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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to allow children under 14 years of age to work in non-hazardous family enterprises and the entertainment industry, except circus, with certain conditions. Child labour in all other sectors will be completely banned.
The Cabinet said there was a need to strike “a balance between the need for education for a child and the reality of the socio-economic conditions”.
It said “in a large number of families, children help their parents in their occupations like agriculture, artisanship etc. and while helping the parents, children also learn the basics of occupations.”
Approving official amendments to the Child Labour Amendment Bill, 2012, the Cabinet also decided that children between 14 and 18 years should not be allowed to work in hazardous industries. As per the original law, employing children under 14 years was banned in only 18 hazardous industries.
Stricter punishmentThe changes also provide for stricter punishment for employers up to ₹50,000 and imprisonment up to three years for repeat offences. While there is no penalty for parents for the first offence, for repeat offences they may be penalised with up to ₹10,000 fine.
Also, a new definition of adolescent has been introduced in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and employment of adolescents (14 to 18 years of age) has been prohibited in hazardous occupations and processes.
The official amendments to the Bill will now be tabled in Parliament.
As per official data, there has been an over 60 per cent decline in child labour (age 5-14) from 12.6 million in 2001 to 4.9 million in 2010. The five States that have the highest child labour are Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bihar.
Child rights activists, however, have questioned the extent of decline, saying that the data does not reflect the ground reality, as many children are employed in “invisible” work.
According to a 2013 report by the International Labour Organisation, globally about 10.5 million children – over 71 per cent girls – work as domestic workers alone.
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