03/07/2019 - Government Policies

Pls review 

KEY POINTS

·        Instances of child labour detected during inspections have reduced successively from 2014 to 2018, figures presented by the government in Lok Sabha.

·        Figures for instances of violation of the Child & Adolescent Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 found during inspections, along with prosecutions started and convictions made.

·        Minister of State (independent charge) for Labour & Employment the central government has taken cognisance of the practice of child labour still going on in various parts of the country in spite of a ban.

Declining cases of child labour, reasons

·        The Child Labour Act was amended in 2016 and the amendment provides for complete prohibition of work or employment of children below age 14 in any occupation and process and prohibition of adolescents in the age group 14-18 in hazardous occupations and processes.

·        The Amendment Act also provides for strict punishment of employers for violation of the Act and has made the offence cognizable.

·        The government is also implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) since 1988 for the rehabilitation of child labour.

·        Under the scheme, children aged 9-14 are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in NCLP Special Training Centres before being mainstreamed into the formal education system.

·        Children aged 5-8 are directly linked to the formal education system through close coordination with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Existing framework doesn’t help eradicate child labour

Challenges in existing frame work

·        Government has difficulties in monitoring the cases of child labour in every nook and corner of the country.

·        Ex: Construction sector, brick industry employs huge number of child labour which are unnoticed despite implementation of child labour act 1986.

·        Government emphasis on banning child labour without addressing the root causes.

·        Lack of quality of infrastructure in providing quality education to rescued children. Vocational schools lack basic amenities like proper class rooms, sanitation facilities.

·        Government selective in picking the international conventions like 138,182 of the international labour organisation to prevent the child labour in the country.

·        Enforcing the minimum age for child labour does not augur well for the government in eradicating the child labour due to the complexity, diversity in Indian society.

Changes for eradicating child labour in India

·        Inclusive growth

·        Quality education at primary and secondary level

·        Creating employment opportunities and formalizing workforce by amending labour laws like factory act 1948, plantation labour act 1951.

·        Supporting the industries by sharing the paid maternity leave and extending the same to informal sector, i..e effective implementation of maternity benefit amendment act 2016.

Kindly evaluate sir

Kindly review. Thanks.

Kindly review