Chotu doesn146;t work here any more

From October, employing children below the age of 14 as a domestic worker or as help in restaurants and eating places will be illegal.

From October, employing children below the age of 14 as a domestic worker or as help in restaurants and eating places will be illegal. Although as child rights activists we welcome this move and are glad that these two occupations are now in the list of work termed 8216;hazardous8217; 8212; in fact children working as domestic labour are often the worst off, as their plight is hidden from the public gaze 8212; our concern is this: what will happen to these children? It is easy to pass an order outlawing child labour. It makes us feel good. But what about the proper re-integration of these children into society?

There is enough documentary evidence to suggest that without well-conceptualised follow-up plans and programmes, bans becomes a source for further victimisation of child workers. They end up being pushed into even worse forms of invisible labour. Remember the adolescent girls who lost their jobs in Bangladesh8217;s garment units after the US government refused to import clothes from that country, because most of its workers were underage? They were forced into prostitution.

On August 15, 1994 the then prime minister, Narasimha Rao, announced his proposal to eliminate child labour in what was termed 8216;hazardous industries8217; defined in the Child Labour Act of 1986. Going by that promise, child labour should have been eliminated in 57 hazardous occupations listed in the 1986 legislation. Now we are adding two more to that list with no idea at all about the action that had been taken vis-a-vis the earlier 57 occupations. We are aware, of course, of the well-publicised rescue operations mounted by the police and NGOs seeking to 8220;liberate8221; children working in various cottage industries. What we do not know is the fate that visits them after they are rescued. There have been instances of children being taken to shelters which was not equipped to handle such cases. They have no medical personnel in attendance, no toilets to speak of, and primitive arrangements for food and water. The children are traumatised and are often ill-treated. Occasionally, they are sent back to their parents and, in course of time, invariably reappear in the places they once were, doing the same hazardous jobs that they were supposedly rescued from.

The government8217;s flagship response to child labour has been the instituting of National Child Labour Projects in 250 districts. Now in order to make its recent move to ban child labour in two more occupations more effective, it proposes to increase this coverage to 400 districts. But what is often forgotten is that there are two aspects to be considered here: rescue and rehabilitation. The government tends to focus on the first, and neglect the second. It is imperative that a rescue and rehabilitation protocol is developed so that the rights of children are not violated, both during and after the rescue. The protocol should lay down clear procedures to be followed and, most importantly, specify that the children involved are taken into confidence and consulted at every stage of their rehabilitation.

Child labour cannot be eradicated by bans or rescues alone. What is required is a multi-pronged approach. The source districts, including the 400 districts where the National Child Labour Projects will be implemented, need to focus on multiple development projects and programmes. The schools should become the base providing for all the needs of the child, much like the 8220;living school8221; that Gandhiji spoke of, where the child learns and is also equipped to face life. Schools should provide quality education that is free 8212; including free textbooks, notebooks, pencils, pens, uniforms and shoes. The provision of mid-day meals could be handed over to women8217;s self-help groups. This would ensure quality food for the children and income for the women. Health programmes should be an integral part of the services provided by schools.

It has been proved that where there is an effectively functioning Integrated Child Development Development Services centre, the nutritional status of the local children has improved and they have performed better in the classroom. Such children also remain longer in schools rather than swell the ranks of child workers. Child labour, then, is linked intimately to impoverished conditions and poor quality of support structures like schools and health systems. India needs to adopt a holistic approach if it wishes to wipe out this blot for all time.

Panicker is founder-director, Butterflies; Pinto is a specialist in child protection and child rights