The departments linked to the issue of Child Labour and Rehabilitation of Child Labour are:
Department of Education
Department of Health
Women and Child Welfare Department
Labour Department

The Corporator, Ward Officer, Mayor and local MLA and MP are also officials you can interact with to find out the government's plans with regard to Child Labour and the rehabilitation of children who are currently Child Labour.

To know more about the role of the government vis Child Labour you can visit http://labour.nic.in/cwl/ChildLabour.htm

Volunteers in the past... More

Read and Understand Schemes that enable children and their families to access their Rights.
To begin with here are four schemes that directly impact children’s right to education, health, and against exploitation:

1. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
2. Mid Day Meal
3. Integrated Child Development Scheme
4. Child Labour – Regulation and Prevention- Act

Do share your learnings and perceptions with us!

Concept Paper on Child Labour in India. Read

Note on Maharashtra Government Resolution. Download pdf.

Format/guidelines for Case Study

1. Personal Details
Name:
Age/ Date of Birth:
Education:
Occupation:

2. Family Background
How long has the family lived here?
Have they migrated from elsewhere? If so, why and from where?

3. Present situation
- Issues/problems - Primary
- Secondary

4. Reasons for the problems
(put down your own perceptions as well as those of the person you are speaking with)

5. How are the government/ respective authorities tackling the issue?
- Who are involved: directly –indirectly (stakeholder analysis)
- Different mechanisms

  Download PDF of questionaire here.

FAQ - Child Labour

Q1. Why do you feel that Child Labour should be banned in all the sectors?
Children have a ‘Right to Protection’ & ‘Right to Development’. Children have the right to protection from exploitation and abuse. When they are employed they are exploited and abused. It not only affects their health but also violates their ‘Right to Development’ since they are deprived of education, care and recreation. Children who are compelled by circumstances to labour, rather than go to school are unable to access their right to a childhood that allows growth and development to its full potential. It is necessary as a society and a country to ensure that all children go to school, not work.

Q2. Why do we need to talk about Child Labour?
India has the highest number of child laborers in the world. Out of a total workforce in formal sectors in our country, 3% consists of child labour. And of the child labour force 86% do not receive any education. It is a matter of grave concern that a majority of our children are deprived of their basic rights. In a democratic nation believing in social justice this cannot be tolerated. The government must ensure that the fruits of economic progress are shared by all including the children.

Q3. Why do you not object to children working in films or advertisements?
Children working in these sectors are usually not deprived of their right to development/ education. Invariably they are attending schools and learning. Practically they are not deprived of their rights because they have the right to make choices. There is a difference between children being compelled to labour due to circumstances related to social inequalities, and children who work to develop talent or skills. However, even in the entertainment sector, increasingly there are cases of children working for longer hours than are permitted and in conditions that are not appropriate.

Q4. In most cases parents send their children to work. In such situation do you think that punishing only the employer will serve the purpose? The parents may again employ the child somewhere else. To avoid this shouldn’t the parents be punished?

Most parents love their children and do not desire to subject them to hardships. Many impoverished parents even risk debt to keep their children in school. However extreme circumstances like hunger and struggle for basic survival compel them to send the child to work.

In some cases education is not accessible to children or it is of poor quality. Thus making it futile for children to attend school, when they can earn money. In addition, quality secondary and higher education is not free thus there is designing for dropouts after primary education. We see this as creating a certain population that is literate and available for petty jobs but not intellectually capable to make choices in life.

Moreover many parents are unaware of the advantages of education and the various schemes available to help them send their children to school. It is required that the root causes of deprivation are addressed and parents are made more aware.

Q5. Since inaccessibility of schools and/ or poor quality of education are reasons children are put to work by parents, what measures is the government taking?

There are several schemes and plans. Two of them are the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Mid Day Meal Scheme

To provide free education to every child between 6-14 years of age the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has been introduced as a partnership between centre and states. It focuses on access to primary/ upper-primary education, providing infrastructure for schools, enhancing retention and improving quality of learning.

Apart from this a Midday Meal Scheme (MMS) is in operation with the objective of enhancing retention in schools as also providing nutritious food up to upper primary classes in all schools in educationally backward blocks and in government/ government aided schools in other blocks.

Q6. What is the role of CRY and their contribution for eradication of Child Labour?
CRY works with partners in several states in India to address the root causes for children going to work. Our partners work with parents, employers, children’s groups to address the sociological causes of Child Labour. They also work to enable people to collectively pressure governments to enact and implement schemes.

This approach throws up several other Child Rights and Human Rights issues that are closely linked to Child Labour. For instance, in some places girls drop out of schools because there are no separate toilets for them. In other places, education is stopped because children are married very early. Our partners engage with all these issues together with communities, to ensure that children and adults are able to fight for their rights.

Q7. What are the rehabilitation measures for the rescued children?
The State is responsible to provide proper rehabilitation to children. There are two schemes one run by the Central Government (NCLP) and one by the state government.

Under the National Child Labour Project, surveys are conducted in areas where there are child labourers every three years. Then bridge schools are set up through NGOs. The purpose of these schools is to bring the children on par with Std VI students within a period of 3 years. At the end of this time, children are to be mainstreamed in a government school so that they can complete their education.

