India tries harder on child labour

Renewed attempts are about to be made by the Indian government to eliminate child labour, which is deterring some countries from buying the country’s exports.

The decision follows reports by the foreign press and non-governmental organizations that children are being used by manufacturers supplying global retailers and the death of two children aged ten and 16 at a plastics factory in Gujarat. These reports and incidents suggest that the 22-year-old law banning child labour is being flouted by local suppliers.

One of the proposals is to add nine processes to the present list of 57 among the 15 hazardous occupations in which child labour is outlawed. The expanded list would include processes involving excessive heat and cold, mechanized fishing, timber handling and loading, food processing, beverages manufacture, diving and mechanical lumbering.

Another proposal is to seek out and repatriate migrant children to their homes and to rehabilitate them. The government hopes these measures would prevent rescued children from drifting back into the workforce.

An official said: ‘The roles and responsibilities of the different agencies involved would be spelt out clearly. The state where children are found working and the state where they belong and are to be sent back to will have to work in co-ordination. The key states where the origin and incidence of such child labour is high – Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra – are on board.’

The government, however, could face cultural and other problems. For example, farming is a family activity in India and it would be difficult to bar children from helping out in the fields.