World Day Against Child Labour - 12th June

Date Of Observation : 12th June

Organized By: ILO-UNEP (International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour)

Launched In: 2002

Special Event: The Music Against Child Labour Initiative

( http://ilo.org/ipec/Events/WCMS_246268/lang--en/index.htm)

We are well aware with the Concept of Labor's Day which is celebrated every year in May but what most of us are unaware of the fact that there are hundreds of millions of children who are engaged in work that deprives them of their basic rights such as education, health and innocence. Many such children are working under hazardous environment, forced slavery, prostitution and even drug trafficking. World day against Child Labour aims at taking action against to extend social protection to such adolescents in order to get them a better life. It also plans to design social security systems which are sensitive to the vulnerable child's (under 12 years of age) needs.

In India it is a common practice to have maids at home usually employed full time (40 hours a week or more). If observed deeply most of such domestic helpers comprising twice the number of girls than boys are under the age of 15 which snatches away their right to study thus depriving them of the future they deserve. In the Industrial backdrops the conditions are far worse if we consider diamond, silk and fireworks industries which have poor working conditions and have known to cause blindness or severe health problems.

The facts and figures state that: Source (http://www.ilo.org/ipec/lang--en/index.htm#a1)

Global number of children in child labour has declined by one third since 2000, from 246 million to 168 million children. More than half of them, 85 million, are in hazardous work (down from 171 million in 2000).

Asia and the Pacific still has the largest numbers (almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labour (59 million, over 21%).

There are 13 million (8.8%) of children in child labour in Latin America and the Caribbean and in the Middle East and North Africa there are 9.2 million (8.4%).

Agriculture remains by far the most important sector where child labourers can be found(98 million, or 59%), but the problems are not negligible in services (54 million) and industry (12 million) – mostly in the informal economy.

Child labour among girls fell by 40% since 2000, compared to 25% for boys.

Detailed research point out Poverty and Cultural views as main causes of child labour. In households where there is struggle to feed all mouths in the family, the income from the child brings in means for his/her own survival. The people with the cultural views believe that working is a part of developing skill development and character building which may be right to a certain extent. In rural areas children tend to work because they have nothing else to do because schools are generally either not affordable or too far away for easy reach.

The laws that Indian government has passed to protect children from any abuse or misuse are as follows: (Source: Wikipedia)

1. The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The law also placed rules on who, when and how long can pre-adults aged 15–18 years be employed in any factory.
2. The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine.
3. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law. The list was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.
4. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous employment or in bondage.
5. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009: The law mandates free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that 25 percent of seats in every private school must be allocated for children from disadvantaged groups and physically challenged children.

The steps that we can take at our level in order to protect children and help them grow as the rest of the better privileged kids are:

> Avoid employment of kids under the age of 14 in our own households or industries and encourage them to go to school instead. We have the duty to make our parents and elders aware of the situation.
> Educated housewives or students can teach poor kids/maids working at their place for an hour or so which would not cause hindrance to their financial balance.
> Keep an eye on the malpractices that may be happening in our neighborhoods and report the matter to concerned authorities or organizations.
> Pay them sufficiently and don't misuse them for their lack of knowledge.
> Refrain from abusing or beating them or employing them under any such conditions which may result in long term affects to their health.
> There are many NGOs working for such children whose help can be availed if needed to rescue children. Here a list of all the NGOs can be found out which are working diligently: http://www.karmayog.org/childlabour/childlabour_18034.htm
> Sponsor at least one child's education in your entire lifetime if you have the means.
> Lastly call the child helpline i.e. 1048 (Worldwide). The website link for India is: http://www.childlineindia.org.in/1098/b1a-telehelpline.htm


It is our prime duty to save the future of our nation and lets pledge to join hands to take a step forward towards eradication of child labour not in just our country but around the globe.