Subject: Child labor problem in India
India, the largest democracy in the world, paradoxically
bears the scourge of having tens of millions of child labourers
living a life of bondage and slavery. Use of children as
labourers is rampant not only in the agriculture sector but also
in industries such as match box, leather, carpet, saree, stone
quarries, gems cutting and polishing, brick kilns, and many
more. These children are denied their fundamental right to
childhood, to education, to play and to dream like normal
children. This practice has been continuing uninhibitingly in
blatant violation of the constitution and the laws of India.
The vast majority of India's bonded child laborers come from
poor families. The children's parents borrow money from rich
money lenders. However, when the parents are unable to pay back
the loans, the money lenders seize their children, forcing the
children to work in factories until the money is paid back with
exorbitant interest. One might assume that these loans are
large sums of money, but on average the loans range from only US
$11 to $17.
This seems like a very good cause. I think the Network
should undertake a project like this. Unfortunately, I do not
have the time to do anything. We need volunteers to make
policies for the Network with respect to child labor in India,
and to implement those policies.
-- Biswanath Halder
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From: "Harsh Khanna"
To: bhalder@lynx.dac.neu.edu
Subject: Say NO to Fire-Crackers!
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1998 10:32:24 PDT
For anyone with a conscience...
One can't perhaps imagine a Diwali without the glitter and noise of
fire-crackers. But how many of us know that with each cracker that we
light, we help destroy a child? This year, before we buy crackers or
burn those gifted to us, we may like to consider the following:
Most crackers are manufactured in the Sivakashi area in Tamil Nadu. The
factories her employ children as young as three-and -a-half years old.
Some surveys report even two-and-a-half year old tots being recruited
for the job. A majority of the children employed in the fire-cracker
factories are girls. The proportions of girls to boys is reportedly 3:1.
At any given time 45,000 to 60,000 children are employed in these
factories. Parents of child-labourers employed in the fire-cracker
factory are extremely poor and live in villages around the factory
towns. The factory owners have agents stationed in the village to
recruit children as labourers. It is common practice too give parents
advances against work by their children. This not only helps the
child-labour market to flourish, but also motivates parents to have more
children, pushing them further into the depths of poverty and
deprivation. It is unbelievable but true that such transactions take
place even against babies in their mother's wombs! The children in a way
are rendered bonded labourers even before they are born.
The factories send out buses to collect the labourers early in the
morning. The agent sees to it that the children pile into these buses.
They are woken up by 3 am and 5 am and are half asleep when they board
the bus. They return at 6 or 7 p.m.
Most of these children have never known a school. They work in
conditions that are hazardous to health. Hey handle dangerous chemicals
for a minimum of 12 hours a day. They work in poorly ventilated rooms.
They have to sit in the same position for long hours. Putting a strain
on their yet immature bone structure. Their eye sight and respiratory
system suffer as a result of the below average conditions. They suffer
from loss of appetite and consequent malnutrition and growth
retardation. All the material used is explosive and inflammable. The
fire safety measures are generally absent or very poor. This has caused
serious fire accidents maiming and killing several children.
Since the payment is on piece rate, the children work longer hours
without respite. They get between 6 to Rs.15 per day if they work for 12
hours a day.
Their mental development is restricted. There is no opportunity for
education, play, recreation, or a simple commodity such as parental love
& attention. They return home tired and half asleep. The family
atmosphere is rarely good with alcoholic fathers and mothers with poor
health striving to make both ends meet.
Factory owners continue to make this profit making venture because there
is an ever growing market for fire crackers. First we used them only
during Diwali. Now, no marriage or any other celebration is complete
without bursting of crackers. Be it a test-match victory or a minor
family celebration, crackers are a must. In fact, a cracker is burst for
every four or six runs hit by a batsman - meaning harm to one child
atleast.
It is we who create the market. The more we buy, the greater the number
of children pushed into this industry.
If our celebrations are incomplete without fire crackers, can we atleast
insist that those that are manufactured in child labour free industries
clearly say so on the wrappers? The carpet industry was another major
employer of young children. This is a largely export oriented industry.
