Shankar Ias Academy: Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012

CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION)
AMENDMENT BILL, 2012

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) The major sectors in which child labour is largely
defines child labour as the work that deprives prevalent in India are, Diamond, Firework, Silk,
children of their childhood, their potential and Carpet, Mining and Domestic labour.
their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and
On 19 July 2016, The Child Labour (Prohibition &
mental development.
Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012, was approved
Further, it refers to work that is mentally, by the Parliament.
physically, socially or morally dangerous and
Features
harmful to children, or work whose schedule
interferes with their ability to attend regular The amendment seeks prohibition of employment
school, or work that affects in any manner their of all children under the age of 14 years of age
ability to focus on school or experience a healthy in line with the Right of Children to Free and
childhood. Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
In India, The Child Labour (Protection and It makes an exception for children helping their
Regulation) Act 1986 prohibits employment of family after school hours, in the fields or in home
children below 14 and 15 years in certain based work (home-based enterprises).
hazardous employments. Presently, there are 83
such employments, occupations or processes in The amendment defines a newly created category
which the employment of children is banned. of adolescents as individual between the age of
14 18 years of age and prohibits the employment
However, there are no laws to regulate the of adolescents in hazardous occupations and
working conditions of children in most of the hazardous processes as defined under the
employments where they are not prohibited Factories Act, 1948.
from working and are working under exploitative
conditions. It proposes the removal of provisions for the
regulating working conditions of children/
The 1998 national census of India estimated the adolescents under the Child Labour (Regulation
total number of child labour, aged 415, to be and Prohibition) Act, 1986.
at 12.6 million, while the 2011 national census
found the total number of child labour, aged It makes provisions for the enhancement of
514, had increased to 4.35 million, out of a total punishment for employing children or employing
child population of 253 million in that age group. adolescents in hazardous occupations.
SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY

The Best IAS Academy in South India SINCE 2004
This file is part of Shankar IAS Academy mobile Application. To access other files please download
Shankar IAS Academy App. available for Android, iphone and Windows.
The debatable issue Apart from the large agriculture sector, most other
instances of child labour is found in unregulated
The discussion around the Child Labour Bill
home-based enterprises and occupations like
has been addressed primarily as a labour issue carpet-weaving, lock manufacturing, beedi making
rather than an issue concerning children. and matchbox production. The lure of cheap
How would authorities keep a check on children labour, nimble hands and an apparent blanket
working in their homes? of legitimacy makes such outsourcing a tempting
proposition for unscrupulous middlemen. This
How would we differentiate between helping at could be a potential loophole through which
home and outsourced work from bigger vendors children over the age of 14 years are exploited.
to poor families?
The present law is only going to further push
How do we monitor quality of education, and working children into invisible, more exploitative
address the issue of token enrolment? forms of work. What is required is a detailed
understanding of why children are having to
How the very idea of children is i.e. persons below and in certain cases choosing to work rather
the age of 18 years working, legitimate? than pursuing education. The present education
system does not cater to the ground realities of
Govt Initiatives against child labour
children by providing a uniform solution.
The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the
What is required for formulating a effective and
employment of children below the age of 14 years
comprehensive law to address child labour is a
in any factory. The law also placed rules on who,
thorough needs assessment.
when and how long can pre-adults aged 1518
years be employed in any factory. With little or no access to basic necessities,
poverty, education that does not address
The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the
ground realities and poor welfare provisions and
employment of children below 18 years of age in
structures, working children and their families
a mine.
are left with no other choice.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Need of the Hour
Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment
of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous Eliminate all forms of child labour up to the age
occupations identified in a list by the law. The list of 18 years, failing which Indias recognition of
was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008. the 0-18 age group as children (according to the
UNCRC) becomes technically invalid.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection)
of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a Provisions for the exception of children to work
crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone in the field or home based work, be removed as
to procure or employ a child in any hazardous they it provides loopholes for exploitation and
employment or in bondage. regulation would be a challenge.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory The very demarcation of child labour as hazardous
Education Act of 2009: The law mandates free and non-hazardous in itself is ironic, as every
and compulsory education to all children aged 6 form of child labour inhibits her development.
to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that
Age-appropriate rehabilitation for children
25 percent of seats in every private school must
engaged in child labour, effective implementation
be allocated for children from disadvantaged
of the RTE Act and adequate budgetary allocations
groups and physically challenged children.
for education are crucial to address this issue.
SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY

Community participation in planning, The biggest loss due to child labour is education.
implementation and monitoring of services for The idea of children going to school and working
children, through mechanisms such as school simultaneously is unsustainable since they would
management committees (SMCs) and child be unable to balance the two as reflected in the
protection units (CPUs) are critical ways to high drop-out rates in the country (39.2% boys
prevent child labour. and 32.9% girls by Std VIII). It is unrealistic to
expect children to work and study at the same
Middlemen may devise new ways to involve
time.
children in employment through production
processes in households, so it is imperative While several child rights groups and individuals
that the sector has a close regulatory oversight demand a complete ban on child labour saying
through appropriate monitoring mechanisms. that all children have the right to and must enjoy
childhood and access education, it is important to
Punishment for parents of working children
keep in mind that these very children also have
must take into account factors such as poverty,
the right to life and it is often in this quest and
neglect, trafficking, etc.
struggle for their family and their own survival
that they are forced to /choose to work in order
to overcome and rise above their impoverished
realities.
*****
SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY


Shankar Ias Academy: Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Shankar Ias Academy: Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Shankar Ias Academy: Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION)

AMENDMENT BILL, 2012

SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY

SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY

SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY

You might also like