The government also runs Children’s Homes for children in need of care and protection. The State Government has a task force that conducts Raid and Rescue work when they are informed about Child Labour in certain areas. The employers are fined and the children are then sent back to their homes.

We believe that these policies are insufficient and that there has to be a clear plan of action to address the root cause of Child Labour. This should include a functioning and vibrant education system, safe homes where children without families can be rehabilitated, employment guarantee for distressed families, and a long term vision for families who are deprived of their land due to large scale ‘development’.

Q8. Poverty is one of the main reasons for parents to put children to work. How is this being addressed?

CRY demands that the problem of child labour be seen in its entirety by policy makers and implementers. Child labour is a symptom of larger concerns rather than an isolated issue. Poverty, apart from illiteracy, being the main cause of child labour, it is necessary to raise the economic standard of the parents of working children by exploring the synergy of benefits of various schemes under implementation at the district level. A substantial number of parents of working children could be covered under the Department of Rural Development's self-employment and poverty alleviation schemes. In the context of the above objectives concerted, focused and rigorous efforts at converging important activities at the Central Government, State Government and the District level would be needed.

Q9. Most of the children are working because of poverty, deprivation & they are unfortunately seen as major wage-earners for their families. What would the families do with a major source of income now being cut off?

Sending children to work is not a solution for lack of financial support for the families. On the contrary, the poor would remain economically backward by not educating their children. The middle class especially small business houses, shopkeepers, vendors, domestic households, traders, etc. exploit uneducated underprivileged children.
Education is a fundamental right of every child in India. Education can help them not only stand on their own feet by either becoming self-employed or by being better employable in future but also pave ways for their families to get rid of the issue of perpetual poverty.

Q10. Trying to put a ban on child labour might lead to disastrous consequences - like if the child is sent back to her village, then she might end up being abused or employed in illegal activities. Nobody can even keep track of what happens to the child eventually.

We are absolutely not in favour of throwing out all child labour out of work immediately and sending them back to their hometowns/ villages. But it is illegal to employ children below 14 years in hazardous employments and thus we cannot compromise on that. (We need to find ways to ensure that repatriated children are safe with guardians/ parents in villages through monitoring and counseling). In most of these cases, it is not that the child has to support the family by going to work. It’s only in the mindset of the parents and the fact that traders/ employers want to employ children as they can pay less and extract more work. NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) has recently issued strong directives to the States to implement the ban on ‘Child Labour’ & to ensure rehabilitation for identified ‘child labourers’.

Q11. Is it appropriate to inform the police authorities when we spot child labour?   
We need to see this on a case to case basis. If the child is under 14 years and is in an exploitative situation and is out of school then we must call 1098 (Childline – a 24 hour helpline for children in distress and in need of care and protection).

Q12. In a few cases, the child has no parent/ guardian to take care of her. She is totally at the mercy of the employer. She works all day and is provided with food and clothes. This is more prevalent in local hotels, tea shops, fast food outlets, etc. What do we do with children in such scenarios?

Children in these situations can’t just be picked up and put under somebody’s care. We would need to be thoroughly aware of its consequences. We can only assess as to which rehabilitation centre can take care of the child completely. There are some homes that undertake complete care of such children. If we want child labour to end we will have to take a stronger stand and start asking why children are in labour. When we learn the root causes, only then can we address the problem holistically.
                 
Q13. Legally, employing children under how many years of age is considered to be Child Labour?

As per the ‘Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986’ it is 14 years in specified hazardous occupations and processes.

Q14. What if the child is unwilling to leave the employer and she feels safe with the employer? And, what if the employer is already imparting basic education to the child, besides making use of her at work?

These are very tricky situations and must be invariably confronted by the ‘rescuers’. In both such cases the child after comparing the pathetic conditions at her home-front may feel better off being with the employer. In such cases rather than eagerly enforcing the legal ban and sending the child back to her home, it is the moral obligation of the ‘rescuer’ to ensure that she is properly rehabilitated.

1. As per the law, having a child under 14 work in the domestic labour sector, hotel industry and in any kind of hazardous factory or industrial work, is illegal and employers are liable to be jailed/fined for committing this offence. The child may be taken to a home of some kind and kept there till a guarantee (and Rs 3000) is given to ensure that the child will not go back to work.

2. In the case of domestic labour, or working at a construction site etc, one needs to find out from the mother/father if this is a temporary arrangement (eg. if the child is on vacation and there is no safe place to leave her/him so s/he brings the child to work) or if s/he is against sending the child to school (if so, why), or if sh/e wants the child to work (if so, why)

3. If the arrangement is temporary, it is best to ensure that the child does not work in the homes or sites where he accompanies the parent and that the child is safe and secure, since obviously that is the primary concern

4. If the child and the adult are both reluctant to go to school, you may need to coax, share information, accompany the parent and child to the local school and help get the child enrolled. Do share with the parent the many benefits that children get when they go to school - mid day meal, free books etc

5. If the parent wants the child to work for economic reasons it is imperative that you share that this is an illegal practice and also share the way the Child Labour task force works. It may help to ensure that the adult in the family has some employment