Child Labor in India

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

According to Indian law, child labor in India is the employment of minors under the age of 14. It is largely restricted and regulated, but not generally prohibited. Child labor is recorded according to different criteria.

The 2001 national census showed that 12.6 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are in employment. Persons under 17 years of age who are economically productive work with or without compensation, wages or profits, including work in their parents' company or part-time, were recorded.

The UNICEF estimates that, India is (absolute) with the highest child labor due to the high population of the country during the African countries have the highest percentage of child labor in the Sahara. However, UNICEF defines child labor differently from the government. It counts children from 5 to 11 years of age who do at least one hour of economic work per day or 28 hours of domestic work per week, as well as children between 12 and 14 years of age who do at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours (economic and domestic work) per week.

Legal position

The Indian Constitution (Article 24) and the Principles of State Policy prohibit child labor under the age of 14 in factories (regulated in the Factories Act of 1948 with special conditions for 15 to 18 year olds) or in mines ( Mines Act of 1952 for under 18s) or any other hazardous occupation in 16 occupations and 65 hazardous areas ( Child Labor Act 1986, 2006 and 2008 expanded). The constitution also provides that India will introduce compulsory schooling for children aged six to 14 from 1960 and provide infrastructure and resources for free education (Art. 21a and 45).

The Juvenile Justice of Children Act of 2000 regulates the employment of minors in dangerous work and their placement as a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 provides free and compulsory education for all children ages 6-14. 25 percent of the places in private schools have to be occupied by disabled children and children from disadvantaged groups.

Legal child labor is e.g. B. limited to a maximum of five hours during the day without overtime and to one company per day. Further regulations concern u. a. Documentation obligations by the company.

The statutory minimum wage for children is lower than that for adults and makes child labor more attractive for companies.

Areas of application

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), there are great economic benefits for developing countries if children go to school instead of work. Education increases their productivity for more highly skilled work that will help them escape poverty.

Rural area

Children in rural areas who do not attend school work an average of 4.7 hours a day, school children, on the other hand, two hours less, girls slightly more than boys. Above all, they help their parents at home and in the fields. Depending on the estimate, between 60 and 70 percent of child labor is in agriculture and related areas (e.g. further processing). Public school teachers have 25 percent absenteeism. The International Labor Organization study suggests that illiteracy through work, more than the quality of schools, limits children's chances of basic education and the acquisition of all the skills necessary for decent living and the improvement of quality of life.

Diamond and gem industry

The Child magazine published a 1999 report by the International Labor Organization and the Universal Alliance of Diamond Workers . According to this, child labor is widespread in the Indian diamond industry . The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) also reported on it in a 1997 press release. Another union, The South Gujarat Diamond Workers Association , believes that child labor is present but not systematic, accounts for less than 1 percent of workers and is isolated. Local business people try to downplay the importance of these numbers.

According to the paper of the International Labor Organization of 1999, 70 percent of the diamonds in the world market or 40 percent by value are obtained from India every year. In addition, 95 percent of the emeralds , 85 percent of the rubies and 65 percent of the sapphires are sourced from India . In India, processing is done using traditional labor-intensive methods. Over 1.5 million people are employed in the diamond industry, mostly in the informal sector . The diamond industry is fragmented from extraction to export to many small businesses. The International Labor Organization believes this is to undermine workers' rights. The exact number of child labor in this sector is unknown; it was estimated at 10,000 to 20,000 in 1997 (out of 1.5 million workers in total). The causes of child labor are the parents who force their children to work because education is expensive and the quality of the school is poor, while the work is lucrative.

A recent study from 2005, conducted at 663 manufacturing facilities in 21 different locations in India's diamond and gemstone industries, shows that the level of child labor has fallen to 0.31 percent.

Fireworks industry

In the city of Sivakasi in the state of Tamil Nadu (southern India), children are employed in the production of fireworks. In 2011 there were over 9,500 fireworks production facilities in Sivakasi, which together produced almost 100 percent of all exported fireworks. They employed around 150,000 people, an average of 15 employees per factory, most of them in the informal sector with only a few officially registered companies.

