Renewed call to ban all forms of child labour

As the world commemorated the World Day Against Child Labour on Tuesday, international NGO Save the Children stepped up its campaign against child labour by demanding a complete ban on employment of children below the age of 14 years.

"There should be no distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous work for children up to the age of 14 years. There should be a complete ban on all forms of child labour till this age," said Mohammad Aftab of Save the Children.

India has the largest child population in the world at 440 million. It also has the highest number of child labourers.

According to the 2001 census, some 12.6 million children below the age of 14 years still work as labourers in different parts of the country. Nearly 70% of them work in the agriculture sector.

To protect the rights of children, the government is expected to amend the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act [CLPRA] during the monsoon session of the Parliament.

The law must be amended "urgently" to ensure that children are in schools and playgrounds, than in factories or farms, said Save the Children CEO Thomas Chandy.

CLPRA prohibits employment of child labour only in hazardous occupations but allows their engagement in non-hazardous occupations like agriculture and household works.

Tuesday was the 10th anniversary of World Day Against Child Labour, a United Nations initiative to promote awareness and action to tackle child labour.

In India, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) commemorated the event with a function held on the theme "Justice for Children - End Child Labour".

Addressing the event, Secretary for Ministry of Women and Child Development, Neela Gangadharan, expressed that collective action at the individual level along with efforts by civil society organisations strengthened by initiatives of the government were necessary to eliminate child labour in the country.

Child labour is a complex issue as it is linked with several inter-connected issues of poverty, unemployment, gender, and non-availability and non-accessibility of basic services in many rural areas, the Secretary said.

She stressed on vocational education for the children which will lead to skill development and enable them to seek better opportunities of employment.

The Secretary also stated that eliminating child labour needs to form part of collective consciousness and should be reflected in daily behaviour.

Further, she informed that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Bill 2012 will "form a strong deterrent against child labour as very often children trafficked for child labour are also physically and sexually exploited".