With a growing awareness about children's rights, prospective buyers
world-wide now refuse to buy carpets unless accompanied by a "child
labour free" label;. Can we not insist on child labour free crackers
only?
Fun with crackers? Yes. But with crackers manufactured by children? No.
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By Anuradha Sahasrabudhe. Source : Times of India October 13th, 1998.
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Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 17:36:23 +0800 (SGT)
From: Arvind Agarwalla - Vedika/FACT Singapore
Subject: 'There are 17 million child labourers in India'
#2 'There are 17 million child labourers in India'
By Nirmalya Banerjee - Guwahati - The Times of India - 5th March 1997
There are 17.6 million child labourers in India, UNICEF state
representative Dorothy Rozga said here on Tuesday. Other estimates put
the figure at 44 million.
"Even the more conservative estimate is sufficiently large to move us to
action," she said. In India, there were 73 million "nowhere children"
who were "missing from statistics," belonging to the age group from five
years to 14 years. They were neither going to schools nor registered as
workers. They could be employed in private homes, in agriculture or
engaged in minor employments.
A study has revealed that there were 15 million "bonded child labourers"
in India, she said. Presenting UNICEF's "The State of World's Children"
report for 1997, Ms Rozga said one - fourth of the children in
developing countries were engaged as workers.
The report said that under the system of bonded child labourers
prevailing in India, children were pledged by their parents to factory
owners and their agents in exchange for small loans. Such transactions
were widespread in agriculture and in industries such as cigarette -
rolling, carpet - making, matchstick making, slate and silk. "The most
notorious of these is the carpet industry of Mirzapur - Bhadohi -
Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh," the report said. Thousands of children were
lured away or pledged by their parents for small amounts of money. They
were often made to work for 20 hours a day under strenuous conditions.
The supreme court had already listed some industries as hazardous where
action was necessary to prevent the employment of child labourers, Ms
Rozga said.
She said discussions had recently been held with the West Bengal
government to stop the employment of child labourers in tea gardens in
Jalpaiguri.
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#7 Child labour highest in India: UNESCO official
JALPAIGURI, Feb 22 (PTI)
India enjoys the dubious distinction of possessing the highest number
of child labourers in the world, according to Unesco representative in
India J D Pinto.
Out of the 375 billion-odd child labourers in the world, India
''boasts of`` 70.36 billion child labourers, Mr Pinto said, while
addressing the inaugural session of the two-day workshop on the
elimination of child labour here on Friday.
Reminding that some countries had boycotted Indian carpets as child
labour was involved in it, Mr Pinto stated even the Indian tea
industry, till now one of the highest foreign exchange earners of the
country, could be hit if the use of child labour was not stopped in
the sector. India also pledged together with other 167 countries in
the world to eliminate child labour at the earliest, he added.
Inaugurating the workshop, West Bengal Labour Minister Shanti Ranjan
Ghatak expressed the government`s keenness to abolish child labour in
the state which was amounting 5.25 lakh. The workshop was jointly
organised by the state Labour Department and the International Labour
Organisation`s Programme for Elimination of Child Labour.
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#3 Over 1000 child labourers for National Convention
NEW DELHI, Jan 28 (DHNS)
More than one thousand child labourers will participate in the Second
National Convention of Child Labourers to be held here from March 30
to April 1, 1997. The event, which will also include a public hearing,
is being organised by the Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL).
Announcing this at a press conference here today, J John and Jaya
Srivastav, of the Steering Committee, National Public Hearing and
second National Convention of Child Labourers, said that child
labourers will come from 12 states of India and represent several
sectors of labour such as agriculture, aquaculture, brick-making,
domestic work, beedi making, carpet weaving, hotels, rag-picking and
silk manufacturing. Most of these occupations are not covered under
the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986.
Even a decade after the act took effect only a few states in India
have framed the rules for Part III of the Act that enables regulating
child labour in various establishments. The organisers of the
convention said that only 15 per cent of the child labour force in
India is covered by this legislation, neglecting a majority of
children working in the unorganised sector, in more vulnerable and
exploitative situations.
India has the highest number of child labourers in the world. CACL
estimates the number to be nearly 70-80 million.
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