By Vineeta Pandey
New Delhi: NEW DELHI: Minister for women and child development (WCD) Renuka Chowdhury wants all products sold in India to declare it is child labour-free.
Advocating stringent punishment for employers of child labour, Chowdhury said the government may bring in an exclusive policy and Act to prevent exploitation of children. The ministry also plans to redefine children in various legislations by including everybody up to 18 years of age in the bracket. At present, child labour covers children below 14 years of age.
"An inclusive definition of child labour must not make an artificial distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous work and if need be labour laws should be reviewed to cover all forms of work that children are engaged in, including agriculture and allied activities," Chowdhury said.
Strangely, child rights activists are not amused. They feel rules can always be subverted and the government lacks the political will to implement laws.
"In the past, an independent agency created a certification called 'Rug Mark', which meant carpets bearing the mark were free from child labour. Rug Mark certification was given after strict inspection. But the government soon introduced Kaleen Mark. Soon, carpet-making units began using the government stamp. The government's monitoring was so weak that anybody could get an official seal," said child right activist Kailash Satyarthi.
In fact, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), an NGO, found children themselves pasting labels saying "This product is child labour free" on sports goods they manufacture at a Meerut factory. "No company can give a 100% guarantee that their product is child labour-free. Child labour is used in cotton farming, thread-making, dyeing fabric, stitching. How can an apparel company say its product is child labour-free? It can at most say the company does not engage any child labour directly," BBA's Bhuvan Ribhu said.
Child labour is banned in all hazardous industries. Two years ago the government banned employing children as domestic helps at dhabas and restaurants. But official figures show India still has 1.30 crore child labourers. Rights groups claim the actual figure is over 6 crore.
"While we can spot child labourers at every corner, labour inspectors could find only 8,200. Action was taken against only 1,680 employers," said Ribhu.
Recently, children at a refugee camps in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, were found making clothes for the Primark brand, one of the largest cloth retailing firms in the UK.
Elsewhere, children were found working at a textile factory that supplied clothes to apparel giant GAP.