NAME- PIYUSH CHHAJER

CLASS- XII. COM A

ROLL NO- 12
SUBJECT- BUSINESS STUDIES
TOPIC: CHILD LABOUR LAWS
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mrs. Sonali Bhattacharya
and our principal Ms. Loveleen Saigal, who gave me the golden opportunity to do this project
on the topic Child Labour. It helped me in doing a lot of Research and I came to know about a
lot of things related to this topic.
Finally, I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in finalising
this project within the limited time frame.
 INTRODUCTION
“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its
children.”
– Nelson Mandela
Children are always considered close to God. They are considered as bringer of
happiness, joy and hope, no matter where they go. The future of the nation depends on
the children as they are undoubtedly the stepping stone in shaping the future of any
nation. If a nation treats its children properly and provides them with the basic facilities
then it would get reflected in the future performance of the nation. The moral duty of the
nation is to ensure that the childhood of every child is protected. 
 CHILD LABOUR DEFINITION
 Child labour is a global phenomenon, it is not restricted to only one country. “Child labour” is defined as
the employment of children in any manual work. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986, a “child” is a person who has not yet attained the age of 14 years. In this tender age
where a child is expected to grow, enjoy his or her childhood to the fullest, seek education, gain a strong
value system, he/she is forced to work and earn a living for himself/herself and his/her family. It not only
affects his/her physical and mental development but it also puts a very heavy burden of responsibility on
the child to support his/her family. It is frequently observed that the children are forced to become labour
due to some hardships like lack of strong financial support, lack of proper food, clothing, shelter, livelihood
etc.
DEFINITION BY INTERNATIONAL LABOUR
ORGANISATION
International Labour Organisation [ILO] defines child
labour as a work that not only affects their childhood but
also doesn’t let the children attend the school regularly, or
have a proper education. Child labour also deprives
children of their dignity, potential and childhood. Children
working below the age of 14 years are not able to develop
mentally, socially, physically or morally. 
 DEFINITION BY INDIAN CENSUS 2001
According to India’s Census 2001, when a child below the age of 17 years participate in
economic activity with or without compensation, either physically, or mentally, or both ways.
Part-time help or unpaid work on farms, a family business or any other economic activity like
cultivation and milk production for sale or domestic consumption will be included in child
labour. Child labour is classified into two groups in India:
1. Main workers: Main workers are those workers who work for at least some months or more
per year, and
2. Marginal child workers: Marginal child workers are those workers who work for less than 6
months in a year and work at any time during the year. 
 CHILD LABOUR ISSUE
Child labour is a major issue not only in India but in every developing
country because it destroys a child’s physically as well as mentally. Because
of poverty, child labour has become more prevalent, not only in India but
globally. Children are the hope and future of a nation that is why it
constitutes a social problem. Many laws have been enacted in order to
prohibit child labour, however they haven’t been effective in curbing the
problem. The statistic report of 2017 explains that India is one of the
leading countries in Asia as it has 33 million children employed in child
labour. According to the 2011 Census, total child population was 259.6
million out of which 10.1 million are either working as main worker or as
marginal workers.
 CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR
Poverty, illiteracy of parents, social and economic circumstances of the
family are the main causes of child labour. Lack of awareness related to
the harmful effects of child labour and lack of access to basic and
quality education, cultural values of the family and the surroundings of
the society in which one is living, also increase the rate of child labour.
High rates of unemployment and under-employment also play a vital
role in child labour.
Children who discontinue school due to family indebtedness or are
expelled from the school are more prone to child labour. Girls from
socially disadvantaged groups are at a higher risk of being forced into
child labour.
 CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA
In India, the major causes of child labour are:
Poverty: Children are considered helping hands of their family. In developing countries, it is
almost impossible to control child labour as children not only have to support themselves but
their families also and provide them with a living. Due to poverty, the rate of unemployment
and underemployment are also very high and so the parents have to send their children to work
on low wages.
Previous debts: Due to their poor economic condition people take loans. But they don’t have
sufficient money to pay back the loans so they not only work day and night to pay off the loans
but they also drag their children to work so that the loan could be paid off before time and
easily.
Professional needs: Some industries require delicate and soft hands rather
than rough hands that are required in bangle industries. So they prefer
children and not adults for such work.
Bonded labour: Children often work for long hours in the sun and they are
deprived of water, food. These children are seldom paid. Bonded labour
further adds to the large scale increase in child labour.
Domestic help: Small children often work for educated families and
irrespective of several laws that violate the employment of children, they
often welcome small children so that these children can take care of their
homes as well as their children.
 Child sex workers: Often, girls who attained
the age of puberty are forced into prostitution
in lieu of a promise that they would be given
opportunities to do glamorous jobs.
Forced begging: Families who can’t support
themselves force their children to beg on the
roads in subhuman conditions. They get their
children maimed in order to get more money
from the people. 
 CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOUR
Children are prone to accidents and many other types of hazards at the workplace. Such
injuries cause them social and economic harm, the effect of which continues for their entire
lives. General injuries like cuts, burns, lacerations, fractures and dizziness are very
common. Sexual abuse, STDs, HIV/AIDS, drugs, alcoholism, sexual exploitation of girls,
rape, prostitution are also the consequences of child labour. They also face physical neglect
in food, clothing, shelter and medical treatment. Because of this, they are not able to go to
school which deprive them of basic education due to which they have to live in poverty.
Emotional neglect is also the consequences of child labour. Children are prone to physical
abuse including beating which often leads to a physical deformity. 
 GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES AGAINST CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA
In 1979, the Gurupadswamy Committee was formed to know and find all about the child labour and
ways to tackle it. Based on the recommendations of this committee, the Child Labour Prohibition and
Regulation Act was enacted in 1986. To rehabilitate children that are working in hazardous
occupations National Policy on Child Labour was formulated. In 1988, 100 industry-specific National
Child Labour Projects were implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. To combat the
growing problem of child labour the Indian Government has provided various numbers of Acts, laws,
organisations and institutions. These include the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986 ,
this Act provides the definition of a child. It states that a person who has not completed the age of 14
years is considered as a child. This Act not only regulates the hours of work but also the working
conditions of child labourers and prohibit the employment of child labour in hazardous industries and
to
 rehabilitate the children involved in child labour, the
National Child Labour Policy [NCLP] was started in 1988.
At first, it aims at rehabilitating the children that are
employed in hazardous occupations and processes. For
this, the sequential approach was adopted. 

