Hiring child labour? You will be sued

In an order aimed at ameliorating the condition of hapless working children, the government on Tuesday ordered ban on employment of children as domestic help or servants at the roadside kiosks, which will come into effect from October 10, this year.

The ban has been imposed by the Labour Ministry under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and will be effective from 10th October 2006, an official release said.

The Ministry of Labour had recently issued a notification to this effect giving three-month mandatory notice and it has now warned that anyone employing children would be liable to prosecution and other penal action under the Act, it said.

Government servants have already been prohibited from employing children as domestic servants and by issuing this notification, the restrictions has been imposed on everyone

The fresh notification bans employment of children as domestic servants or servants or in dhabas (roadside eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, teashops, resorts, spas or in other recreational centres, it said.

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

The Committee while recommending a ban on employing children in these occupations had said that these children are subjected to physical violence, psychological traumas and at times even sexual abuse.