Opinion Derek O’Brien writes: With child labour, law is not the problem — enforcement is
Sectors that require urgent attention to address the worst forms of child labour include the production of matches and fireworks, glass, and leather products, as well as work in brick kilns, coal mines, and construction, among others
Today, the reality of child labour is grim. 
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Long before I started asking quiz questions or delivering speeches in Parliament, I spent eight years in advertising, in an agency that we often fondly called Ogilvy University. The most memorable four days of those eight years was when, as a junior copywriter, I hung around with the “father of advertising”, David Ogilvy, when he visited India. Precious. Of all Mr Ogilvy’s (he insisted we all call him David) maxims, my favourite was: “Big ideas are usually simple ideas.”
In the hurdy gurdy ride of politics, marketing and communication still remain favourite subjects. On May Day this year, there was a brilliant advertisement that appeared in print. The communication was created by Ogilvy India. The intriguing headline screamed, “This Labour Day, 7.8 million workers should be laid off.” And then the magical twist in the subhead: “In a country with 35.6 million unemployed adults, there are 7.8 million children working. Let the adults do the work and let the children go to school”. A Big Idea communicated in a simple, powerful way.
Today, the reality of child labour is grim.
An analysis of the Union government’s Periodic Labour Force Survey 2018-19 by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed that the number of children in child labour in India ranged from 18 lakh (using the national definition), to 33 lakh (using the international definition). Almost half of all working children work within their own family. The agricultural sector engages the most children, followed by the industrial sector, including manufacturing and construction.
Worst forms of labour: The most harmful forms of child labour involve work in dangerous industries or occupations. Children from disadvantaged religious or caste backgrounds, as well as those from impoverished households, are more likely to be involved in hazardous work. Abuse and mistreatment by employers, especially in factories, is widely reported. This includes physical and verbal abuse, low wages, and a lack of access to health services, even when children suffer accidents or injuries. Lack of proper hygiene, sanitation and clean water leads to children becoming easily susceptible to infectious diseases. Working with toxic materials causes long-lasting, sometimes irreversible, illnesses. Sectors that require urgent attention to address the worst forms of child labour include the production of matches and fireworks, glass, and leather products, as well as work in brick kilns, coal mines, and construction, among others.
Child labour and poverty: As per the International Labour Organisation (ILO), “child labour is both a cause and consequence of poverty”. Household poverty pushes children into the workforce to earn money. Some take up work to help support the family income, while many others are forced to do so just for survival. This needs to be seen in conjunction with the fact that every one out of two of the world’s wasted (low weight for height) children live in India.
Government apathy: Two years ago, your columnist had asked a pointed two-part question to the Minister of Women and Child Development in Parliament: (a) What is the number of working children between the ages of five and 14; and (b) The number of rural and urban working children, gender-wise? The minister replied to the first part by stating that there were 613 cases registered under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 in 2021. The second part of the question went unanswered. The last Census was carried out 14 years ago in 2011. With the 2021 Census seemingly still in cold storage, it is impossible to know exactly how many child labourers there are in the country. Without understanding the magnitude of the problem, it is difficult to find a meaningful solution.
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Need for stricter enforcement: Article 24 of the Constitution of India prohibits the employment of any child below the age of 14 years to work in any factory, mine, or any other hazardous employment. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 defined working conditions more clearly. The law is not the problem, enforcement is. Last year, 58 children, including 20 girls, were rescued from a distillery in Madhya Pradesh. They were made to work 11-hour shifts every day, hardly paid wages, and the palms of their hands were burnt from working with chemicals.
I started on a personal note. Let me end on one. In 2012, as part of the Indian delegation to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, I made a statement on “Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children”. Here is what was said: “The eradication of child labour is a priority for the Government of India. We are strictly enforcing the ban on the employment of children under the age of 14 years. At the same time, in recognition of the fact that this problem cannot be separated from its socio-economic circumstances, we are also implementing measures to improve the access to education, health and nutrition for children”. Thirteen years on, there is still much work to be done.
The writer is MP and leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party (Rajya Sabha). Research credit: Ayashman Dey
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