World Day Against Child Labour

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World Day against Child Labour

15 Jun 2019 20 min read
Tags: GS Paper - 2 Issues Related to Children Social Empowerment
In Depth - World Day against Child Labour
https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/world-day-against-child-labour-1 06/07/24, 1 57 PM
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In Depth - World Day against Child Labour
On 12th June 2002, the International Labour Organisation launched the World Day Against
Child Labour. Since then, every year, the day is marked to highlight the plight of child
labourers worldwide and also to take required measures to eliminate it. The World Day
Against Child Labour, 2019 looks back on progress achieved over a 100 years of ILO support
to countries on tackling child labour. The protection of children is embedded in the preamble
of ILO since it was founded in 1919 yet about 152 million children are still in child labour
across the world.
India accounts for more than 10 million child workers. Despite efforts and legislations
through the decades to prohibit the engagement of children in occupations, the statistics
regarding child labour in India are dismal.
The World Day Against Child Labour
It is celebrated annually on June 12 with the aim of focussing

attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and
efforts needed to eliminate it.
The day brings together governments, employers and workers

organizations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around
the world to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be
done to help them.
The theme for World Day Against Child Labour 2019 is ‘Children
shouldn’t work in >elds, but on dreams!’
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shouldn’t work in >elds, but on dreams!’
The theme focuses on the major transformations being

experienced in the world of work, whether the result of technology,
environmental or demographic, and what this means for the
youngest in society.
The eradication of Child Labour is part of the UN Sustainable

Development Goal Target 8.7.
The Sustainable Development Goals include a call to the global

community to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate
forced labour, end modern slavery and human tra\cking and
secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of the
child labour. This also includes ending the recruitment and use of
child soldiers.
Child Labour
The term ‘Child Labour’ is de>ned as a work that deprives children of

their childhood, their potential and their dignity and is harmful to
their physical and mental development.
It refers to the work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally

dangerous and harmful to children, interferes with schooling by
depriving them of the opportunity to attend school, obligement to
leave school prematurely or requiring them to attempt to combine
school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
Forms of Child Labour
All forms of slavery or practices similar to the slavery including but

not limited to the sale or traMcking of children, debt bondage and
forced or compulsory labour.
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It also means the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for
use in armed con^ict.
The use of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography

or for pornographic performances.
The use of a child for illicit activities in particular for the production
and traMcking of drugs as de_ned in the relevant international
treaties.
It also includes work, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is

carried out, that is likely to harm the health, safety and morals of
children.
Work that does not constitute Child Labour
It is also important to know that not all work done by children should
be classi_ed as child labour targeted for elimination. In fact, children's
or adolescents' participation in work that does not affect their health
and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is
generally regarded as being something positive.
This includes activities such as helping their parents around the

home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money
outside school hours and during school holidays. These activities are
in fact believed to contribute to children's development.
Statistics of Child Labour across the World
Worldwide, 218 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 years

are in employment. Among them, 152 million are victims of child
labour with almost half of them, 73 million, working in hazardous
labour.
In absolute terms, almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to be
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In absolute terms, almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to be
found in Africa; 62.1 million in the Asia and the Paci_c; 10.7 million in
the Americas; 1.2 million in the Arab States and 5.5 million in Europe
and Central Asia.
In terms of prevalence, 1 in 5 children in Africa (19.6%) are in child

labour, whilst prevalence in other regions is between 3% and 7%: 2.9%
in the Arab States (1 in 35 children); 4.1% in Europe and Central Asia
(1 in 25); 5.3%in the Americas (1 in 19) and 7.4% in Asia and the
Paci_c region (1 in 14).
Child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%), which

includes _shing, forestry, livestock herding and aquaculture, and
comprises both subsistence and commercial farming; 17% in
Services; and 12% in the industrial sector, including mining.
Forced Child Labour
According to the year 2016 estimates of modern slavery, there were

about 4.3 million children aged below 18 years in forced labour,
representing 18% of the 24.8 million total forced labour victims
worldwide.
This estimate also includes
1million children in commercial sexual exploitation.
3 million children in forced labour for other forms of labour

exploitation.
0.3 million children in forced labour imposed by the state

authorities.
Child Labour Figures in India
In India, children are working at starvation wages in textile factories
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In India, children are working at starvation wages in textile factories
helping with the processing of carpets and doing backbreaking work
in brick making factories.
They are also employed in making and selling tobacco products and
are also used for cheap labour in industries such as steel extraction.
This year, India is at the 113th position out of 176 countries on an

index that evaluates countries on the well being of children.
According to the National Census 2011, the total child population in

India in the age group of 5-14 years is about 260 million. Of these,
about 10 million (about 4%) of the total child population are child
labourers working either as the main or marginal workers.
In the age group of 15-18 years, India has around 23 million working
children. This means one in eleven children between the ages of _ve
and eighteen years in the country are working.
The 2011 census showed a decline in the incidence of child labour in

