The International Labour Organisation states in its latest World Report on Child Labour (2013) that

there are around 265 million working children in the world—almost 17 per cent of the worldwide
child population. According to the publicly available data discussed in more detail below, Sub-
Saharan Africa is the region where child labour is most prevalent. While absolute numbers are still
high, particularly in those countries with the lowest standards of living, from a historical viewpoint
there are concrete examples of countries that managed to virtually eliminate widespread child
labour in the course of a century. The United Kingdom is a case in point. In terms of recent
developments, global trends show a significant reduction in child labour over the last couple of
decades. However, there is wide dispersion in the progress that different countries have achieved.

I. Empirical View

I.1 Historical perspective

Historical studies suggest that child work was widespread in Europe and North America in the 19th
century, but declined very rapidly at the turn of the 20th century. The available historical evidence
seems consistent with the fact that industrialisation in western countries initially increased the
demand for child labour, but then eventually contributed towards its elimination (see Cunningham,
H., & Viazzo, P. P. (1996) 1 and the references therein). The following three visualizations show the
share of children in employment for Italy, the UK and the United States at the turn of the 20th
century century. Series data on rural versus urban child labour trends for the United States can also
be added in third chart below; for both boys and girls, the incidence of child labour was higher in
rural populations.

As we see, the incidence of child labour in Italy appeared to be higher than that of the UK and US,
with slower rates of decline. By 1930, the incidence of child labour is estimated to be below 5%; this
level was not reached in Italy until around 30 years later, in 1960.

Whilst consistent survey data on child labour in the UK is limited beyond 1911, some estimates of
20th century labour have emerged. These statistics show the significant impact of the First and
Second World Wars on childhood employment. Following a reported spike in employment during
the First World War (1914-1918), rates of childhood labour appeared to fall to approximately 6-7 per
cent of children aged 12-14 in England and Wales.2 This would make the UK's rate of reduction in
child labour slightly faster than that of the United States. However, with the onset of the Second
World War in 1939, the incidence of child employment appeared to show another spike- by 1944,
this had increased again to 15.3 per cent of 12-14 year olds.3

Child labor in Italy

Share of children ages 10-14 recorded as working

1881

1890

1900
1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1961

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Note: Toniolo, Gianni, and Giovanni Vecchi. "Italian Children at Work, 1881—1961". Giornale degli
economisti e Annali di economia (2007): 401-427.

CC BY-SA

Incidence of child labor in the UK

Share of boys and girls (ages 10-14) recorded as working

1851

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1911

0%

5%

10%

15%
20%

25%

30%

35%

Note: Cunningham, Hugh, and Pier Paolo Viazzo. "Child Labour in Historical Perspective 1800-1985:
Case Studies from Europe." Japan and Colombia,UNICEF, Florence (1996).

CC BY-SA

Incidence of child labor in the United States, 1890-1930

Labor force participation rate for children (ages 10-13) in the United States. These series are
available for individual andcombined gender populations, and for urban and rural demographics.

1890

1895

1900

1905

1910

1915

1920

1925

1930

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

CC BY-SA

How do the child labour figures above compare to current global estimates? The following
visualization plots the series for England, the US and Italy, together with two recent global series.
The different series in this chart are not perfectly comparable because of differences in the
definitions. However, they do provide a rough sense of perspective. As we can see, the incidence of
child labour in England in 1900 was similar to global incidence a century later. Global rates of child
labour today are similar to those of Italy in the 1950's at around 10 per cent. In the next section we
explore these series in more detail and discuss recent developments.

Various measures of child labor incidence

Incidence of child labor in datasets for England and Italy is based on the percentage of children (aged
10-14) recorded asworking at least one hour of work per week (thus defined as "children in
employment"). For US data, this range extendsonly from 10-13 year olds. Data for the global level is
based on the definition of full-time child labor (which excludeschildren participating in light part-
time work). World ILO-EPEAP data from 1950-1995 is based on children aged 10-14.World ILO-IPEC
data from 2000-2012 broadens this definition to those aged 5-17.

1851

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2012

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

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I.2 Global overview today

The incidence of child labour has been going down in recent years

A complete and up-to-date overview of recent global trends in child labour can be found in the ILO's
report Marking Progress Against Child Labour (2013)4 produced by the organization's International
Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). This report presents global estimates and
trends for the period 2000-2012. The following visualization, based on this source, presents the
recent changes in the world-wide share of children (ages 5-17) in employment.
child-labor-global-post-2000view the interactive version of the same chart (with access to the data)

As we discuss below, there is lack of consensus regarding the appropriate ages for measuring child
labor, particularly for the purpose of cross-country comparisons and global aggregates. The age
bracket ranging from 5 to 17 years of age is common in many UN reports, but there is evidently a
need to differentiate work at different ages, since children in their teenage years are less vulnerable
to workplace abuse. Other common age brackets are 5-11 and 5-14 years of age.

