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Action Plan |
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I.
INTRODUCTION The International Labour Organization: 'Child
Labour includes children prematurely leading adult lives, working long
hours for low wages under conditions damaging to their health and to
their physical and mental development. Sometimes separated from their
families, frequently deprived of meaningful education and training
opportunities that would open for them a better future.' Definition of child labour varies under various labour enactments. Some of them are given in Annexure - II. According to these enactments, the minimum age for employment varies from 14 years to 18 years. GLOBAL
In
In Tamil Nadu, according to 1991 census, there were 5.78 lakhs
child workers. 48.2% of them were male and 51.8% were female child
workers. The survey for the SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan - Education for
all Programme) during the year 2001 has estimated child labour figure
as 3.49 lakhs. OCCUPATIONAL
CLASSIFICATION OF WORKING CHILDREN IN TAMILNADU (BASED
ON 1991 CENSUS)
¨
Livestock,
Mining, Manufacturing Processing, Servicing & Repairing in other
than Household Industry, Construction, Trade, Transport and other
services . In Tamil Nadu about 64% of the child work force is concentrated in agriculture and allied activities. Though agriculture is the predominant occupation where children are involved, employment of children in manufacturing and service sector is quite significant in Tamilnadu with over 36% of the working children. III.
LEGAL PROVISIONS The Constitution of India prohibits employment of
children below the age of 14 years in factories, mines or hazardous
employments. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986
prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in certain
hazardous occupations and regulates their employment in other
occupations. This is a central Act. In Tamil Nadu, employment of children is prohibited
altogether in the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 and
the Tamil Nadu Catering Establishments Act,1958. IV.
INITIATIVES · Survey and situational analysis of child labour in the match and fireworks belt in Virudhunagar and Tuticorin Districts were conducted in 1993 by Social Welfare Department. · Tamil Nadu Rules were framed for the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 in the year 1994 · The Tamil Nadu Compulsory Elementary Education Act, was enacted in 1994. · A State Advisory Board for child labour was constituted in 1995 under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Minister for Labour with representatives of other departments concerned. ·
The Tamilnadu Slum Clearance Board, Chennai was allotted
Rupees One Crore in March 1996 for undertaking Child Labour
Eradication Project in ·
Enforcement machinery was geared up and training was
given to officials. A National Child Labour Policy was formulated in the year 1987 with a view to address the problem of child labour. Legislative and developmental measures were undertaken and project based action plan was worked out. In Tamil Nadu, National Child Labour Projects were initiated in 9 child labour endemic districts. Children were withdrawn from the hazardous establishments and were admitted in special schools and mainstreamed into formal schools. 1. ENFORCEMENT OF LABOUR LAWS PROHIBITING CHILD LABOUR The Prohibitory provisions under the following labour enactments are implemented in the State by the Assistant Inspectors of Labour, Deputy Inspectors of Labour, Inspectors of Labour and Inspectress of Labour in the Labour Department and Assistant Inspectors of Factories and Inspectors of Factories in the Chief Inspectorate of Factories. · The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 · The Factories Act, 1948 · The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 · The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 · The Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 ·
The Tamil Nadu Catering Establishments Act, 1958 2.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIRECTIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT The
Supreme Court judgment in Writ Petition C.No.465/86,( M.C.Mehta Vs.
State of
3. NATIONAL CHILD LABOUR PROJECT
ILO-Integrated Programme for eradication of child labour is functioning at Sivakasi and Tirupur. 2648 children withdrawn from labour force were enrolled in transit schools and have completed their education.. So far 20685 children in the age group of 5 to 7 years were enrolled due to the enrolment campaign of the ILO-IPEC project. 575 children in the age group of 13 to 16 years had been given skill Training. Presently, 682 children are receiving the skill training. Mothers of Child Labourers are formed into 140 credit groups and they are given Entrepreneur Development Training. 2236 mothers are members of the Self Help Group. 5. INDO-US-DOL-PROJECTS Ministry of Labour, Government of India and United States Department of Labour have signed a joint statement on ‘Enhanced Indo-US Cooperation on Eliminating Child Labour’ in August 2000. In that statement they have expressed their commitment to the prohibition and eradication of the worst forms of child labour in identified industries namely hand rolled beedi, brassware, hand made bricks, fireworks, footwear, hand-blown Glass bangles, hand- made locks, hand dipped matches, hand-broken quarried stones and silk.