India by 2.6 million or around 20% between 2001 and 2011. The
decline was more visible in rural areas. However, the number of child
workers increased in urban areas during this period.
In the year 2001, there were around 11 million child workers in rural
areas which came down to about 8 million in the year 2011.
In urban areas, the number of child workers went up from 1.3

million in 2001 to 2 million in 2011.
This change suggests that child labour is now invisible as the

location of work has changed from the factories to the homes
of urban dwellers.
Disparities Across India
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The year 2011 shows signi_cant disparities across states in terms of
number of working children.
5 states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and

Maharashtra account for more than half of the country’s total child
labour population.
Uttar Pradesh is the biggest hub of child labour accounting for

almost 20% of the country’s child labourers.
Bihar has about one million child workers, Rajasthan (0.84 million),
Madhya Pradesh (0.7 million), Maharashtra (0.72 million).
Concerns
Child Labour is one of the biggest roadblocks to human rights

worldwide. Children around the world are routinely engaged in paid
and unpaid forms of work.
In almost all regions of the world, boys and girls are equally likely to
be involved in child labour. Gender disparities are observed however
in the types of activities carried out with girls far more likely to be
involved in domestic work.
Poverty and lack of school are considered as the main causes of

child labour.
Children engaged in work do not go to school and have little or no

time to play. Many even do not receive proper nutrition or care
essentially being denied the chance to be children.
About 1.4 million child labourers in India in the age group of 7-14
years cannot write even their names. This means one in three child
labourers in the said age group are illiterate.
The extreme form of child labour that is forced labour, in which
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The extreme form of child labour that is forced labour, in which
children suffer not only the impact of hazardous working conditions
but also trauma of the coercion, threats of penalty and lack of
freedom.
International Laws on Child Labour
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 : It contains the

idea that children are not just objects who belong to their parents and
for whom decisions are made, or adults in training. Rather, they are
human beings and individuals with their own rights.
The Convention considers that childhood is separate from

adulthood, and lasts until 18; it is a special, protected time, in
which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and
^ourish with dignity.
The Convention became the most widely rati_ed human rights

treaty in history and has helped transform children’s lives.
International Labour Organizations Conventions on the minimum age

for admission to employment of the yaer 1973 (ILO convention 138)
and on the worst forms of child labour of the year 1999 (ILO
convention182).
Initiatives by the Government of India
In 1979, the central government formed the _rst statutory committee

to analyse and research on the issue of child labour in India - the
Gurupadswamy committe. One of their major observations was that
the problem of child labour is inextricably linked to poverty.
Taking into account the _ndings and recommendations of the

Gurupadswamy committee, the union government enacted the
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Gurupadswamy committee, the union government enacted the
child labour (Prohibition and & Regulation) Act in 1986.
Recently, India has rati>ed International Labour Organizations

Convention (ILO) no 138 (minimum age for employment) and
convention no 182 (worst forms of child labour).
Another landmark step was the enactment of the Child labour

(Prohibition and Prevention) Amendment Act, 2016.
There are several operations that happen in India like Operation

Smile, Operation Muskaan wherein there are a lot of raids that
happen in unorganised sector, manufacturing units and other
factories.
India has a very strong system of dealing with rescued children in

terms of rehabilitating and repatriating them with the family with
certain support to family as well to come out of the poverty trap.
UNICEF’s work against Child Labour in India
UNICEF has also been working for long against child labour in India.
Most of its programs in India focus on children in speci_c types of

work, for example cotton production in the states of Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh,
metalwork and carpets in Uttar Pradesh and tea gardens in Assam.
These programmes reach tens of thousands of children and their

families in areas with high levels of child labour.
Child Labour Laws in India
According to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)

Amendment Bill, 2016:
employment of children below the age of 14 years in any
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employment of children below the age of 14 years in any
commercial enterprise is illegal. However, it excludes a section of
toiling children in the unorganized sectors including agriculture as
well as the household work.
The bill also bars the employment of adolescents in occupations

that deals with hazardous working conditions such as chemical
plants and mines.
The act says that children can only work after school hours or
during holidays and that children are allowed to work in family
owned secure sectors.
However, no child is permitted to work between 7 pm and 8 am.
Children are also not allowed to work overtime.
An establishment must provide holiday of one whole day in each

week to every child employed.
National Policy on Child Labour (1987), with a focus more on

rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and
processes, rather than on prevention.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 (the JJ

