India formulated a national policy against child labour in 1987. This directive aims to adopt a gradual and sequential approach with emphasis on the rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations. It provides for the strict enforcement of India`s child labour laws, coupled with development programmes to address the root causes of child labour, such as poverty. This led to the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) in 1988. This legal and development initiative continues with current central government funding of Rs 6 billion aimed solely at eliminating child labour in India. [31] Despite these efforts, child labor remains a major challenge for India. No, children under the age of 14 are allowed to work or perform hazardous work in a factory or mine The minimum age for hazardous work has been raised to 18. Hazardous work is defined as mines, flammable substances, explosives and hazardous processes. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act prohibits children under the age of 14 from being employed in factories, including 16 “hazardous occupations” and 65 “lawsuits”.
These hazardous occupations and processes include work in slaughterhouses, auto shops, foundries, handling toxic substances, mines, dhabas, restaurants, tea rooms, domestic services, beedi making, carpet weaving, construction and construction industry, etc. Get legal answers from lawyers. It`s fast, easy and anonymous! The legal working age is the legal age required for a person in any country or jurisdiction if they have not reached the age of majority. Activities that are dangerous or harmful to health, or that may affect the morale of minors, fall into this category. The four new labour laws were supposed to come into force from April 1, 2021, but given the increase in COVID cases and the potential impact of the new codes on cost per employee for businesses, the government has postponed the implementation of the new codes to a later date. The central and state governments have not yet notified the rules. The new legislation will not enter into force until it has been notified. In 1953, Rajaji legalized child labor as part of the amended primary education system of 1953. Children are not allowed to work more than six hours a day (including one hour rest after 03 hours of work). Night work (between 7pm and 8am) and overtime are prohibited for children. Despite laws passed in 1952 prohibiting the employment of persons under the age of 18, the primitive coal mines of Meghalaya have been caught employing children under the age of 18. This attracted international media attention in 2013.
However, this restriction does not apply if a child helps his family or family business (which is not a dangerous profession), after school or during holidays. Family in relation to a child refers to the father, mother, brother, sister and sister of the father and the brother and sister of the mother. A 2003 Human Rights Watch report states that children as young as five are employed and work up to 12 hours a day, six to seven days a week in the silk industry. [67] These children, it is argued, are subject to debt bondage; Although the Indian government denies the existence of debt bondage, these silk industry children are easy to find in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, claiming that children are forced to soak their hands in boiling water to smell the cocoons, and are often given less than 10 rupees a day. [68] Child labor has also been the subject of public interest litigation in Indian courts. [83] [84] Child labour robs children of their childhood and harms their physical and mental development. The Government provides free education to all children and has taken various measures to prevent child labour in India. However, child labour remains a problem in various parts of India due to poverty, lack of good schools and growing informal economy. If all entrepreneurs in the country decide to take action to eliminate child labour and help children in need receive an education during their childhood, a vibrant and resilient India can be created. “Knowledge will set you free” – In this article, we provide an overview of laws, rules and regulations aimed at preventing child labour in India. Children are not allowed to be employed in institutions linked to Beedi.
The Act made it a criminal offence for someone to keep a child in slavery for employment purposes. Under the Child and Young Persons Work Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986, as amended in 2016 (CLPR), a “child” is defined as any person under the age of 14, and the CLPR prohibits the employment of a child in any employment, including as a domestic help. It is a recognizable crime to employ a child for any job.