The visualization below presents global trends, using estimates in two age brackets: 5-14 and 15-17
years of age. The source of the data is the same as above (ILO’s report Marking Progress Against
Child Labour 2013). Unfortunately these global estimates are not broken down by gender, and are
not available for other age brackets. However, the pattern is consistent with the remark made
above: child labour has been going down in recent years.

Global incidence of child labor by age groups

Share of children, by age bracket, involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference
week of thecorresponding survey (irrespective of school attendance)

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%
CC BY-SA

The share of economically active children in the world has been going down for decades

The ILO Programme on Estimates and Projections of the Economically Active Population (EPEAP) has
been producing statistics on labour force participation (for adults and children) since 1950, through
the ILO's cross-country database known as LABORSTA. Basu (1999)5 uses this source to produce
global labour force participation rates for children (ages 10-14) in the period 1950-1995.

The following visualization presents the corresponding trend using the data published in Basu
(1999). While these estimates are informative about child labour, they cannot be linked directly to
those of children in employment published by the ILO IPEC for the period 2000-2012 due to issues of
comparability; specifically, the IPEC and EPEAP estimates discussed above rely on different survey
instruments covering a different set of countries, and break up the relevant population in different
age brackets.

Many studies rely on the LABORSTA data to shed light on the extent of child labour in the 20th
century. However, this source is generally believed to understate the extent of child labour, since
data is not collected for work inside the household (not even market work). Nonetheless, regardless
of discrepancies between these two sources, the trends tell a consistent story: the share of
economically active children in the world has been going down for decades.

Global labor force participation rates for children

Labor force participation of children, ages 10–14 (% of age group)

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

1995

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

22%
24%

26%

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Where do children work?

Contrary to popular perception, most working children in the world are unpaid family workers,
rather than paid workers in manufacturing establishments or other forms of wage employment. The
following visualization (Figure 9 in Marking Progress Against Child Labour (2013)) shows a
breakdown of 2012 global estimates of child labour by employment status.

Breakdown of ILO-IPEC global estimates of child labour by employment status in 2012- Figure 9 in
Marking Progress Against Child Labour (2013)

Breakdown of ILO's 2012 global estimates of child labour by employment status

Schultz and Strauss (2008)6 compile information from a number of different sources (mostly
country-specific datasets from national statistics offices—see the original paper for detailed sources)
to provide a picture of the industrial composition of economically active children. The following
table (numbered as table 5 in Schultz and Strauss (2008)) presents their results. In almost every
listed country, a majority of economically active children work in agriculture, forestry, or fishing.

A point that is also worth emphasizing here is the lack of consistency in the age brackets for which
child labour estimates are available.

Industrial composition of economically active children - Table 5 in Schultz and Strauss (2008)7

Industrial composition of economically active children, compiled by Schultz and Strauss (2008)

I.3 Recent developments

How does the incidence of child labour vary across countries?

The visualization below shows the share of children (7-14 years) in employment for a number of
countries (for the years in which data is publicly available from the World Bank consolidated
dataset). As it can be appreciated, the prevalence of child labour varies widely by country; for
instance, the share of children in employment (here defined in terms of being economically active
for one hour a week) was fifteen times larger in Uganda than in Turkey according to 2006 estimates.
While most countries exhibit a downward trend, many countries are lagging.

Switch to the map view in this chart to compare the level of child labour between countries. Sub-
Saharan Africa is the region where child labour is most prevalent, and also the region where progress
has been slowest and least consistent.
Share of children in employment

Share of children ages 7-14 involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week
of the correspondingsurvey (irrespective of school attendance)

1999

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

CC BY-SA

What fraction of working children are not attending school?

As we discuss in more detail below, child labour is by definition problematic whenever it interferes
with the children's development. Because of this it is informative to study child labour specifically
when it is coupled with absence from school.

The following visualization shows the share of children in employment who work only (i.e. those
children who are economically active and do not attend school). Again, there is wide variation across
countries; while in Latin America the majority of children who are economically active also attend
school, in sub-Saharan Africa this is not the case. However, trends are encouraging on the whole,
particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where the problem is most acute. The next section exploring
correlates, determinants and consequences of child labour, provides more information about the
link between work and school attendance.

Share of working children who work only

Children ages 7-14 involved in economic activity and not attending school, as a share of all children
in economic activity.

1999

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2015

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

CC BY-SA

How many hours do working children actually work?

The harmful consequences of child labor are partly determined by the intensity of work, and how it
affects time allocation in other activities, such as playing or learning (more on this below). Hence, to
understand child labor it is crucial to understand time allocation.

