World Day Against Child Labour is observed to raise awareness and prevent child labour. The legal working age is the minimum age required by law for a person to work, in each country or jurisdiction, if they have not reached the age of majority. Activities that are dangerous, harmful to the health or that may affect the morals of minors fall into this category.
World Day Against Child Labour
The World Day Against Child Labour was first initiated in 2002 by the International Labour Organization. Every year this day is observed on 12th June. This is an world wide movement to stop child labour.
The United Nations General Assembly while acknowledging the magnitude of child labour, unanimously adopted a resolution declaring 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.
What is Child Labour?
As per a 2020 report by the ILO and UNICEF, In the world, 160 miliion children are in child labour accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide.
The term “child labor” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that:
- is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or
- interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labor” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.
- All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
- The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
- The use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
- Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children (“hazardous child labor”, see below)
Child labor predominantly occurs in the rural areas (70%) and informal urban sector (26%). Contrary to popular belief, most child laborers are employed by their parents rather than in manufacturing or formal economy. Children who work for pay or in-kind compensation are usually found in rural settings as opposed to urban centres. Less than 3% of child labor aged 5–14 across the world work outside their household, or away from their parents.
Child labor accounts for 22% of the workforce in Asia, 32% in Africa, 17% in Latin America, 1% in the US, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations.
Africa has the highest percentage of children aged 5–17 employed as child labour, and a total of over 65 million. Asia, with its larger population, has the largest number of children employed as child labour at about 114 million. Latin America and the Caribbean region have lower overall population density, but at 14 million child labourers has high incidence rates too.
International Labour Organization (ILO) suggests poverty is the greatest single cause behind child labour. Lack of meaningful alternatives, such as affordable schools and quality education, according to ILO, is another major factor driving children to harmful labour.
In 2015, the country of India is home to the largest number of children who are working illegally in various industrial industries. Agriculture in India is the largest sector where many children work at early ages to help support their family. Many of these children are forced to work at young ages due to many family factors such as unemployment, large families, poverty, and lack of parental education. This is often the major cause of the high rate of child labour in India.
A 2017 report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that in India 20 percent of all children between the ages of 15 and 17 were engaged in hazardous industries and jobs, and over 12 million children were engaged in work before the age of 17.
World Day Against Child Labour Themes
The theme for 2023 World Day Against Child Labour is “Week of Action against Child Labour”
The theme for 2022 was Social Justice for All. End Child Labour!
- 2021: Act now: end child labour!
- 2020: COVID-19: Protect Children from Child Labour, now more than ever!
- 2019: Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams!
- 2018: Generation Safe & Healthy
- 2017: In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labour
- 2016: End child labour in supply chains – It’s everyone’s business!
- 2015: NO to child labour – YES to quality education!
Child Labour Policies in India
According to Census 2001, there were 1.26 crore working children in the age group of 5-14 as compared to the total child population of 25.2 crore.
As per a survey conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2004-05, the number of working children was estimated at 90.75 lakh.
As per Census 2011, the number of working children in the age group of 5-14 years had further reduced to 43.53 lakh.
In 1979, the Government of India formed a committee called Gurupadswamy Committee. Based on the feedback, analysis and suggestion of the committee and further recommendations of Gurupadaswamy Committee, the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986.
As per the Act, employment of children was prohibited in certain specified hazardous occupations and processes and regulates the working conditions in others. The list of hazardous occupations and processes is progressively being expanded on the recommendation of Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee constituted under the Act.
Subsequently the act was amended in 2016 with the enactment of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act 2016 prohibiting the employment of Children below 14 years in all employment and also with the provisions for prohibition on employment of adolescents(14-18 Years) in the scheduled hazardous occupations and processes .
Finally a National Policy on Child Labourer, formulated in 1987, seeks to adopt a gradual & sequential approach with a focus on rehabilitation of children and Adolescent.
Also as per Article 24 ( Prohibition of Employment of Children’s in Factories ) of the Indian Constitution, No child below the age fourteen years shall be employed in work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
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