In 1989 Shubh Bhardwaj reported that child labor was widespread in the Indian fireworks industry and that security technology was poor. Child labor happens v. a. in small sheds in the disorganized sector. Only four companies, each with more than 250 employees, were active in the regulated industry. These companies did not employ any children and had above-average safety standards. The children in the disorganized sector are affected by long working hours, low wages, insecure working conditions and strenuous shift work.

A recent report by the International Labor Organization from 2002 writes that children are significantly employed in Tamil Nadu, but not in official production facilities that produce for export, but in the production of fireworks, matches and incense sticks for the domestic market. The report states that the demand for these products has grown, but that the official businesses have not grown, but that the small businesses that produce at home have sprung up like mushrooms. This has increased the potential for child labor. This unofficial sector makes research and effective action difficult.

Silk production

A 2003 report by Human Rights Watch states that children ages 5 and up are employed in the silk industry for up to 12 hours a day, six to seven days a week. These children are employed through bondage contracts. Although the Indian government denies the existence of this form of child labor, this child labor is e.g. B. practiced in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Children are forced to dip their hands in hot water to feel the cocoons. They often get less than 10 rupees a day (about 13 cents).

In 2010 it became known through the investigative report of Deutsche Welle that non-governmental organizations in countries like Karnataka had identified up to 10,000 working children in the 1,000 silk factories in 1998. Elsewhere in 1994, thousands of children were employed in bondage contracts. According to UNICEF and non-governmental organizations, their number has since fallen dramatically to less than a thousand children. The freed children go to school.

Private households and gastronomy

Official estimates for households and restaurants put more than 2.5 million working children, while non-governmental organizations put their number at around 20 million. In 2006, the Indian government extended the ban on child labor as domestic servants and in restaurants, Dhabas (street restaurants), hotels, spas and spa houses .

Coal mining

Employment of under 18s in mining has been prohibited since 1952. Nonetheless, child labor was discovered in primitive coal mines in Meghalaya state and made known by international media in 2013.

Causes of Child Labor

Poverty and education

UNICEF points out that poverty encourages child labor. One report finds that in rural and impoverished parts of the world children have no real and meaningful alternative. Schools and teachers are not available. Child labor is the result. A BBC report comes to similar conclusions that poverty and inadequate public education infrastructure are some of the causes of child labor in India. Girls are twice as likely to be taken out of school as boys if parents cannot afford school or if the children have to contribute to a living. Education for girls is less of a priority.

The UNICEF report states that around 50% of state-funded primary schools are lacking a building, 40% of schools lack blackboards or books, and 97% of the available funds are budgeted for salaries and administration. In 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported that while the rate of 6 to 14-year-old children attending school increased to 96 percent, the facilities in schools remained the same. Over 81,000 schools do not have a blackboard and over 42,000 state schools without buildings work with makeshift solutions during monsoons or bad weather. Even when children go to school, many children work from home or do business after school.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) notes that poverty is the single largest cause of child labor. It is often essential for survival and contributes 25 to 40 percent of household income. A 2008 study by the International Labor Organization shows that the lack of schools or their poor quality increases child labor, which is particularly the case in rural areas.

Rural development programs that have provided families with small plots of land for self-sufficiency have had the unintended side effect of increasing child labor as smallholders cannot afford expensive agricultural machinery. In these cases, one meant to increase expenditure from the small property would apply to more work, including child labor.

Bondage

Often children work in a system of forced labor or partial forced labor when parents are in debt and the children work in kind to repay the loan for the creditors. According to a 2005 report by the International Labor Organization, the colonial Indian Indenture System lives on in today's society. Indian bondage arose during the colonial period in order to obtain reliable cheap labor with the help of loans and leases ( Hali , Halwaha or Jeurasystem of colonial administration). Over time, the International Labor Organization report claims, these traditional forms have become entrenched in society.