The following chart shows, country by country, the weekly average of hours worked by children
(ages 7-14) who are economically active.

Average weekly working hours of children

Average weekly working hours for children ages 7-14 who are involved in an economic activity for at
least one hour in thereference week of the corresponding survey (irrespective of school attendance).

5
10

15

20

25

30

Bangladesh

32.04 (in 2013)

Jordan

25 (in 2007)

El Salvador

20.01 (in 2013)

Egypt

18.8 (in 2009)

Ethiopia

18.8 (in 2011)

Guatemala

18.55

Burkina Faso

17.6 (in 2010)

Guinea

15.6 (in 2012)

Indonesia

14.4 (in 2010)

Honduras

14.3 (in 2014)

Tanzania

14.17 (in 2014)

Ghana

13.7 (in 2006)

Mongolia

13.68 (in 2013)

Gambia

13.4 (in 2008)

Afghanistan

13.1 (in 2011)

Mozambique

12.9 (in 2008)

Syria

12.2 (in 2006)

Ecuador

10.84

Iraq

10.3 (in 2011)

Nepal

8.82 (in 2014)

Thailand

8.3 (in 2005)

Togo

8.12 (in 2014)

Chile

7.9 (in 2012)

Kazakhstan

6.7 (in 2006)

Haiti

5.9 (in 2012)

Swaziland

4.1 (in 2010)

Tunisia

3.5 (in 2012)

Ukraine

3 (in 2012)

Jamaica
1.9 (in 2011)

CC BY-SA

As we can see, average hours worked by children vary widely across countries, even at similar levels
of GDP per capita. For example, while average incomes in Bangladesh and Nepal are roughly similar,
in the former economically active children spend more than three times as much time working.

In fact, even across countries with similar labor force participation of children, differences in average
hours worked are large. This is shown in the following chart.

As we can see, Vietnam and Pakistan have similar incidence of child work (about 12% of children
work at least one hour), but working hours are radically different (in Pakistan working children spend
more than twice as much time working).

Children in employment (ages 7-14) vs Weekly hours worked by children (ages7-14), 2016

The horizontal axis shows the share of children ages 7-14 who are involved in an economic activity
for at least one hour in thereference week of the corresponding survey (irrespective of school
attendance). The vertical axis shows the average weekly workinghours among these economically
active children.

Children in employment, total (% of children ages 7-14)

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Average working hours of children, study and work, ages7-14 (hours per week)

0 hours

5 hours

10 hours

15 hours

20 hours

25 hours

30 hours

CC BY-SA
I.4 Current gender gaps

In the majority of countries boys are more likely than girls to be engaged in economic activity. The
following visualization presents the incidence of child employment for boys vs. girls by country,
according to the most recent estimates available from the data published by the World Bank. Here,
the diagonal line marks equal values for boys and girls; as it can be appreciated, most countries lie
below the diagonal line.

Share of children in employment, boys vs girls, 2016

Share of boys (vs. girls) ages 7-14 involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference
week of thecorresponding survey (irrespective of school attendance)

Children in employment, male (% of male children ages 7-14)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Children in employment, female (% of female children ages7-14)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

CC BY-SA

II. Correlates, Determinants, & Consequences

This section discusses the relationship between children's work and two crucial variables: schooling
and income. Low school attendance is typically considered one of the most important consequences
of child labour, while low household income is considered an important determinant. See Schultz
and Strauss (2008) for a discussion of academic evidence informing other potential determinants
and consequences.
II.1 Child labour and schooling

As it has already been mentioned, child labour is particularly problematic to the extent that it
hinders the children's development, notably by interfering with schooling. Since time is a scarce
resource, the extent to which children's employment is linked to school attendance depends on the
type and number of hours worked.

The following visualization taken from Schultz and Strauss (2008) presents evidence of this link using
data from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (2000 and 2001); it plots school attendance
rates for children 10–14 against total hours worked in the last week (by type of work) with 95
percent confidence intervals (labeled CI and plotted in lighter shades).

The steepest part of the pictured curves are in the range 20-45 hours, suggesting—as one would
naturally expect—that it is most difficult for a child to attend school when approaching full-time
work. This evidence also shows that there are no significant difference by domestic or marketed
work.

This chart shows the relationship between school attendance and hours worked using micro data
(i.e. the authors plot the relationship by pooling observations across individual households). A
similar pattern can also be seen in the data if we look at aggregates: In countries where children
tend to work longer hours, it is more common that working children remain out of school. This
interactive chart shows this by plotting country-level average hours worked by children against share
of working children who are out of school.

School Attendance vs. Hours Worked - Schultz and Strauss (2008) 8

School Attendance vs. Hours Worked, from Eric V. Edmonds "Child Labor", Chapter 57 in T. Paul
Schultz, John Strauss (2008), Handbook of Development Economics, Volume 4. North Holland.

