Dec 16 2014 : Mirror (Pune)
`Exempt kids from agricultural labour'
Kaumudi Gurjar TWEET @ThePuneMirror
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Child rights activists demand that Centre amends Child Labour Act to ban children from working in the field
Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) submitted a charter of demands to Pune MP Anil Shirole to be raised in Parliament when the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, 2014, comes up for discussion during the ongoing session. And, one of CACL's principal demands -perhaps the most important one -is that children should be exempted from working in the agricultural sector at all costs.While submitting the demands, state CACL convener Manish Shroff highlighted the fact that contrary to BJP promising review, amendment and strengthening the child and adolescent labour bill, proposed by UPA II in 2012, in its Lok Sabha election manifesto, the same draft was being presented in Parliament without any change.
By allowing children between 15 and 18 years to do agricultural work is a gross violation of the National Policy for Children 2013, claimed Shroff.
The said provision of Child Labour (Prevention and Regulation) Act, 1986, was endorsed in 2009. As a result, children under 14 were treated as child labourers.
“India has ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that aims for uniformity in all legislations related to children. If child marriage Act considers children below 18 years as children, why should there be a different standard for child labour?” wondered Audrey Ferreira, member of ARC (Action against Rights of Children) an umbrella organisation of around 30 NGOs working for child rights.
“Children involved in agricultural labour are engaged in equally hazardous activities involving long hours and unhealthy postures. Children below 18 should be in school.
Considering the number of children involved in this sector, government is finding it difficult to cover agriculture. But, we certainly need a law that leaves no room for exploitation of a child under 18 on any pretext,” demanded Ingrid Mendonca, deputy regional coordinator of Terre des Hommes.
Yet, for some strange reason, the Union labour ministry continues to exempt children engaged in agriculture from the definition of child labour, sighed Shroff.
“Despite being a signatory to the CRC, India continues to maintain double standard when it comes to fixing the age for child labour. This, after CRC’s repeated recommendation to the Government of India to withdraw its declaration on Article 32 of CRC,” said Shroff.
“According to Article 32, states have been asked to recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is hazardous or interferes with child’s education or causes harm to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development,” he explained.
“Though the recent bill mentions that children below 18 should be considered child labourers, children involved in agricultural and other domestic activities are exempted from the definition of child labour,” pointed out Shroff.
By allowing children between 15 and 18 years to do agricultural work is a gross violation of the National Policy for Children 2013, claimed Shroff.
The said provision of Child Labour (Prevention and Regulation) Act, 1986, was endorsed in 2009. As a result, children under 14 were treated as child labourers.
“India has ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that aims for uniformity in all legislations related to children. If child marriage Act considers children below 18 years as children, why should there be a different standard for child labour?” wondered Audrey Ferreira, member of ARC (Action against Rights of Children) an umbrella organisation of around 30 NGOs working for child rights.
“Children involved in agricultural labour are engaged in equally hazardous activities involving long hours and unhealthy postures. Children below 18 should be in school.
Considering the number of children involved in this sector, government is finding it difficult to cover agriculture. But, we certainly need a law that leaves no room for exploitation of a child under 18 on any pretext,” demanded Ingrid Mendonca, deputy regional coordinator of Terre des Hommes.
Yet, for some strange reason, the Union labour ministry continues to exempt children engaged in agriculture from the definition of child labour, sighed Shroff.
“Despite being a signatory to the CRC, India continues to maintain double standard when it comes to fixing the age for child labour. This, after CRC’s repeated recommendation to the Government of India to withdraw its declaration on Article 32 of CRC,” said Shroff.
“According to Article 32, states have been asked to recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is hazardous or interferes with child’s education or causes harm to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development,” he explained.
“Though the recent bill mentions that children below 18 should be considered child labourers, children involved in agricultural and other domestic activities are exempted from the definition of child labour,” pointed out Shroff.
