Regulation of Child Labour in India - Overview, Legislation, and Civil Society Role

This report provides an overview of child labour in India, the factors responsible for its occurrence, the legislations introduced by the Indian government to regulate and control the issue, and the role of Indian civil society in combating child labour. The report concludes that a collaboration is needed between the government and civil society to eradicate the problem of child labour from the Indian scenario once and for all.

Running Head: REGULATION OF CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA
Regulation of Child Labour in India
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
Child labour happens to be an economic and social issue which has been rampant in India for
quite some time now. The Indian government has undertaken quite a few efforts to regulate
and control the issue, as has the Indian civil society, especially all the non-profit
organizations located in prominent Indian cities. This report provides an overview of what is
understood as child labour, all the factors responsible for the occurrence of child labour in
India, the legislations that have been introduced to regulate and control the issue by the
Indian government and the role undertaken by Indian civil society to spread awareness of and
combat child labour. The report concludes that a collaboration is needed between the
government and civil society to eradicate the problem of child labour from the Indian
scenario once and for all.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................4
1.1. Understanding Child Labour in the Indian Context....................................................4
1.1.1. Definition of Child Labour......................................................................................4
1.1.2. Factors Responsible for the Existence of Child Employment in India....................5
2. Legislations that Regulate Child Labour in India...............................................................6
2.1. Factories Act (1948)....................................................................................................6
2.2. Mines Act (1952).........................................................................................................7
2.3. Child Labour Act (1986).............................................................................................7
2.3.1. Hours or Period of Work.........................................................................................7
2.3.2. Penalties...................................................................................................................8
2.4. The Juvenile Justice of Children Act (2000)...............................................................8
2.5. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009).............................8
2.6. Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act (2016).........................9
2.7. Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules (2017)......................9
2.8. Indian Constitutional Provisions for Uplifting the Child..........................................10
3. Non-Legal Initiatives Undertaken by the Indian Government to Control and Regulate
Child Labour............................................................................................................................10
4. Role of Civil Society in Regulating Child Labour in India..............................................11
5. Conclusion........................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12

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1. Introduction
Child labour refers to the whole practice of tender young children engaging in different
types of economic activity on a part or full time basis. Such practice is harmful for the mental
and physical development of children and also deprives them of their childhood. Child labour
is found to be quite prominent in India, especially in rural India, where more than eighty
percent of the children are employed in small scale if not large scale jobs. The growth of an
informal economy, the absence of good schools, and poverty, are regarded as few of the
primary causes for India’s child labour problem. Other causes include cheap wages,
accessibility to factories, which are capable of producing maximum number of goods at the
lowest rates and corruption (Phillips, 2013). According to the Indian Census Report of 2011,
the child labour population in India, comprising of small children between five to fourteen
years old, is estimated to be approximately ten million (Sharma, 2016). This report analyzes
child labour in the Indian context, provides an overview of the measures undertaken by the
Indian Executive and Legislature to regulate and control child labour in India and aims to
understand also the role played by Indian non-profit organizations and the civil society at
large, in combating the issue of child labour.
1.1. Understanding Child Labour in the Indian Context
1.1.1. Child Labour Definition
For the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labour is the type of work which
strips children off their dignity, their potential and their childhood in general, and which
dangerous for a child’s physical as well as mental development. The term is also referred to
by the ILO as work which is morally, socially, physically and mentally harmful and

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dangerous for children or the kind of work where the work schedule is one that interferes
with the ability of children to attend school regularly, to focus on their studies in school or to
experience a childhood that is healthy (Nogler & Pertile, 2016). According to the UNICEF,
child labor refers to work done for at least twenty eight hours in a week by children aged
between five and eleven years or work or economic activity carried out for forty two hours in
a week by children aged between twelve and fourteen years. The UNICEF states that work
done by children must be perceived along a certain continuum, with beneficial work that
enhances or promotes their well being without interfering with their recreation, their school
timing and also rest at one end, as well as exploitative or destructive work at another end. In
between both poles there are many different work areas that may not impact the development
of the child negatively. Child labour is defined by the Indian Census office as participation by
children under 17 years in very economically productive activities without or with
compensation, profit or remuneration. This participation might be mental or physical or both.
Such work is that which includes unpaid work or part time assistance in a family enterprise,
farm, or other types of economic activities like milk production and cultivation for domestic
consumption or sale. Child labour is classified by the Indian government into two different
groups, namely, as main workers who engage in work for at least six months or more than
that in a year and the marginal child workers who work for less than six months in a year but
who work at any given time in the year (Subbaram & Von Witzke, 2016).
1.1.2. Factors Responsible for the Existence of Child Employment in India
 Poverty – In most developing countries, as in India, controlling child labor is next to
impossible as children are considered to be useful helping hands for feeding their
families, supporting their families and feeding themselves as well. Due to unemployment,
illiteracy and poverty, many parents in India are unable to take on the burden of providing
for their families and feeding their children all at the same time. In such situations, the

