Case6-June-2017
Child labour is regarded as a worst form of violation of fundamental rights of the child. The UN’s Minimum Age Convention, 1973 has defined the minimum age for the child for admission in employment as 14. The UN’s Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 has redefined the age as below 18 years( from 14 years of age to 18 years for hazardous works). Child labour has consequence like child slavery, sale and trafficking of children, bonded labour, forced extended hours of working, child sexual abuse and child pornography, illegal, immoral and criminal activities and even engagement of children in armed conflicts.
It is heartening to take note that in this technology and communication driven century there were more than 168 Million children being engaged as child labours. Among them nearly 120 million children were engaged in hazardous works. Does anyone of you believe that nearly 43% (73 million) of the child labour being engaged is below 10 years of age. Child labour has created a grey economy, as the child is either paid meager wages or never paid at all. This results in unemployment among the eligible work force thereby bringing down the actual growth.
In India the trend of child labour is decreasing significantly 65% from 2001 to 2014. Yet India has as many as 38.7 Million child labour; 8.8 Million being engaged in hazardous works. To ensure child labour free India and to save guard the rights and privileges of the children, government of India has been doing a lot to eradicate child labour. On 13 June 2017, the Government of India deposited with the International Labour Office the instruments of ratification of the two above said fundamental ILO Conventions concerning the elimination of child labour. This abides India to make concrete efforts for eradication of the child labour practice. This is a welcome development as the government will now move towards the goal of total ban on child labour.
As a part of World Day Against Child Labour, the district administration has made efforts to create awareness so as to bring an end to the practice of child labour in Madurai district. Week long awareness campaigns on the cause were organised. The district administration roped in DHAN Foundation to take up the crusade against the evil. DHAN’s Madurai offices made efforts to sensitize the masses by engaging them in the campaign through its federations. Events like oration, poetry and skits were organized for the community members and the adolescent girls. Many actively participated and raised their voice and thoughts over the evil. The district officials also attended these events to speak out the cause and the administration’s efforts to bring in the social transformation. They appreciated the community members and adolescent girls for their involvement and efforts to portray the child labour practices in open forum. The clarity of thought and the presentation of the objectives have got well received among the participants.
Speaking in one of the event being organized by DHAN, S.P. Shanthi, district labour welfare officer narrated the district administration’s drive and desire to ensure that Madurai is child labour free. She appreciated the community members and adolescent girls for their involvement and efforts to portray the need to eliminate the child labour practices. She observed that the sensitization among the community members will make the task effortless as they could help share the place where child labour is in practice.
Though poverty is laid as primary reason for children being engaged, government has allocated special funds for ensuring income from livelihoods for the parents of children engaged in child labour. Schemes like Right to Education helps to encourage enrollment of children in primary education till their 14 year. The newly signed convention declares employment of below 18 years in hazardous works as illegal. She also emphasized the need for ensuring girl child education as a tool for empowering women and a hindering factor of girls being engaged as domestic helps at earlier ages.
She called on everyone’s support for this cause to ensure a bright future for our kids. When public responses showed there were no child labours among the families of the participant, she appreciated them for guarantying good environment for their children. By joining together with the 35,000 women folk in Kalanjiam we could attain the objective of child labour free Madurai sooner she emphasized.
The objective is not that ease, as per the government order 2007 to get a district declared as child labour free the district administration should not get any complaints/ proof against child labour in any of its 32 department over one year period. Only when the 32 departments issue a No Complaints (child labour) certificate after one year of observation, the district could be declared as child labour free. The official also shared how she could get a backward district like Sivaganga get child labour free with her three years of consistent efforts through support of all. It is the only district in the state of Tamil Nadu to get declared child labour free.
On 12, June during the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour event the district collector Veeraraghava Rao preceded over the occasion and seeks public support to make sure that the children engaged in child labour were back to schools. He distributed the commemorative plaque for the nicely portrayed themes and presentations.
The seed to bring smiles in the faces of poor children engaged in labour has been sown. Certainly the community and institutions like DHAN Foundation will work in tandem with the city administration to realize the dream by lighting the candle of knowledge among the underprivileged children and ignite their little minds to dream bigger and wiser.