Ruthless exploitation

Child labour not only robs children of the heavenly bliss of childhood but also deprives them of their natural right to grow and evolve into free human beings with dignity, under the emotional and physical protection of their parents. It's heart-rending to watch the tender fingers of 5 to 11-year-olds handling hazardous tasks to make their ends meet. There is an apparent dichotomy between the laws on paper and the facts on the ground. Between 2016 and 2020, the global problem of child labour increased among the age group of 5-11 years across the world, adding 16.8 million more children.

A report titled 'Child Labour: Global Estimates 2020; Trends and the Road Forward' brought out by ILO and UNICEF — co-custodians of Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals — on the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labour (June 12) reveals that there has been an increase of 8.4 per cent in child labour across the world, pushing the overall figure to 160 million (10 per cent of total children in the world). Sadly, 79 million of them are involved in hazardous works which may directly endanger their health, safety and moral development. The report also apprehends that due to loss of livelihood resulting from the pandemic, 8.9 million more children may end up being child labourers by 2022; this figure may touch 46 million in absence of social protection coverage. Target 8.7 emphasises taking immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour and end modern slavery and human trafficking by 2025.

The situation in the Indian context is not very different from the rest of the low or middle-income countries. According to a study by Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), there are 12.6 million child labourers — half of which are in five states, namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. A blessing is that India has enacted a new law — Child Labour (Prohibition and Prevention) Amendment Act, 2016 — which completely bans child labour below 14 years of age. The Act incorporates ILO conventions: No. 138 that stipulates the minimum age at which children can work and no. 182 that prohibits hazardous works that are likely to jeopardize children's physical, mental and moral health. However, a cause to worry still remains. Though employing children below 14 years of age in hazardous occupations is prohibited, the Act doesn't bar child labour above 14 years elsewhere. It's important to remember that a child or adolescent is legally a minor until he reaches 18 years of age and is supposed to enjoy the care and protection of parents or guardians. It is reported that 62.8 per cent of India's child labour workforce between 14-17 years of age are engaged in hazardous work.

The inevitable consequences of child labour are child abuse, child trafficking, bonded labour and modern slavery. Incidents of these crimes are difficult to be reported, except with the help of whistle-blowers or NGOs, since children are not aware of their rights, also, not to forget the nitty-gritty of legal mechanisms. There was a rise in the cases of child abuse between 2014 and 2015 from 8,904 to 14,913, registered under the POSCO Act. Of these, sexual offences and kidnapping amounted to 81 per cent. NCRB reported that between 2006 and 2016, there was an increase of 500 per cent in crime against children. Actual unreported cases could be manifold in reality. The main issue is of child labour which makes children vulnerable to other fallouts.

The pandemic is adding to the miseries of child labourers. ILO and UNICEF report recommends expanding income support measures for families through child benefit schemes along with other means to arrest the rise in child labour and child abuse during this pandemic. A plethora of programmes already exist in India, and there is no dearth of laws, either against child labour or for the protection of children. Nevertheless, the phenomena of child exploitation are ubiquitous in almost all states, often underreported. It's worth quoting Kailash Satyarthi, the child rights activist and the Nobel laureate: ''Why 152 million child labourers when 210 million adults are jobless?". The answer is, the employers find children as soft targets for exploitation and often circumvent laws with the help of political patronage.

Lack of sufficient public awareness and poor enforcement infrastructure are two major impediments against addressing the problem. Law alone cannot be a remedy for violation of rights when perpetrators thrive upon the apathy in society. The pathetic absence of awareness in our society is an undoing of legal and constitutional guarantees provided for the protection of children. Even the parents do not respect the rights of their children, especially in family occupations where child labour is permitted under law. Strangely, when the protection of tigers and cows acquires utmost priority, the absence of similar concern is conspicuous with regards to the rights of children. Only a few NGOs are actively engaged in the campaign for child rights. We are successful in creating universal awareness on issues like pulse polio, Swachh Bharat, pollution control or even against public smoking. Jingles can be seen on TV screens every fifteen minutes. A similar mass movement against child labour and child abuse is long overdue in our country.

Secondly, the approach towards the problem has all along been more of curative nature than preventive. Proactive operations to prevent the commission of offences are more important than firefighting operations rescuing children. The campaign is yet to acquire a mission mode. There are dozens of flagship programmes in the areas of rural development, health, education, women empowerment etc. but hardly any for protection of child rights. Women and child development departments are bogged down with implementation of supplementary nutrition schemes for children of 0-6 years age group and pregnant and lactating mothers, but child labour is never on the agenda. There is a gender budget for the development of women but no such thing exists for children who constitute about 26 per cent of the population. The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), introduced in 2009 under WCD, was aimed at the prevention of child rights violations but its implementation solely depends on the existing machinery which is instead preoccupied with the implementation of scores of other schemes. The labour department, with more than three dozen laws and skeletal field staff, is chiefly concerned with minimum wages, work tenure, safety and welfare of workers; even progress in these areas leaves much to be desired, let alone tackling of child labour. The child rights commissions are known for political appointments and have only recommendatory functions. No wonder, in spite of being a cognisable offence, the conviction rate for child labour cases is not more than 25 per cent. Also, out of 10,826 cases reported in 2019, only 56 per cent reached the stage of prosecution.

Children are the future citizens. The disastrous consequence of child labour, in the long run, could mean the denial of opportunities for inter-generational social mobility. Despite divisions and inequalities in society, a healthy socio-cultural environment with security and freedom can always be ensured in order to help children evolve into free and responsible citizens. It's time we adopt a radical approach. Recently, a new ministry for cooperation has been created in the Central government in order to protect the interests of farmers. A similar initiative is all the more important in the area of child development. An exclusive ministry for the protection and development of children with separate administrative, legal and policy framework is essential in India where socio-economic conditions make children susceptible to exploitation. Such an initiative will be historical and will receive widespread acclamation.

The writer is a former Additional Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh. Views expressed are personal