sofiabhambri
- Jun 7, 2021
- 6 min read

THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN AND CHILD LABOUR- ITS DETERMINANTS AND EFFECTS

Introduction

Child labour is the serious issue in current generation. The children those are working are deprived from their basic rights specially education which results in illiteracy ( the person who has 0% of knowledge of education, or the person who is unable to read or write.) due to child labour many socio- economic problems are increasing related to child health, education, adult labour, safety & welfare.

The poverty plays main role in increasing rate of child labour, poverty force the child & their family member to work to live and to get shelter and food. The main determinant of child labour is poverty. Poverty is the primary factor behind the child labour. In India there is 12.4 % of population lives in poverty. That’s the reason behind the increasing rate of child labour.

Aim of study:

The whole world reflects child labour a serious issue because:

The country must want to grow children educated as future soldiers, not as labour.
Children have basic rights to take education mentioned in Constitution of India not to work as labour.
Children must get the basic opportunities such as playing, taking education, travelling and a good lifestyle.
They are future of the country, they must have to take education today, at place of doing work. It simply defines that if children will take education then the future of our country will bright & shine like a star.

Objective

The main objective of writing this article is to collect the evidence due to which child labour is increasing day by day at increasing rate in our populated and the republic country India & because of which affects the mental & physical health of the child.

Research work

The ILO (International Labour Organization) estimates the no. of children working in the age of 5-14 years to be 250 million. Children are the future soldiers within the style of philosophers, rulers, scientist, lawyers, advocates, judges, attorneys, technologist, workers, etc. a safe childhood may be a right of every children.

These are the children who are more vulnerable in term of the harm to their right to survival:

Homeless children
Child beggars
Orphaned children
Migrant children
Street child
Child marriage victims
Disabled child.
Children affected by natural disaster.
Child prostitutes
Girl child
Criminal act done by child

Rights of the child in the constitution of India, 1950:

Right to free and required elementary education for all children in the 6-14year age group (Article 21 A)
Right to be protected from any dangerous employment till the age of 14 years (Article 24)
Right to be protected from being abused and forced by economic requirement to enter occupations unprepared to their age or strength (Article 39(e))
Right to equal opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and certain protection of childhood and youth against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment & desertion (Article 39 (f))
Right to early childhood care and edification to all children until they complete the age of six years (Article 45)

There are conventions for the protection of the children:

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

Determinants and effects of child labour

The child who choose to work are only those who has lost his family in natural calamity or abducted or lose because of war only their children choose to work, while other who has their family with them its their parent decision whether the child should take education or to do work. The parent also chooses their child to work because of certain financial determinants that are follow:

Poverty: The poverty plays main role in increasing rate of child labour, poverty force the child & their family member to work to live and to get shelter and food. Poverty is the main determinant of child labour in India. Poverty is the primary factor behind the child labour. In India there is 12.4 % of population lives in poverty. That’s the reason behind the increasing rate of child labour.
Vulnerability of household: the child labour is usually in the most vulnerable families. In vulnerable family only it happens most because of very low income, cannot cope up with the illness or injury of an adult members, death of any parent, disability problem, unemployment, illiterate etc.
Unequal distribution: unequal distribution of income is the most affecting determinant of the child labour due to which the parent forces to child to work.
Schooling performance & behaviors of child: if the child is not having any interest in study then the parent has to put him/her to the work.
Parents education: parents decision plays an important role in deciding whether the child will go to school and take education or not. Educated parents knows very well the importance of education. Other then this the child labour comes basically from illiterate families because even the parents were not educated, they don’t even know the importance of education and finally due to lack of money or week financial problem they are not able to send their children.
Child nutrition & health: if a child has poor health condition then the child contributes to child labour.
Family size & their business/ work: we can see that in big family who are already belongs to illiterate family, their child has to work to live. Because family is large no. of children to educate all is not possible and their parent cannot also afford the cost of schooling.

Directions given by the Supreme Court

To resolve the problem of child labour, the Supreme Court gave the following directions:

1) Every state government must conduct a survey, to be completed within six months, on the types of child labour carried out in the state. · The survey could begin with the modes of employment mentioned under Article 24 of the Constitution of India. The most hazardous employment would rank first in priority, to be followed by a comparatively less hazardous employment, and so on.

2) To ensure compliance with Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, an employer must be asked to pay a sum of Rs 20,000 as compensation for every child employed in contravention of the provisions of the Act.

3)The employer would be liable to pay this amount even if he were to disengage the child presently employed.

4)The inspectors, appointed under Section 17 of the Act, would bear the responsibility of ensuring this.

5)The sum paid as compensation should be deposited in a fund to be known as Child Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare Fund.

6) Such a fund should be established district-wise or area-wise.

7)The fund so generated should be used only for the concerned child. The income earned through the fund would also be a part of the fund. To generate greater income, the fund could be deposited in a high-yielding scheme of any nationalised bank or other public body.

8) The State should ensure that an adult member of the family (whose name would be suggested by the parent/guardian of the concerned child) whose child is in employment in a factory or a mine or in other hazardous work gets a job anywhere, in lieu of the child.

Conclusion

Child labour has a lot of discussion globally. Child labour is a great or profitable business for those who provide very low wages to the children to complete work. very cheap labour required in child labour. Child doesn’t put any demand as compare to adult they just do work & take wages as the owner gives because of child innocents they don’t pay more to child and even child don’t want to argue with owners. The government has passed no. of laws to protect child but now also in some major rural areas, the laws were not adopted due to lack of knowledge and awareness. In rural area the peoples are not aware about many provisions and laws which were made by government only for the rural area people & for their benefit and to stop child labour.

It is mentioned clearly in the child labour prohibition & regulation act (1986), that the child are not allowed to work in any of the hazardous place, industries, but after such provisions made then also everywhere the laws are violated. The main objective of writing this article is to collect the evidence due to which child labour is increasing day by day at increasing rate in our populated and the republic country India & because of which affects the mental & physical health of the child.

Bibliography / References

Author:

Ms. Sakshi Agrawal.

(B.B.A.LLB- 3rd YEAR)

INDORE INSTITUTE OF LAW, INDORE

S. Bhambri & Associates (Advocates)

THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN AND CHILD LABOUR- ITS DETERMINANTS AND EFFECTS

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