In 1976, this forced labor was officially abolished by law in India. But there is evidence that it persists. The National Human Rights Commission reported the discovery of 53 child workers in 1996 in Tamil Nadu state during an unannounced inspection. Each child or their parents had taken out an advance loan of 100,000 to 250,000 rupees. The children worked 12 to 14 hours a day and received only 2 to 3 rupees as a daily wage. The International Labor Organization writes that the extent of children affected by debt bondage is difficult to determine, but estimates by various human rights groups go as high as 350,000 in 2001.

Despite the Bonded Labor System Act of 1976, Indian prosecutors rarely act to prosecute those responsible. According to a report, prosecutors have no instructions from the central government to prosecute the case under the Minimum Wages Act or the Child Labor Act . The few existing law enforcement options had an unintended effect. It is true that there was a decrease in child labor in factories. However, the factories continue to lend money to families in need and then provide B. a loom on loan for home work and get the finished product delivered from home work. This shifts the work from these toggle contracts from the company to the domestic sector.

Sumangali is a special form of debt bondage . In this practice, parents conclude a contract with companies for their underage daughters. The aim is for them to work for little or no pay, mostly in textile companies, so that they can save up their own dowry and marry until the end of the contract .

Structural problems of the economy

Scientists suspect that the inflexibility and structure of the Indian labor market, the high proportion of the informal economy , the inability of industry to grow and the lack of modern manufacturing technologies are important macroeconomic factors that promote the demand for and acceptance of child labor.

Measures to combat child labor

In 2001, 120,000 children were employed in hazardous work areas. One problem arises from the difficulty of verifying compliance with the law. Large international companies such as Gap Inc. , Primark (both in the international textile trade), Monsanto (seed and biotechnology industries) and other large companies are criticized for manufacturing products using child labor. While companies claim they are taking action against the trafficking of child labor products, the large number of companies involved in the supply chain makes effective monitoring impossible. But not every criticism was or is justified. In 2011, three years after efforts by Primark and its suppliers to curb child labor, it was revealed that an award-winning investigative report by the BBC on child labor in these companies was fake. The BBC apologized to the company and its viewers.

State projects

Since 1987 the policy has been aimed at gradually expanding the definition of hazardous work. The Ministry of Labor and Employment has implemented around 100 branch-specific National Child Labor Projects since 1988 to curb child labor. This can go hand in hand with implementing development programs to address the root causes of child labor, such as: B. the fight against poverty. In 1988, the National Child Labor Project (NCLP), an initiative of the central government was started, which with 6,020 million rupees is aimed exclusively at the elimination of child labor in India.

Initiatives by non-governmental organizations

Many organizations like Bachpan Bachao Andolan , CARE india , Child Rights and You , Global march against child labor , RIDE India etc. are committed to the eradication of child labor in India. Pratham , the largest non-governmental organization in India, launched the Every child in school and learning well campaign in 1994 . Its aim is to reduce child labor and enable children to go to school regardless of their gender, religion or social background. “Low-cost teaching models” were developed that are sustainable and reproducible. In 2005, Pratham was involved in coordinating a child labor rescue operation carried out with the Ministry of Labor and the police when around 500 children were freed from textile factories in New Delhi.

Seal for products without child labor

In order to effectively curb child labor in India, various certificates and seals have been created that are available for products without child labor. This includes Fair Stone and Xertifix for natural stones , Goodweave , Label STEP and Rugmark for carpets , and especially Fairtrade for overseas agricultural products such as coffee, cotton and tropical fruits.

