Editorial: Children Still Labour

When a ban was imposed in October 2006 [under Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986] against employment of under-14 year olds in any kind of work, one expected it to clear out the grey areas that continued to put children at risk. The original Act had been in place for 20 years before employment of minors even as domestic servants or helpers in restaurants and tea shops was banned. The blanket ban has now been in place for more than six years, but its implementation leaves a lot to be desired. In the initial years [since all forms of labour were banned for children], there was much excitement through sponsored activism. One says ‘sponsored’ because even though a lot of the initial involvement of the civil society towards addressing child labour might have been earnest, it was not committed. How else does one explain the near absence of any discussion on this topic anymore. No one believes child labour to have ended. In fact, the ongoing winters, when all schools are closed, receive an army of under 14 year olds in a plethora of odd-jobs, from working as domestic servants to engaged as menial labourers at work sites of all forms. Some might contend that these children are not being forced to work and that they are seeking out work themselves and contributing to family incomes by utilising their holidays for some ‘productive’ work. That does not justify putting such young hands to work, and with a law now in place, it is also illegal to do so. One must also bear in mind that if given an option, children will prefer to play or day-dream instead of working. By making them work, one preys on their situation; a predatory instinct which the Act prohibiting child labour sought to suppress.