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| Child labour | | |
The law banning child labour has come to force with effect from this
Tuesday, October 10, 2006. The objective to enact the law in this
regard is laudable indeed. It is aimed at providing the children full
scope to spend their childhood in developing their faculties in
natural environs, by playing and acquiring literacy, to become good
citizens. Their childhood should be free of any tension, stress and
strain, which they undergo while engaged in some labour or work.
According to rough estimate about 13 crore children below the age of
sixteen work as domestic aids, helpers in the dhabhas, tea stalls,
servants in the shops and other work places etc. However two problems
shall have to be faced in achieving the objective of the law
prohibiting employing children on menial jobs. The first problem will
be the enforcement of the law. By Mare passing the law the child
labour will not come to end. Various unscrupulous elements will
continue to engaged the children on washing utensils and even serving
beverages and eatables in the dhabhas surreptitiously, evading the
notice of the law enforcing agencies. Similarly the household will
continue to avail of the services of these children, undetected by the
agencies enforcing the ban. A huge force will be required to check
violation of the law. Like many other laws, which are being openly
violated with impunity, the law banning child labour too will be
observed more in its violation than implementing it. To make the law
work it is imperative that awakening is created among the employers to
no more engage the children on works. There should be a concerted
moral appeal to those who are amenable to violate the law. The
services of religious institutions and social organizations need be
availed of for the purpose. The second and more serious problem to be
faced is how to compensate the families whose children get engaged on
labour and works to earn few bucks, to supplement the meager income of
the family, while in certain cases the family is solely dependent on
the earning of these children. Imagine the case of family which has no
adult able body to earn living for the family, which is depended on
the earning of the child member of the family. Should that family be
forced to starvation? The number of those families who engage their
children to earn living, despite the presence of able bodied adult
members is limited. Most of the families out their children on jobs
under compulsion. There must be a scheme for insuring maintenance of
these families who are solely depended on the earnings of the minor
members in the family. Although provisions have been made for
providing free and in certain cases even compulsory education to the
children up to primary level, but hard efforts will be needed that all
these children working as shoe-shines, utensil cleaners in dhabhas or
domestic servants go to schools, after they are barred to work as such
and they do not fall prey to the criminal elements, who instead engage
them as helpers in criminal acts. Further banning and enforcing
begging by children in the streets, on buses and trains etc is more
important than prohibiting child labour.
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