By becoming a member of the Care & Fair initiative , companies can document that they have made a voluntary contribution to social projects in favor of carpet weavers and that they have made a catalog of requirements that obliges carpet manufacturers to exclude child labor, among other things, as part of the contract. There is no independent control of these claims.

literature

  • Benjamin Pütter, Dietmar Böhm: Small hands - big profit: Child labor - what unimagined suffering is hidden in our world of goods. Heyne Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-641-21121-9 , ISBN 978-3-453-60440-7
  • Beate Bergé, Jona Aravin Dohrmann, Michael Hauff, Werner Draguhn (eds.) And others: India 2004. Politics, economy, society. Institute for Asian Studies, Hamburg 2004
  • Elimination of Child Labor - Backgrounder Government of India 2004, Press Information Bureau, December 8, 2004. (Online)
  • Wiji Arulampalam, Sonia Bhalotra: Infant Survival in India: Frailty and State-Dependence (2005, English)
  • Alessandro Cigno, Furio C. Rosati: Why do Indian children work and is it bad for them? IZA Discussion Paper. Bonn 2001 (English)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labor in India . International Labor Organization - an Agency of the United Nations, Geneva. 2011. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 25, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ilo.org
  2. ↑ a b National Child Labor project . Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  3. ^ India- The big picture . UNICEF . Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  4. ↑ THE STATE OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN - 2011 (PDF; 2.9 MB) UNICEF. 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ a b Jorn Madslien: ILO: Child labor prevents development . Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  6. ^ Constitution of India . Ministry of Law and Justice, Govt. of India. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 25, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / lawmin.nic.in
  7. ↑ Based on Section 7 of the Child Labor Act (six hours including one hour break after a maximum of three hours)
  8. ^ Jean Drèze, Geeta Gandhi Kingdon: School Participation in Rural India. (PDF; 207 kB) April 2000
  9. ↑ Estimation by the International Labor Organization: Facts on Child Labor - 2010 (PDF; 202 kB) ILO, Geneva. 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  10. ^ Estimate of the Food and Agriculture Organization : Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of child labor worldwide . FAO, United Nations. 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  11. ^ Kaushik Basu: Combating India's truant teachers , BBC News. November 29, 2004. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 
  12. ^ A b India Journal: The Basic Shortages that Plague Our Schools , The Wall Street Journal. January 3, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 
  13. ↑ Kremer et al .: TEACHER ABSENCE IN INDIA: A SNAPSHOT (PDF; 53 kB) World Bank. September 15, 2004. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  14. ↑ a b c Child labor causes . ILO, United Nations. 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  15. ↑ a b c Chandra Korgaokar and Geir Myrstad: Child Labor in the Diamond Industry . International Labor Organization. Pp. 51-53. 1997. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 25, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ilo.org
  16. ^ Child Labor Crisis in Diamond Industry , BBC News. October 26, 1999. Retrieved September 8, 2009. 
  17. ^ Summit Khanna: Diamond industry plays down child labor charges . Business-standard.com. December 13, 2004. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
  18. ↑ Ketan Tanna: Child Labor Practice Drops in India , Rapaport News. February 14, 2005. Retrieved September 8, 2007. 
  19. ^ Use of child labor in gem industry lower . The Indian Express . February 14, 2005. Archived from the original on August 22, 2006. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 20, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / cities.expressindia.com
  20. ^ Summit Khanna: AF Ferguson report slams Surat diamond industry , Business Standard. February 23, 2005. Retrieved October 20, 2007. 
  21. ^ NDTV: Child Labor in Fireworks . Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  22. ↑ Firecracker industry edgy about slow business prospects this Diwali: ASSOCHAM . ASSOCHAM. October 20, 2011. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 25, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.orissadiary.com
  23. ^ Urban unorganized sector in India. Mittal, 1989. OCLC 20057864 (pp. 45-48)
  24. ↑ A future without child labor (PDF; 5.8 MB) International Labor Organization, Geneva. 2002. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  25. ↑ Indian silk industry employs child: Human Rights Watch . 200301-23. Retrieved October 20, 2009. 
