Child labour ban comes into force

The labour ministry notification banning employing children below 14 years as domestic helps or at eateries, came into force even as the children had little to cheer about in the absence of a comprehensive rehabilitation package.

The ban is accompanied by provisions imposing punishment, which includes a jail term up to one year, sources in the labour ministry said.

NGOs have raised questions on the success of the ban and asked how the government will ensure effective implementation of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act that bars children under 14 years from working as domestic help or servants at roadside eateries and other non-hazardous jobs.

There is a separate law banning the employment of children in factories, mines and hazardous work.

The labour ministry, which has already prohibited the government employees from engaging children as domestic help, recently issued a notification warning that anyone employing children would be liable to prosecution and other penal action.

The fresh notification prohibits employment of children as domestic servants or servants in dhabas (roadside eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, teashops, resorts, spas and recreational centres. While the government has decided to crack the whip, experts are of the view that a ban without a proper rehabilitation plan will backfire.

Shaiju Varghese, coordinator of "Childline" (child helpline), said it would be difficult for implementing agencies to locate domestic workers unless society is sensitised.

The labour ministry is, however, planning to strengthen and expand its rehabilitative scheme of National Child Labour Project, which now covers 250 child labour endemic districts.

The decision has been taken on the recommendation of the Technical Advisory Committee on Child Labour headed by the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The Committee, while recommending a ban, had said that children are subjected to physical violence, psychological traumas and even sexual abuse – incidents, which go unnoticed as they take place in the closed confines of households, dhabas and restaurants.

The panel considered the occupations mentioned in the notification as hazardous for children and recommended their inclusion in occupations prohibited for persons below 14 years under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

It said these children are made to work for long hours and undertake various hazardous activities, severely affecting their health and psyche.

The Committee has said children employed in roadside eateries and highway dhabas are the most vulnerable and fall easy prey to sex and drug abuse as they come in contact with all kinds of people.

The Supreme Court had earlier this year issued notices to the Centre, the states and the Union Territories, seeking a complete ban on child labour.

A Unicef report, 'World's Children 2006', states that in India, which has the largest number of working children, 17 per cent are under the age of 15 and girls aged 12-15 are the preferred choice of 90 per cent households.