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poor parents opt to send out their children to work at very low wages and in inhuman
conditions (Phillips et al., 2014).
 Debts and Bondage – The terrible economic conditions that most of India’s rural and
urban population is compelled to reside in, make it imperative for them to take loans,
usually unlawful loans, to support themselves and their families. Illiterate people are seen
to approach money-lenders, and at times even end up mortgaging all of their belongings
order to return the debts that they have taken on. Owing to the insufficiency in income, it
is very difficult for the debtors to pay the debt back along with interest. They have to
work night and day to clear their debts and their creditors often insist on their children
working too in order to pay back the debts (Singh & Kaur, 2016).
 Professional Requirements – Certain industries in India like the bangle making industry
for instance require the use of little hands and delicate hands to carry out minute work
with precision and excellence. The hands of an adult are usually not small and delicate so
children are usually preferred for doing such work, even though it is so dangerous for
children to be working with glass in the first place. Often this has resulted in severe eye
accidents taking place for children (Bharadwaj et al., 2013).
2. Legislations that Regulate Child Labour in India
There are a number of statutes and regulations in India that prohibit and condemn child
labour.
2.1. Factories Act (1948)
The Factories Act passed in 1948 prohibits employment of children who are below
fourteen years of age in any factory. This is a law that also places rules on when, who as well
as how long pre-adults, that is those who are aged between fifteen and eighteen years may be
employed in factories (Agarwala, 2013).

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2.2. Mines Act (1952)
This is an act that was passed in 1952 and which strictly prohibits employment of small
children in mines that is laborers younger than eighteen years. Mining is considered to be a
very dangerous occupation and in the past, several accidents have taken place in mines which
have in turn taken the lives of children working there (Agarwala, 2013).
2.3. Child Labour Act (1986)
The Child Labour Act is an important piece of legislation that was passed in the year
1986 with the purpose of prohibiting as well as regulating child labour in India. It prohibits
children who are lessen than fourteen years of age from being employed in a number of
hazardous occupations that have been identified under law. This list was further in revised
2006 to include a greater number of dangerous occupations and further more in the year
2008. Some of the hazardous occupations listed under this Act include stone breaking, stone
crushing, tobacco making, zari making, sericulture processing, dyeing, skinning and
processing for the manufacture of any leather as well as leather products, paper making, oil
making, working in oil refineries and the manufacture of coal and also coal briquette, among
others (Mosse, 2016).
2.3.1. Hours or Period of Work
No child will be allowed to work in business establishments for longer than the scheduled
time prescribed under Section-7 of the Indian Child Labour Act of 1986. The work period
everyday will not exceed a timeframe of three hours. No child should be working for longer
than three hours unless he has been allowed to take a break to rest, that lasts for at least an
hour. Children will also not be required or permitted to work between seven in the evening
and eight in the morning (Balagopalan, 2014).

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2.3.2. Penalties
Any violation of the Child Labour Act of 1986 will be punishable by imprisonment under
Section 3 of the Act. The duration of imprisonment will be for a period of three months at a
minimum and can be extended for a year or longer than that, or with the imposition of a fine
that is not lesser in value than ten thousand rupees, or which can be extended to as much as
twenty thousand rupees, or both. Any continuing offence will be punishable by imprisonment
under Section 3 of the Act, with the term of imprisonment not being less than six months and
which can be extended to a period as long as two years (Agarwala, 2013).
Other violations of the Act are those that will be punishable by what is termed as simple
imprisonment. The imprisonment term will be valid for a month. The violation of this Act
can also be punished by the imposition of a fine that is ten thousand rupees in value, or both
fine and imprisonment.
2.4. The Juvenile Justice of Children Act (2000)
This is a law that makes it criminal to employ or procure children in bondage or any
dangerous employment. It was passed in the year 2000 for caring for and protecting children,
punishing those acting in contravention to this act as well as the previous acts for child labour
regulation, by employing children in economic activity. The punishment is meted out in the
form of a prison term.
2.5. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009)
Such a law mandates providing for compulsory and free education for the children aged
between six to fourteen years. The legislation also mandates that twenty five percent of the
seats in all private schools need to be allocated for the children who come from
disadvantaged families as well as for children who are physically challenged (Mani et al.,
2014).