According to the report of Osment, many NGOs like:

Care India, 
Child Rights and You, 
Global March against child labour,
are implemented to combat child labour by providing education
and various resources. However, these efforts proved to be
unsuccessful.
 CHILD LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA
As compared to other countries, child labour in India is more prevalent. Out of 179 million children,
90 million who are in the age group of 6 to 14 years are employed and they don’t go to school. It
contributes to 50% of children in our country who are involved in child labour. Since 1933, various
laws have been made in India to control child labour. These laws include:
Minimum Wages Act, 1948: The State Government fixes minimum wages that are to be provided to
the workers/labourers including the child labourers. The government fixed wages according to the
type of work and according to the class of workers.
The Plantation Labour Act, 1951: This Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 12
years, but a child above the age of 12 years can be employed only when the appointed doctor issues a
fitness certificate to that child.
The Mines Act, 1952: This Act provides that no child should be present where the work of mining
is going on and no child should be employed for such work.
The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958: Except for a training ship, this Act does not allow the
employment of children below the age of 14 years in a ship. Also, a person under the age of 18
years cannot be appointed as trimmers under this Act. They can only be appointed under some
specific conditions mentioned in this Act.
The Apprentices Act, 1961: Unless a child attains the age of 14 years and satisfy the standard of
education and physical fitness test, he cannot undergo an apprenticeship training.
The Indian Factories Act, 1948: No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed in a factory.
Also, there are rules that a factory has to follow if they employ pre-adults that are between 15-18
years of age.
 The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 : No child who is less than 14 years of age
shall be employed in any hazardous occupations that are provided in a list by law. This list is
explained further in the article. This list was amended not only in 2006 but also in 2008.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000 : If any person employs a child in any
of the hazardous work or use the child as a bonded labour then that person will be punishable under
this Act.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 : Free and compulsory
education must be provided to each and every children below 14 years of age. In fact, to follow this
Act efficiently, 25% of seats are also reserved in every private school for children who belongs to the
disadvantaged group and for children who are physically challenged. 
 GLOBAL SCENARIO
The latest global estimates indicate that the number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million
worldwide – an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years. 63 million girls and 97 million
boys were in child labour globally at the beginning of 2020, accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all
children worldwide.
This report warns that global progress to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years. The
number of children aged 5 to 17 years in hazardous work – defined as work that is likely to harm their
health, safety or morals – has risen by 6.5 million to 79 million since 2016. In sub-Saharan Africa,
population growth, extreme poverty, and inadequate social protection measures have led to an
additional 16.6 million children in child labour over the past four years.
Additional economic shocks and school closures caused by COVID-19
 mean that children already in child labour may be working
longer hours or under worsening conditions, while many more
may be forced into the worst forms of child labour due to job
and income losses among vulnerable families. The report warns
that globally 9 million additional children are at risk of being
pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the
pandemic.
Children in child labour are at risk of physical and mental harm.
Child labour compromises children’s education, restricting their
rights and limiting their future opportunities, and leads to
vicious inter-generational cycles of poverty and child labour.
 CHILD LABOUR STILL A BIG CHALLENGE!!
Despite of several laws that are enforced in India which prohibits the child labour still, there are
many children who are employed in homes, nearby restaurants and factories across the country.
Including sexual and mental abuse, these children are also subjected to various other types of
exploitation. June 12 is observed as Anti-Child Labour Day but activists expressed that due to lack
of enforcement of the Child Labour Act, 1986 still there are many cases of child labour all around
the world. Moreover, we often encounter child labour several times in our daily life whom we called
as a “chhotu” yet we make them do our work rather than helping them and putting them in a
rehabilitation centre and help them achieve a good life ahead. Child Labour is still a big challenge
that needs to combat in our society. 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOUR
Child labour can be stopped through various measures. By analysing the situation, reviewing national
laws regarding child labour. By taking protective measures like checking the age of the employees,
identifying the hazardous works and carrying out a workplace risk assessment, child labour can be
brought under control. Immediate actions are required by not hiring children below the age of 14 years,
removing children from hazardous work or reducing the hours for children and providing them with at
least minimum age can help in lowering the rate of child labour or making the position of these children
in the society better. 
Strategic actions like applying a safety and health management system, using collective bargaining
agreements, providing a code of labour practices. By supporting education and children that are found
trapped in child labour, this problem can be reduced. We should adapt our business to a child labour free
environment and make sure that new suppliers don’t use child labour. If required, one or more
monitoring systems should be set up.
 CONCLUSION
Child labour is still a problem before the nation. The various measures have been taken by the
Government to deal with this problem of child labour actively. However, due to the socio-
economic problems like poverty, illiteracy which are the main cause of child labour, it cannot be
solved unless and until there are collective efforts of all the members of the society. If every
individual takes the responsibility of child labour then this problem can be solved and we can
have a better and developed India. If the public supports the functions of the Government then the
problem of child labour can be controlled to a great extent. It is important to spread the awareness
about the evil of child labour and make people understand that it is important for a child to grow
and enjoy his/her childhood as they are future of our country.