They are our children, too

Santanu Saraswati

With 50,000 children working as domestic labourers in Kolkata alone, the ineffectiveness of the amended Child Labour Prevention Act (CLPRA) implemented in the state becomes conspicuous.

It is also a fact that West Bengal is one of the largest contributors in child labour and trafficking. Children are used by the traffickers for flesh trade. Children are exploited, by their owners, by their employees. And children in our society are most vulnerable to exploitation—be it physically, or sexually.

And three years after a blanket ban, it’s a reality that, neither government could alone eradicate this social menace, or a non-governmental organisation. There is a greater need to define the responsibilities of the judiciary, police, state Government and civil society in implementing the CLPRA. There is a need for public-private partnerships.

According to 2001 census, there are over 12 million children aged between 5 and 14—continuing to work in hazardous industries, the actual number of child labours is much higher, as nearly 20 million children are working in roadside eateries or are employed as domestic workers in the country.

Why do we have child labour when there is a large section of adults who are unemployed or under employed? The reason is simple. Child labour comes cheap and they are open to use and abuse.

What can we do to eradicate child labour? If we ensure sustainable remuneration to adult labour, the parents may think of sending their children to school, much before their parent send them to earn. If we can’t ensure better payment for adult labourers, there should be a state-NGO private-public partnership for ensuring education as well as little payment and ensuring mid-day meal, much before a child attains the age of six. Education can work as a deterrent to child labour. When the family is on the verge of starvation, we cannot expect the parents to educate their children.

What could be the role of labour unions to ensure a fair deal to child labour? The labour unions can help put up an effective monitoring system to ensure that work assigned to children is in keeping with the laws relating to child labour. In fact, they should also consider the possibility of enrolling children as their members so that they can fight for their rights.

What can the Non-Government Organisations do to help child labour. There are many NGOs, READS, working to improve the lot of child labour. They can do a lot to help rehabilitate children who are rescued from hazardous industries. The rehabilitation process ends at child home as far as government departments are concerned. That is more depressing for the child. The NGOs can also work towards getting school admissions for children of the weaker sections and children rescued from hazardous industries.

What can the media do to help eradicate or improve the lot of child labour? Here it is necessary to mention that the print and electronic media do not attach too much importance to labour issues leave alone child labour. One reason is that most newspapers and magazines are owned by large business houses and are advertisement driven. The electronic media, as we all know is TRP driven. However, that should not deter committed journalists from finding space and squeezing in these stories whenever possible. Also, there is need for follow-up of these stories till they reach their logical conclusions.

santanu_saraswati@hotmail.com