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2.6. Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act (2016)
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, was enacted by the
Indian government in 2016 and it came into force in the very same year. This amendment
prevents children below fourteen years of age from being employed. The recruitment of
adolescents for professional or economic activities is also prohibited by this amendment. As
per the amendment, children aged between fourteen and eighteen years cannot be employed
in hazardous processes and occupations. The amendment also regulates working conditions
for children in instances where their recruitment is not prohibited. Stricter punishment is also
provided by the amendment for employers who violate the Act. To make sure that all
provisions under this legislation get adequately enforced, the amendment empowers
government authorities to bestow such powers as well as duties to any District Magistrate if
thought as necessary. A State Action Plan has also been distributed to all Indian states for the
purpose of ensuring that the Act is effectively implemented (Mani et al., 2014).
2.7. Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules (2017)
After consulting extensively with stakeholders, the Indian government has notified an
amendment in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Rules that may be applied
centrally. Such rules provide a specific and broad framework for prohibition, prevention,
rescue as well as rehabilitation of both child as well as adolescent workers. The rules also
clarify about issues that are related to family enterprises, family definition with respect to the
child and help in the family. Specific provisions relating to these issues have been well
incorporated in the Rules (Mitchell et al., 2014). The Rules also provide for safeguarding
artists who have been given the permission to take up work, as per this Act with regard to
working conditions and hours of work. Provisions that incorporate the responsibilities and
duties of enforcement agencies have been provided for by the Rules so as to enable the
effective compliance as well implementation of all the clauses under this Act.

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2.8. Indian Constitutional Provisions for Uplifting the Child
Provisions like Article 24 listed under the Indian Constitution happen to state very
clearly, that children who are below fourteen years of age will not be allowed to work in
mines and factories or be employed in any type of hazardous occupation (Abeyratne, 2014).
Clauses such as Article 21(A) of the Indian Constitution states that the government will
provide compulsory as well free education for children between six to fourteen years in a
manner that will be determined by the state using law (Deb, 2015). Article 39 of the Indian
Constitution declares that the state shall direct all of its efforts toward securing both the
strength and health of workers, for both women as well as men. It will also make sure that a
child’s tender age is something that is never abused and that the citizens of the country are
not compelled to enter avocations that are unsuited for their strength or age due to economic
necessity (Pinto, 2016).
3. Non-Legal Initiatives Undertaken by the Indian Government to
Control and Regulate Child Labour
Many Indian states including that of Haryana have gone ahead and constituted child
labour rehabilitation and distributed funds for child welfare in the districts. Exclusive labour
cells have also been set up in most Indian states to deal with the problem of child labour.
Many national undertakings on child labour have also been executed by the central
government in different Indian states right from as early as 1988 with the intention of
providing children with pre-vocational skills and non-formal education (Kaletski & Prakash,
2016). The Sarve Shiksha Abhiyan was launched in 2001 to educate all poor employed
children in every Indian state. The Ministry concerned with women as well as children’s
development is one that has also been providing vocational training and informal education
for children. The Anganwadies was established by the Indian government for child welfare

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with special efforts being made to focus on their mental, educational and physical
development (Gomez-Parades et al., 2016).
4. Role of Civil Society in Regulating Child Labour in India
Several non-profit organizations have been involved in agitating and spreading
awareness about child labour in India. Organizations like Child Rights and You, Care India,
Child-Fund, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Childline and RIDE India have had an active role to
play in campaigning about the need to control and terminate child labour in the country
(Sinha & Stiftung, 2013). Such NGOs have carried social media campaigns and actual
marches and protests to raise awareness about how unethical and dangerous child labour is
(Jain & Saraf, 2013). A Global March against the issue of child labour has been implemented
as well, that has been aimed at combating child labour in India through education as well as
accessibility to resources (Wuttke & Vilks, 2016).
5. Conclusion
Thus, the existence of child labour in India is shameful and undesirable. Several
initiatives have been undertaken by the Indian Executive and Legislature to combat and
control child labour in India through law and policy. The Indian civil society has also
undertaken strenuous efforts to spread awareness about the issue and succeeded in a few of
its attempts to do so. It is imperative for both state and civil society to work in close
cooperation with one another to eradicate the problem of child labour once and for all.

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