A child is any person who has not
yet attained the age of majority. Child labour is defined as the employment of
children in such a work that deprives them of their childhood and affects their
overall development. Child labour is mentally, physically, morally dangerous. A
child labour may be subject to physical and emotional harassment. He may be a
part of bonded labour or slavery. A child labour may be employed in any
industrial, commercial or domestic establishment. Child labour is rampant in
developing and under-developed nations where it provides cheap labour as
compared to adult labours. A child maybe employed to work for 12 hour shift
that seriously endangers his health and future.
Article 24 of the Constitution of
India states that: No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed
to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Provided that nothing in this sub clause shall authorise the detention of any
person beyond the maximum period prescribed by any law made by Parliament under
sub clause (b) of clause ( 7 ); or such person is detained in accordance with
the provisions of any law made by Parliament under sub clauses (a) and (b) of
clause ( 7 )
In the case of People’s Union for
Democratic Rights v Union of India,
it was observed by the Apex Court that “So far as Article 24 of the
Constitution is concerned, it embodies a fundamental right which is plainly and
indubitably enforceable against everyone and by reason of its compulsive
mandate, no one can employ a child below the age of 14 years in a hazardous
employment and since, as pointed out above, construction work is a hazardous
employment, no child below the age of 14 years can be employed in construction
work and therefore, not only are the contractors under a constitutional mandate
not to employ any child below the age of 14 years, but it is also the duty of
the Union of India, the Delhi Administration and the Delhi Development
Authority to ensure that this constitutional obligation is obeyed by the
contractors to whom they have entrusted the construction the construction work
of the various Asiad projects.”
Other legislations:
1.The Factories Act, 1948
prohibits the employment of a child in any factory who has not completed 14
years of age. (Section 67)
Section 67: Prohibition of
employment of young children. No child who has not completed his fourteenth
year shall be required or allowed to work in any factory.
2. The Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986, lays down the provisions regarding prevention of
instances of child labour in India in order to prevent economic exploitation of
children as well as to safeguard their health and safety. Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986 deals with child labour in the following manner:
(i) bans the employment of
children under 14 years of age in specified occupations and processes
(ii) regulates the conditions of
work of children in employment where they are not prohibited from working
(iii) lays down enhanced
penalties for employment of children in violation of the provisions of this
Act.
In the case of M.C. Mehta v State
of Tamil Nadu,
the Supreme Court has laid down elaborate guidelines to curb child labour. In
this case, the employment of children in match stick and cracker factories was
considered to be employment in hazardous factories.
3. The Mines Act, 1952 provides that
no child shall be employed in any mine. Further, it provides that no child shall
be allowed to be present in any part of the mine which is below the ground or
in any cast working in which a mining operation is being carried out.
Section 45: Prohibition of the
presence of persons below eighteen years of age in a mine. Subject to the,
Provisions of sub- section (2) of section 40, after such date as the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this
behalf, no person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to be present in
any part of a mine above ground where any operation connected with or
incidental to any mining operation is being carried on.
4. Section 14 of The Beedi and
cigar workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966, prohibits the employment of
children below 14 years of age in any industrial premises manufacturing beedis
or cigars.
5. The Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection) of Children Act of 2000 makes it a crime, punishable with a prison
term, for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous employment or in
bondage.
On 9th of April 2013, the Punjab
and Haryana High Court
gave landmark order on the writ-petition (PIL CWP 2693 of 2010) moved by Hemant
Goswami. The court, accepted all the contentions and suggestions put forward by
Hemant Goswam and directed that;
There shall be total ban on the employment of
children up to the age of 14 years, be it hazardous or non-hazardous
industries.
There shall be no forced labour even for
children between the ages of 14 years to 18 years; and whenever a child above
the age of 14 years is forced to work, it has to be treated as an offence under
Section 374 IPC and it is to be dealt with sternly.
When any matter is brought to the notice of
the State Commission (or for that matter suo motu cognizance taken by the State
Commission) involving violation of child rights even where a child above the age
of 14 year is employed, the State Commission under the CPCR Act will have the
jurisdiction to deal with the same and pass necessary directions.
The violators have to be dealt with
effectively and in a speedy manner. Therefore, wherever violations are found,
cases under the provisions of Part-IV of the Child Labour Prohibition Act have
to be registered without delay in each and every case.
Wherever the officers fail or neglect to take
effective action immediately, apart from taking necessary disciplinary action,
action can also be taken, in appropriate cases, under Section 166 IPC against
such officers.
There is also a need for rehabilitation of
such children in the society. (Scheme suggested by Hemant Goswami was adopted
by the Court, with the following main points; (a) Moving out the child from the
exploitative environment (b) Ensuring Education (c) Ensuring
Food/Meals/Clothes/ Necessities (D) Penalty/Compensation should be for the
benefit of the Child (e) Regular Monitoring)
The Chairperson of “State Commissions for
Protection of Child Rights” should be a person who has been Judge of the High
Court and the process of selection of the other six members of the “State
Commissions for Protection of Child Rights” should entail issuance of public
advertisement for inviting applications, interviewing eligible candidates and
recommending a penal of names of suitable persons.
States of Punjab and Haryana as well as U.T.,
Chandigarh shall also ensure that the State Commissions become fully functional
by appointing Chairpersons and Members.
Children’s Courts with specialised
infrastructure be created.
Child labour is a great menace
that robs the majority of the children of their childhood as well as their
development and achieving their full potential. It requires a concerted effort
from government as well as non-government sectors to finally wipe it off.
