Child labour laws and child right

Child labour laws and child right

Introduction :-

India has one of the highest child labour rates in the world, despite the Indian legislature passing several state and central legislations to eradicate the stigma of child labour imposed on India. Child labour means involving children in economic activities. Child labour is said to be harmful because it affects the mental and physical health of children. Poverty, illiteracy, socio-economic status etc.  are due to increase in child labour. 

Current data about how many child are empolyed as child labour :-

India around 12.9 million children between the ages of 7 and 17 are working, according to the ILO. According to recent assessment by ILO and UNICEF there are now 160 million children working as minors globally, an increase of 8.4 millions more in danger owing to COVID-19's effects. 

Legal framework in India :-

The law of the land which is Constitution of India also talks about child rights and child labour. It provides

 Article 21A provides free and compulsory education to children between 6 and 14 years of age. 

 Article 24 prohibits employment of children in factories below the age of 14 years. 

 Article 39(e) provides that children of tender age are not abused or stressed so that they do not fit their age and power. 

 Article 65 provides for early childhood care and education of all child till the age of 6 years. 

Other legislation :-

 Factories Act of 1948: This Act prohibited employment of children below 14 years of  age in any factory. 

 Mines Act of 1952: This Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. 

 Motor Transport workers (MTW) of 1961: No child shall be required to work in any capacity in any motor transport undertaking. 

 Apprentice Act of 1961: A person should not qualified as a trainee if he is not less than 14 years of age. 

Child Right schemes of department of education :-

• Sarva shiksha Abhiyan:-

The initiative known as sarva shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) promotes universal elementary education. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a former Indian Prime Minister, invented the programme. By 2010,it wanted to educate every child between the ages of 6 and 14

• Midday Meal scheme :-

The Midday meal scheme is an Indian School meal programme created to improve the nutritional status of student across the country. The Midday meal scheme is the biggest programme of it’s type in the world, feeding 120 million kids in more than 1.27 million school and education location.

• Balika samridhi Yojana :-

In 1997,the central Government announced the Balika samriddhi yojana. In order to enable the the empowerment of female children in the nation, this was done in accordance with plan for woman and child development

Conclusion:-

If awareness about the cons of children labour is spread across the national and strict policing of implement of existing laws are done, India can combat the issue of child labour. Every individual must understand how important it is for the children to grow and study, as they are the ones who will shape the future of the nation. 

**Author:- Soumili Pramanik, a Student of Amex law college