· The Government of India have proposed to implement the new Projects in Kancheepuram, Thiruvannamalai, Namakkal, Tiruvallur and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu. The State plan of action aims at
eliminating child labour in hazardous employment by the year 2005 and
in non-hazardous employment by the year 2007. V.
OBJECTIVES OF THE ACTION PLAN · To prevent children below the age of 14 from working for wages or for a living in hazardous or non-hazardous occupations · To take steps to identify and release every child below the age of 14 years, if found working. · To take all measures to rehabilitate the released child labour. · To implement various developmental schemes, poverty alleviation programmes and self employment schemes to benefit the families of child labour · To take up massive awareness generation programmes through community participation and to create a positive climate for eradication of child labour VI. ACTION PLAN FOR ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR ·
A database should be
created on the number of working children and profile of parents. ·
A micro-planning
exercise should be undertaken to identify available resources and
infrastructure. ·
The survey would be
carried out by an independent agency.
A special enrolment drive should be carried
out by the Education Department along with the other Departments under
the leadership of the District Collector within two months after the
approval of the Action Plan. 4.
MAINSTREAMING CHILD LABOUR TO FORMAL SCHOOLS · Children to be mainstreamed from NCLP special schools to formal schools after completion of their studies in the special schools.
7. AWARENESS GENERATION ·
Widespread awareness
generation to create a positive climate for children to go to school
and not to work. ·
Effective utilization
of folk, print and electronic media. ·
Sensitization Programme
for all Government officials on child rights. ·
Training for N.S.S,
N.C.C, Women Groups, Parent-Teachers Association, and Panchayat
Presidents on the issues relating to child labour. ·
Incentive should be
given to teachers by way of ‘Best Teacher Award' for enrolment of
child labourers and dropouts into Formal Schools. ·
Observance of a
specific day as ‘Anti Child Labour Day’. (June 12th is
being observed as Anti Child Labour Day by ILO) 8. TARGETED IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES / PROGRAMMES ·
Focusing of development
schemes in the district to benefit child labour families. ·
Focusing on rescued
Child Labour in utilization of special funds like Tamilnadu Manual
Workers Social Security and Welfare Fund, Beedi Workers Welfare Fund,
etc. ·
Parents of rescued
child labour should be given priority in the existing poverty
alleviation and self-employment schemes. ·
To supplement income
loss, mothers of rescued child labour to be given appropriate skill
training and encouraged to form women's self-help groups. ·
Strict enforcement of
Minimum Wages Act. 9. TRAINING
In addition to the specific measures under the Action Plan, convergence of the existing services of the following departments, on Governmental Organizations and other bodies is necessary to eliminate child labour.
Suggested activities are given in the annexure III. 11.INVOLVEMENT
OF EMPLOYERS: Involving the Employers Associations in eradication of child labour is very important
13.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN CHILD LABOUR ERADICATION
AT
THE DISTRICT LEVEL
AT
THE STATE LEVEL A State Child Labour Rehabilitation cum Welfare Society may be registered under the Chairmanship of the Commissioner of Labour. This Society will be responsible for implementation of the State Action Plan for Eradication of Child Labour. A Monitoring cell has already been constituted in the Office of the Commissioner of Labour. The cell is monitoring the activities relating to the eradication of child Labour as per the directions of the Supreme Court. This cell will undertake the Secretarial work of the State Child Labour Rehabilitation cum Welfare Society. 15.
FUNDS For conducting surveys, awareness generation and training programmes and grant of assistance for education of the child labourers rescued as per Supreme Court direction, an initial corpus of Rs 1.25 crores will be provided to the State Child Labour Rehabilitation cum Welfare Society. Community/ private/corporate sponsorship for the programmes may also be sought. · In addition to the funds under action plan, the funds available under regular budget schemes of various departments should be utilized giving priority for the activities connected with the eradication of child labour. Monitoring and evaluation of
implementation of the action plan are required to be done by a
suitable mechanism at the district and the state levels. Continuous
feedback is necessary to take timely corrective measures as and when
necessary and to implement the programme effectively in a time bound,
cost effective and result oriented manner.
the implementation of the State action Plan for
Eradication of Child Labour in the State. 17. EVALUATION Documentation and dissemination of successful experiments are necessary. Periodical independent evaluation study will be commissioned by the Society and reports placed before the Government. 18.
