Monday, January 19, 2009

Bonded child labour

Slave labour or bonded labour is one of the worst forms of labour not only for children but also for adults. In India, bonded labour has been illegal since 1976 when Parliament enacted the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. However, the practice is still widespread. Even conservative estimates suggest that there are at least 10 million adult bonded labourers in India. 89 percent of adults in debt bondage belong to scheduled castes and tribes and 89 percent of those who control them are agricultural landlords. Most of the work carried out by bonded labourers is hard manual labour in the fields or brick kilns. Children or adults are bonded in order to pay off debts that they or members of their families have incurred. They toil all their lives and endure physical attacks that often amount to torture.
There are thousands of bonded child labourers in India. They are also mostly the children of parents who belong to scheduled castes and tribes. Young children are sold to employers by their parents to pay back small loans that they have borrowed. Such children are made to work for many hours a day over several years. According to one study, there are about 10 million bonded child labourers working as house servants in Indian families. Varandani recently estimated that there were nearly 55 million children in India working as bonded labourers in agriculture, mining, brick-kilns, construction work, fishing activities, carpet weaving, fireworks, matches, glass moulding, bidi-making (cigarettes), gem-cutting and polishing work, electroplating, dyeing, washing and domestic work. About 20 percent of these bonded child labourers were sold to cover some small debts obtained by their parents, usually for some social celebration like a wedding in the .
One of the most notorious forms of bonded-labour is found in the carpet industry of India. A study undertaken in Kashmir shows that over 80 percent of child labourers in carpet making work as bonded labourers. These young labourers, many of them 8 or 9 years old, are made to work for 20 hours a day without a break. They have to crouch on their toes from dawn to dusk which stunts their physical growth. Some of the children start to work when they are only 5-6 years of age, and by the time they are 20 they are burnt out.. They are physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted so that they are no longer able to work and are doomed to unemployment even in cases when employment is available. The vicious cycle restarts when they want their children to work for them.

Child Labour is a Crime

IPC section 374

According to this section that whoever unlawfully compels any person to labour against the will of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or both.
The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986

The act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 in factories, mines and in other forms of hazardous employment (including domestic labour and service industry), and regulates the working conditions of children in other employment.
Government servants are prohibited from employing children as domestic servants. Through the recent notification effective from 10 October 2006, the government has imposed these restrictions on everyone.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000

Under this act any person responsible for abuse assault and neglect or causing physical or mental suffering can be punished for up to 6 months and/or fined। Also any person who procure a juvenile or the child for hazardous work, keeps him in bondage and withholds the child's earnings or uses them for his own purpose is liable for imprisonment up to 3 years and also a fine.
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

Under this act any kind of forced labour including child labour is a punishable offence. There are many incidences where judiciary has acted for elimination of child labour and has dealt with it as forced labour or bonded labour.
Supreme Court Directions on Child LabourThe Supreme Court of India, 1996 has given certain directions regarding the manner in which children working in the hazardous occupations are to be withdrawn from work and rehabilitated, and the manner in which the working conditions of children working in non-hazardous occupations are to be regulated and improved.
The judgment of the Supreme Court envisages:
Withdrawal of children working in hazardous industries and ensuring their education in appropriate institutions;
Contribution of Rs.20,000 per child to be paid by the offending employers of children to a welfare fund to be established for this purpose;
Employment to one adult member of the family of the child so withdrawn from work, and if that is not possible a contribution of Rs.5000 to the welfare fund to be made by the State Government;
Financial assistance to the families of the children so withdrawn to be paid out of the interest earnings on the corpus of Rs. 20,000 or Rs. 25,000 deposited in the welfare fund as long as the child is actually sent to the schools.
In a nutshell, the recent notification regarding child labour simply means that any body employing children of 14 years of age, can be prosecuted as a criminal. It also means that government is accountable to deal with child domestic labour as a crime, and should make all efforts for its control and elimination. It should also make arrangements to provide justice, compensation and rehabilitation to the victim

Thursday, January 8, 2009

मेडिकल हेल्प

चाइल्ड लाइन शिमला २ साल से काम कर रही है और ८३ शहर में काम कर रही है यह मिनिस्ट्री ऑफ़ वूमेन एंड चाइल्ड देवेलोप्मेंट द्वारा चलायी जा रही है चाइल्ड लाइन ० से १८ साल के बच्चो के मदद करती है इस मैं बच्चो की भिन्न भिन्न प्रकार से मदद की जाती है जैसे मेडिकल हेल्प के तहत हम बच्चों को हर सम्भव मदद करते हैं इनमे आर्थिक सहायता रक्त दान और सामान्य देख भाल भी शामिल है

अगर आप शिमला के रहने वाले हैं और यहाँ के किसी ज़रूरत मंद बच्चे को जानते हैं तो आप हमें १०९८ पर फोन करें हम वहां होंगे उस बच्चे की मदद के लिए

और आप देश के किसी भी कोने में हैं तो वहीँ की नजदीकी चाइल्ड लाइन को १०९८ पर फोन कर सकते हैं या फिर हमें मेल कर दें हम वहां तक आप की आवाज़ पंहुचा देंगे

PROTECTION & CARE OF CHILDREN

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