  26. ^ Child: Blood on silk , Frontline. January 2001. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 
  27. ^ India: Freeing the Small Hands of the Silk Industry , Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 
  28. ↑ Enforcing the ban , The Hindu . October 20, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2009. 
  29. ↑ Gardiner Harris: Children Toil in India's Mines, Despite Legal Ban . In: The New York Times , February 25, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013. "We have very good laws in this country," said Vandhana Kandhari, a child protection specialist at Unicef. "It's our implementation that's the problem." 
  30. ↑ a b Beyond Child Labor - Affirming Rights (PDF; 1.5 MB) UNICEF. 2001. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  31. ^ Madeleine Morris: Educating India's child laborers , BBC News. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 
  32. ↑ Child Labor and Education - Digest 28 (PDF; 3.3 MB) UNICEF. 1990. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  33. ↑ Mario Biggeri and Santosh Mehrotra: Asian Informal Workers: Global Risks, Local Protection . Routledge, 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-38275-5 .
  34. ↑ Cigno, Rosati and Tzannatos: Child Labor, Nutrition and Education in Rural India: An Economic Analysis of Parental Choice and Policy Options . In: The World Bank (Ed.): Pacific Economic Review . December 2001.
  35. ^ Cigno, A. and FC Rosati: Child Labor, Education and Nutrition in Rural India . In: Pacific Economic Review . 7, 2002, pp. 65-83.
  36. ↑ a b c Incidence and Pattern (PDF; 229 kB) Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  37. ↑ Tom Brass: unfree labor and capitalist restructuring in the agrarian sector in Peru and India . In: Journal of Peasant Studies . 14, No. 1, 1986. doi : 10.1080 / 03066158608438319 .
  38. ↑ Annual Report 1999-2000 . National Human Rights Commission, Govt of India. 2000. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 25, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nhrc.nic.in
  39. ^ Debt Bondage in India: An Indicative Report. Center for Education and Communication, 2004 (pages 48-50) ISBN 81-88160-11-3 , OCLC 177083728
  40. ↑ a b Small Change: Bonded Labor in India (PDF; 3.8 MB) Human Rights Watch. January 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  41. ↑ Christiaan Grootaert, Harry Anthony Patrinos: The Policy Analysis of Child Labor: A Comparative Study . Palgrave Macmillan, 1999, ISBN 978-0-312-22122-5 .
  42. ^ Douglas Galbi: Child Labor and the Division of Labor in the Early English Cotton Mills . In: Journal of Popffafjjh Economics . 10, No. 4, 1997, pp. 357-375.
  43. ^ DK Brown, AV Deardorff, RM Stern: Child Labor: Theory, Evidence, and Policy . ISBN 978-1-4051-0555-2 , 3. International Labor Standards: History, Theory, and Policy Options, doi : 10.1002 / 9780470754818.ch3 .
  44. ^ Children and Work . Census 2001 & Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India. 2008. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  45. ^ Gap Under Fire: Reports Allege Child Labor , ABC News . Retrieved October 22, 2009. 
  46. ↑ Steve Hawkes: Primark drops firms using child labor , The Times. June 17, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009. 
  47. ↑ a b Child Labor , Forbes Magazine . October 3, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009. 
  48. ↑ BBC crisis over 'fake' sweatshop scene in Primark documentary , The Independent. June 17, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 
  49. ↑ Shamed BBC hand back top award after 'faking footage of child labor' in Primark Panorama expose . Daily Mail. June 28, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  50. ^ Timeline of events . Primark. 2012. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 25, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.primarkresponse.com
  51. ^ National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labor in India . International Labor Organization. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
  52. ↑ Initiatives towards Elimination of Child Labor - Action Plan and Present Strategy . Ministry of Labor, Government of India (archive page January 5, 2012). 2011. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  53. ^ Other Initiatives Against Child Labor in India . International Labor Organization. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
  54. ↑ Srikant Datar, Stacey Childress, Rachnna Tahilyani and Anjali Raina: Pratham - Harvard Case Study (PDF; 1.6 MB) Harvard Business School. 2010. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 25, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / api.ning.com
  55. ↑ 485 child laborers rescued . The Hindu . November 22, 2005. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  56. ↑ Label-Online. Care & Fair. The Consumer Initiative, accessed July 22, 2013 .