Act) and amendment of the JJ Act in 2006: includes the working child
in the category of children in need of care and protection, without any
limitation of age or type of occupation.
The Right to Education Act, 2009 has made it mandatory for the state
to ensure that all children aged 6 to 14 years are in school and receive
free education. Along with Article 21A of the Constitution of India
recognizing education as a fundamental right, this constitutes a
timely opportunity to use education to combat child labour in India.
According to the Mines Act of 1952, employment of children below
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According to the Mines Act of 1952, employment of children below
the age of 18 years is illegal in mines.
Drishti Input: PENCIL Portal
Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL)

Portal is an electronic platform that aims at involving Centre,
State, District, Governments, civil society and the general public
in achieving the target of child labour free society.
It has been launched for the effective implementation of Child

Labour Act and National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme.
PENCIL Portal has _ve components- Child Tracking System,

Complaint Corner, State Government, National Child Labour
Project and Convergence.
PENCIL portal is administered by theMinistry of Labour &

Employment.
Under National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme, children in

the age group of 9-14 years, rescued/withdrawn from work are
enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are
provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid day
meal, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into
formal education system.
Way Forward
Experts opine that child labour has become a social norm in the
country that is largely accepted and tolerated by the society. This
exploitative and abusive practice will continue unless society adopts
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a zero tolerance attitude towards it.
Right kind of focus and orientation with state level authorities is also
needed to avoid this practice.
Convincing families to send their children in schools is not a tough job

provided that families are provided with a vision of a better future for
their children.
Pre school education should be a priority and also there is a need to

reach more and more children to reap the bene_ts of RTE.
Forced Child Labour requires an urgent action from governmnets and

the international communities.
The Government generally focuses on immediate rescue and not on

the long term situation or the prevention dimension. The prevention
dimension needs to be focussed upon.
Drishti Input: Social Partners Tackling Child Labour
There are good examples of trade unions and employers’ organizations playing a key
role in the elimination of child labour in the rural sector.
In India for example, in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, trade

unions and their recently organized rural members are
implementing the concept of child labour-free villages through
dialogue with local leaders and employers. Many collective
agreements are being concluded targeting child labour.
Similarly, the Federation of Uganda Employers has set up child

labour monitoring committees at the local level, including in the
coffee, tea, rice and sugar sectors.
Collaboration and alliances are also being formed between

trade unions and representative organizations of indigenous
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trade unions and representative organizations of indigenous
people, especially in Latin America. In some countries this has
led to the inclusion of indigenous organizations in national
committees on the prevention and elimination of child labour.
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Karol Bagh | IAS GS Foundation Course | 29 May, 6 PM

Login Register EN िहं दी

World Day against Child Labour

Tags: GS Paper - 2 Issues Related to Children Social Empowerment

In Depth - World Day against Child Labour

The World Day Against Child Labour

It is celebrated annually on June 12 with the aim of focussing

The day brings together governments, employers and workers

The theme focuses on the major transformations being

The eradication of Child Labour is part of the UN Sustainable

The Sustainable Development Goals include a call to the global

The term ‘Child Labour’ is de>ned as a work that deprives children of

It refers to the work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally

Forms of Child Labour

All forms of slavery or practices similar to the slavery including but

The use of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography

It also includes work, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is

Work that does not constitute Child Labour

This includes activities such as helping their parents around the

Statistics of Child Labour across the World

Worldwide, 218 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 years

In absolute terms, almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to be

In terms of prevalence, 1 in 5 children in Africa (19.6%) are in child

Child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%), which

Forced Child Labour

According to the year 2016 estimates of modern slavery, there were

This estimate also includes

1million children in commercial sexual exploitation.

3 million children in forced labour for other forms of labour

0.3 million children in forced labour imposed by the state

Child Labour Figures in India

In India, children are working at starvation wages in textile factories

This year, India is at the 113th position out of 176 countries on an

According to the National Census 2011, the total child population in

The 2011 census showed a decline in the incidence of child labour in

In urban areas, the number of child workers went up from 1.3

This change suggests that child labour is now invisible as the

Disparities Across India

5 states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and

Uttar Pradesh is the biggest hub of child labour accounting for

Child Labour is one of the biggest roadblocks to human rights

Poverty and lack of school are considered as the main causes of

Children engaged in work do not go to school and have little or no

The extreme form of child labour that is forced labour, in which

International Laws on Child Labour

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 : It contains the

The Convention considers that childhood is separate from

The Convention became the most widely rati_ed human rights

International Labour Organizations Conventions on the minimum age

Initiatives by the Government of India

In 1979, the central government formed the _rst statutory committee

Taking into account the _ndings and recommendations of the

Recently, India has rati>ed International Labour Organizations

Another landmark step was the enactment of the Child labour

There are several operations that happen in India like Operation

India has a very strong system of dealing with rescued children in

UNICEF’s work against Child Labour in India

Most of its programs in India focus on children in speci_c types of

These programmes reach tens of thousands of children and their

Child Labour Laws in India