World Day Against Child Labour: How We Can Make a Difference?

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14-Jun-2024 | Samiksha Kanaujia

World Child Labour Day is commemorated annually on the 12^th of June and this year is marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999), which became the first internationally adopted ILO Convention in 2020.

The World Day Against Child Labour UN is striving for:

Ensuring the successful execution of the ILO Convention No. 182 regarding the most severe forms of child labor.
The 2022 Durban Call to Action urges renewed efforts at the national, regional, and international levels to eliminate child labor in all its manifestations, especially the most severe kinds. This entails implementing national regulations and tackling the underlying causes.

Defining Child Labour

The ILO defines child labour as, "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity and that is harmful to physical and mental health". This form of labor denies children their education and dignity. Any work that prevents children from attending school is child labor. It falls into three categories:

jobs that prevent children from attending school
work that forces them to leave school early
work that compels them to attend school but with a hard workload

World Day Against Child Labour: History

The ILO was founded in 1919 to promote social justice and define International Labour Standards. At present there are 187 members of the ILO, the Kingdom of Tonga, a South Pacific island nation, became its 187th member. Since its inception, the ILO has passed additional conventions to enhance international labor standards. This includes guidelines on pay, working hours, a favorable atmosphere, etc.

International Laws on Child Labour

ILO convention 138, adopted in 1973

regarding the minimum age for employment is to effectively eradicate child labor by mandating countries to:

1) set a minimum age for individuals to start working or being employed; and

2) develop national strategies to eliminate child labour.

ILO convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour

Adopted in 1999.
The objective is to promptly and decisively address and eradicate the most severe manifestation of child labor.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989

The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 and entered into force in September 1990.
Outlined in 41 articles are the fundamental rights of every child below the age of eighteen years.

Prevalence of Child Labour

For nearly two decades, the world has steadily worked towards reducing child labor. But in recent years, conflicts, crises, and the Covid-19 pandemic have driven more families into poverty and forced millions more children into child labor.

The current level of economic growth has not been adequate in addressing the pressure faced by several families, leading them to resort to child labor. Additionally, this growth has not been inclusive enough to alleviate this issue.
- Currently, there are 160 million children that are actively involved in child work. That represents nearly 10% of children globally.
According to the Census of 2011, the population of children between the ages of 5 and 14 who are engaged in employment is about 43.53 lakh.
- There are almost 12 lakh children employed in dangerous occupations and processes that are regulated by the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act 1986.
- These jobs include 18 specific types of work including construction site, pan and bidi work, domestic work, at hotels and restaurants etc.

Initiatives by the Indian Government

Gurupadaswamy Committee: First statutory committee formed by the central government in 1979.
- Formed to access the issue of child labour and provide recommendations. The committee observed that the problem of child labour is closely linked to poverty.
- The recommendation from the committee led to the enactment of The child labour (Prohibition and & Regulation) Act in 1986.
Another important act is the Child labour (Prohibition and Prevention) Amendment Act, 2016 and Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules broadens the framework against child labour
National Child Labour Project (NCLP): This government scheme was initiated in 1988 to rehabilitate working children in 12 child labour endemic districts of the country.
PENCIL Portal: Stands for Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour. It is a portal that connects central, state and district governments. It offers other features such as a child tracking system, complaint corner etc.

Constitutional Provisions Prohibiting Child Labour

Article 21A: Right to Education.
- Provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years
Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in factories.
- Prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any worksite and other hazardous employment site.
Article 39: The State shall direct its policy towards
- Sub-section (e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;
- Sub-section (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.
Article 45: Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of 6 years.

Other Acts against Child Labour

Factories Act, 1948 prohibits employment of children who have not completed 14 years.
The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 prohibits the employment of children less than 14 years of age in any industrial premises manufacturing beedi or cigar.
The Mines Act, 1952 prohibits employment below the age of 18 years.
The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 prohibits the employment of any person including children.

Conclusion

The number of child labour is alarming and needs the immediate attention of the national and internation government and civil society members. For child labour to stop, we need to consciously adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards it and strengthen the governmental institutional support to ensure children’s education rights. We need long term approaches to prevent children from working in the informal sector and reach out to more children and their families to opt for school education.

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