of the Constitution free and compulsory education for all children until they have completed the age of 14 years (Article 45).

A survey conducted by a research group sponsored by the Ministry of Labour, Government of India (Joshi, 1986) has reported that of the estimated 102.3 million households in the country, 34.7% had working children.

Seventy nine per cent working children are in the rural areas. Two thirds of the working children belong to the 12-15 years age-group and the rest are below 12 years. A survey conducted by the Operations Research Group (ORG) Baroda (Vadodara) in 1985 had put the figure of working children at 44.5 million.

2. Nature of Child Work

A majority of the working children are found in rural area. In urban areas, they are found in canteens/restau�rants, or are found engaged in picking rags and hawking goods on foot-path. But some children are working in highly hazardous conditions.

For examples fireworks and match box units in Sivakasi in Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu employ 45,000 children. A large number of children are working in stone polishing units in Jaipur, brassware industry in Moradabad, lock making units in Aligarh, Slate- industry in Markapur (Andhra Pradesh), Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh) and the carpet-making in Jammu and Kashmir.

3. Government’s Policies for Enacting Lass against Child Labor

The first Act to regulate the employment of children and their hours of work was the Factory Act of 1881. A Commission was established in 1929 to fix the minimum age of child employment, on whose recommendation, the Child Labour Act 1933 was passed prohibiting employment of children below 14 yeas of age.

The Factory Act of 1948 provided some safeguards to child labourers. In 1986, the Parliament enacted the Child Labour Act (Regulation and Prohibition), planning the employment of children in certain jobs and regulating the condition of work in hazardous occupations. The Juvenile Justice Act came into force on October 2, 1987 after superseding different Children 's Act of different States/UTs.

India has ratified six ILO conventions relating to labour and three of them as early as in the first quarter of the 20th century. Through a Notification dated 27 January 1999, the Schedule to the Child Labour (Prohibi�tion and Regulation) Act, 1986, has been substantially enlarged bringing the total number of occupations and processes listed in the Schedule 13 and 51 respectively.

The National Policy on Child Labour was formulated in 1987 which enforces legal actions to protect the interests of children, makes development programmes for the benefit of child labour and projects based plan of action in the areas of high concentration of child labour. National Child Labour Projects (NCLP) has been set up to rehabilitate child labour.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in their meeting on January 20, 1999 approved continuance of the scheme of National Child Labour Project (NCLP) during the Ninth Plan. The CCEA also approved the increase in the number of such projects from 76 to 100.

The Government 's commitment to address the problem of child labour is reflected in the statement of National Agenda for Governance (1998), where it says that no child should remain illiterate, hungry/lack medical care and that measures will be taken to eliminate child labour.

The Supreme Court of India in its judgement dated December 10, 1986 has directed to pay compensation of Rs 20,000 by the offending employers for every child employed in hazardous occupations. Efforts will be made to modify the existing National Child Labour Project under the Ninth Plan.


hop dis hepls u ♥♥

  • 6

Can we eliminate child labour? Though it is a desirable goal the fact remains that in the given socio-economic scenario that is prevalent in our country, it is virtually impossible to do away with child labour. One cannot dispute the fact that employers exploit children by paying them much less than what they would pay in adult and the future of the working children is ruined as they will not be able to attend schools and get educated for a better future.

But when one considers the economic compulsions of the families which force the children to work, one will be compelled to admit that elimination of child labour will be a distant dream as long as the socio-economic status of these families is not improved.

Realizing the harm caused by child labour, the Indian Government made laws to protect children from exploitation at work and to improve their working condition. Besides, a comprehensive law called Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. 1986, was promulgated to prohibit employment of children in certain hazardous occupations and processes.

In 1987, the Indian government formulated National Police on Child Labour to protect the interests of children and focus on general development programmes for the benefit of children. As a part of this policy National Child Labour Projects have been set up in different parts of the country to rehabilitate child labour. Under these projects, special schools are established to prove non-formal education, vocational training, supplementary nutrition etc. to children who are withdrawn from employment.

Though elimination of child labour is an impossible task in the current socio-economic scenario, the Indian government is committed to the task of ensuring that no child remains illiterate, hungry and without medical care. When this ideal will be achieved is a million dollar question.

The development countries are exerting pressure on developing countries like India to eliminate child labour. According to the current thinking the developed countries may stop imports of those goods that involve child labour in their production. In some of our cottage industries like making of carpets, children are employed in larger numbers. These carpets, which are being exported, may soon lose their market abroad if the producers of these carpets persist with child labour.

Child labour is, no doubt, an evil that should be done away with at the earliest. The prevalence of child labour reflects very badly on society that is not able to stop this evil. But in a society where many households may have to suffer the pangs of hunger if the children are withdrawn from work, beggars can’t be choosers. These families have to send their children to work, even if the future of these innocents is ruined, as that is the only choice open for them to survive in this world. Therefore, unless the socio-economic status of the poor families is improved, India has to live with child labour.

  • 9

 Just read u can understand all thing

  • 6

Do you know that of every 100 children in the world today, 16 of them are child labourers, 12 of them are in its worst form, and many will never go to school? There are 246 million child labourers in the world today, most are in developing countries. Some of them are as young as 5, 186 million of them are under 15 and 170 million of them are doing hazardous work and operating dangerous tools or machineries. They are working on farms, plantations, mines, or even construction site, breathing in noxious fumes and exposed to harsh chemicals or dangers. Of every 100 children, more than half will never finish school, escape poverty or even have a decent job. Let me begin by clearly explaining the meaning of the term "child labour". Child labour is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. This practice is considered exploitative by many countries and international organizations. Child labour was utilized to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the beginning of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during industrialization, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers ' and children 's rights. So, how can we stop child labour? We can solve these problems by improving child labour legislation and laws and also by increasing the quality, relevance and access to education. Many countries have national child labour laws that establish a minimum age for work and regulate working conditions. However legal protection for child labourers is not effective to the kinds of work children are most involved in, such as agriculture and domestic service. In addition, labour laws in many countries do not cover factories employing less than ten people. It is, therefore, important to extend protection so that laws cover the main places where children work. Education is also a key to ending the exploitation of children. If an education system is to attract and retain children, its quality and relevance must be improved as well. Children who attend school are less likely to be involved in hazardous or exploitative work. They are also more likely to break out of cycles of poverty. The main obstacle to achieving universal primary education is only the inability and/or the unwillingness of governments to provide quality educational facilities for poor children in rural areas and in city shantytowns, because evidence from around the world has shown that poor families are willing to make sacrifices to send their children to school when it is economically and physically accessible. In conclusion, child labour should not happen as our greatest "natural resource" is the mind of the children. If child labour continues, the children will not be able to get a good education and our society cannot improve. So, let 's put our hand together to stop child labour.

  • 8
What are you looking for?