GUIDANCE A
State Authority on Child Labour has been formed under the Chairmanship
of Chief Secretary with other concerned Secretaries as members. The
authority will meet once in six months to review implementation of the
Action Plan for eradication of child labour and make appropriate
recommendations to achieve the targets of eradication of child labour
in hazardous occupations by the year 2005 and in all occupations by
the year 2007 ANNEXURE-A "State
parties recognize the rights of the child to be protected from
performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere
with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child health, or
physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development" CONSTITUTIONAL
PROVISIONS The
Constitution of India has also made special provisions for the
protection and restoration of the rights of children. Art-
23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and
forced labour. Traffic in human beings and beggars and others similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. Art- 24: Prohibition
of employment of children in factories etc. No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Article-39(e) and (f): Directive principles of the state policy The state shall, in particular, direct its policy,
securing: (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 avocation unsuited to their age or strength. (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 free and compulsory education
for children The state shall endeavor to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of this constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years. DEFINITION OF CHILD AND PROVISIONS RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN UNDER VARIOUS ACTS
The Act prohibits the employment of a child who has not completed 14 years.
A person shall not be qualified for being engaged as an Apprentice . . . unless he is not less than 14 years of age. "Child means a person who has not completed his 14th year." (There is no prohibition of children. A certificate of fitness is necessary for employing a child.)
The Act prohibits the employment of a child below 18 years of age for work below ground.
The Act prohibits the employment of a child who has not completed his 14th year of age in any of the occupations set forth in part A of the schedule or in any workshop wherein any of the processes set forth in Part B of the Schedule are carried on.
The Act prohibits Children less than 14 years of age to be engaged or carried to sea work in any capacity in any ship, subject to certain exceptions.
The Act prohibits the employment of Children less than 14 years of age in any motor transport undertaking.
The Act prohibits the employment of children less than 14 years of age in any industrial premises manufacturing beedi or cigar.
The Act prohibits employment of Children who have not completed 14 years of age 10. The Tamil Nadu Catering Establishments Act,
1958: The Act prohibits employment of Children who have not completed 16 years of Age 11.
The Tamil Nadu Handloom Workers (Conditions of
Employment and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1981 The
Act prohibits employment of Children who have not completed 16 years
of age The Act prohibits employment of Children who have not completed 16 years of age in any scheduled employment. ANNEXURE
:C SUGGESTED
ACTIVITIES OF VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS i) To ensure strict implementation of all the labour laws relating to prohibition of child labour. ii) To utilize the services of Medical Officers of Employees State Insurance Corporation, Health Department/Local PHC's for the certification for proof of age of child labour. iii) Labour department to act as nodal agency and facilitate the co-ordination between various implementing agencies/departments at state level. iv) To facilitate the collection and compilation of data through district committees. v) Vigorous enforcement of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. vi) To arrange training programmes and conducting seminars/workshops. vii) To observe June 12th of every year as "Anti Child Labour Day" by organizing programmes viii)
To form Child Labour Squads to be formed with authorized
Volunteers/Non governmental Organizations, Doctors, and Enforcement
Authorities. ix) To organize Joint raids every month by the Enforcement Officials 2.
FACTORIES DEPARTMENT i) To ensure strict implementation of the Factories Act 1948 and Child Labour(Prohibition and Regulation ) Act 1986 relating to prohibition of child labour. ii) To utilize the services of Medical Officers of Employees State Insurance Corporation, Health Department/Local PHC's for the certification for proof of age of child labour. iii) Vigorous enforcement of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. iv) To observe June 12th of every year as "Anti Child Labour Day" by organizing programmes v)
Child Labour Squads to be formed with authorized
Volunteers/Non governmental Organizations, Doctors, and Enforcement
Authorities. vi) Joint raids should be organized every month by the Enforcement Officials 3.
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT i) To observe June 12th of every year as "Anti Child Labour Day" by all the Panchayat Raj Institutions. ii) To ensure that every Panchayat Raj Institution, passes resolutions stating that they would eliminate child labour and endeavour, to rehabilitate the released child labour. iii) To ensure that no child below 14 years of age is allowed to work in their jurisdiction of Gram Panchayats/Panchayat Unions and review the status as a standing agenda in all monthly meetings of Grama Panchayats/Panchayat Unions. iv) The licences issued by the Panchayat Raj Institutions to be cancelled if such licence holders are found engaging child labour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
