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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Govt proposes complete ban on child labour till 14 years -Mahendra Singh & Himanshi Dhawan

Govt proposes complete ban on child labour till 14 years -Mahendra Singh & Himanshi Dhawan

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published Published on May 8, 2015   modified Modified on May 8, 2015
-The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The government has moved a proposal for complete ban on child labour up to 14 years with the caveat that employment will only be allowed in family enterprises after school hours even as child rights activists have opposed the move.

The labour ministry has sought Cabinet approval for an amendment to the Child Labour Prohibition Act which will allow children below the age of 14 to work in select family enterprises if it doesn't hamper their education. Children between 14 and 18 years will not be allowed to work in hazardous industries.

The fresh legislation proposes a complete ban on child labour up to 14 years in any organization, big or small. There is no penalty provision for parents for the first offence but repeat offenders may be subject to a monetary fine with the likelihood of imprisonment. However, the employer would be liable for punishment even for the first offence.

The 14-year bar will not apply if children are helping the family in fields, forests and home-based work after school hours or during vacations, or while attending technical institutions.

"The children can help parents in family enterprises after school. The provision will help poor families. There are enough safeguards to ensure that these children are not forced by parents to work in any commercial enterprise," said a senior labour ministry official.

He added, "There are similar provisions in most societies across the world. The complete ban proposal is away from ground realities."

The labour ministry had initially proposed that end-users of products should also be punished if a product was made by a child below 14 years. The ministry of women and child development (WCD), however, opposed this on two grounds. One, that it will be impractical to assess the participation of a child in a home-based profession and, two, the legislation was open to abuse by police and authorities. "It will also dissuade people from buying traditional crafts or patronizing home based occupations,'' a source said.

The original child labour law banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, 2012, introduced in Rajya Sabha recommended a complete ban on child labour until they finished elementary education, guaranteed under the Right to Education Act.

Enakshi Ganguly of Haq: Centre for Child Rights said the amendment will "increase informalization of labour'' and was a worrying sign.

"It embarrasses me that as the world's fastest growing economy we are approving such retrograde legislation,'' Ganguly said adding that the amendment was wrong on many counts. "Not only does it perpetuate the caste system but is in violation of the Right to Education Act that provides for equal opportunity. Where is the equal opportunity when my child can come back from school and be a child and study while yours must go home and work,'' she asked.

Child rights activists say that lifting the blanket ban on child labour would prove to be detrimental and unfairly puts the onus of continuing traditional arts and crafts on women and children.

The Times of India, 8 May, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-proposes-complete-ban-on-child-labour-till-14-years/articleshow/47195609.cms


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