The above relationship between work and schooling is informative about the impact of children's
work on schooling, but is not sufficient to establish causality; there are many potential economic and
cultural factors that simultaneously influence both schooling and work decisions; and in any case,
the direction of the relationships is not obvious—do children work because they are not attending
school, or do they fail to attend school because they are working?

A number of academic studies have tried to establish causality by attempting to find a factor (an
'instrumental variable') that only affects whether a child works without affecting how the family
values other uses of the child's time (e.g. Rosati, F., Rossi, M. (2003)9; Gunnarsson, V., Orazem, P.,
Sanchez, M. (2006)10)While these studies can be criticized on the grounds of the validity of the
instrumental variables used, they seem to agree on the fact that there is a stronger association
between child labour and schooling than the raw data would suggest.
II.2 Child labour and income

Cross-country data on child labour and economic growth suggests a strong negative correlation
between economic status and child labour. The following visualization depicts the cross-country
incidence of child labour (share of children ages 7-14 involved in economic activity) against GDP per
capita (PPP adjusted GDP per capita in international dollars). To provide some context regarding the
absolute number of children, each country's observation is pictured as a circle where the size of the
circle represents population aged 5-14.

This evidence cannot be interpreted causally; as before, countries differ in many aspects that may be
associated with child labour choices and income. But there are a number of reasons why,
conceptually, child labour might be indeed caused by poor living conditions. For example, children
might only work if the parents are unable to meet subsistence conditions; or it could be the case
that parents allocate more of the children's time to schooling as they afford the necessary inputs for
schooling (text-books, uniforms, etc).

Partly following this logic, several countries have implemented cash transfer programmes in an
attempt to discourage child labour and increase schooling. The idea behind these programmes is
that the cash transfers are conditioned on a number of desirable actions, including sending children
to school; and in doing so, they lower the relative costs of schooling and raise family income. Schultz
(2004)11 evaluates one such program in Mexico (the so-called 'Progresa' program) and finds a
significant reduction in wage and market work associated with eligibility for Progresa. Similar
findings have been found in other countries as well. The literature often refers to these programmes
as the prime example of "collaborative measures" against child labour: non-coercive interventions
that alter the economic environment of decision makers in order to make them more willing to let
children stay out of work.

III. Definitions, Data Quality and Empirical Gaps

III.1 Definitions and measurement

General definition

Broadly speaking, the term “child labour” is defined as the employment of children in any work that
deprives them of their childhood and dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental
development.

The ILO defines child labour as work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and
harmful to children; and that interferes with the children’s schooling by depriving them of the
opportunity to attend school, either by obliging them to leave school prematurely, or by requiring
them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work (a general
definition along these lines can be found in the ILO's Child Labour website). The ILO’s Convention No.
138, adopted in 1973 and ratified by most countries of the world, stipulates the relevant ages that
different countries use to define child labour.
Hours worked and age classification

According to the definition provided above, whether or not a given job is considered 'child labour'
depends on the details of the actual context — the child’s age, the number of hours worked and the
type of tasks performed. The following chart, from Hilowitz (2004)12, shows a diagrammatic
classification of child labour (shaded region) depending on age and type of work.

This chart shows why it is difficult to produce estimates of child labour that are suitable for cross-
country comparisons: there are differences in legislation, and age matters relative to the type of
work.

Basic classification of child labour standards by age – Hilowitz (2004)13

hilowitz-2014

According to the conceptual classification used by the ILO, children in child labour include those in
worst forms of child labour and children in employment below the minimum age, excluding children
in permissible light work — where "permissible light work" is defined as any non-hazardous work by
children (ages 12 to 14) of less than 14 hours during the reference week (for more details see ILO-
IPEC, Diallo, Y., et al. (2013)14).

Global aggregates and cross-country data are not publicly available for 'children in child labour' as
per the conceptual definition above. The ILO tends to report figures of economically active children
for the broadest age bracket (5-17 years of age). The World Bank – World Development Indicators
also report figures of economically active children, but use a narrower age definition (7-14 years of
age). In both cases, 'economically active' refers to children who work for at least one hour during a
reference week.

Because of the limitations of the data, academic studies often focus on children’s time allocation,
which leaves more room for exploring the consequences of employment on other activities, such as
school attendance. These studies tend to rely on country-specific survey data.

Terminology

Many studies distinguish between 'children in child labour' and 'children in employment', while using
the terms 'working children', 'children in economic activity' and 'children in employment'
interchangeably. In such cases, the former ('children in child labour') are considered a subset of the
latter ('children in employment' or any of the aforementioned interchangeable terms). As noted
above, children in child labour include those in worst forms of child labour and children in
employment below the minimum age, excluding children in permissible light work—where
"permissible light work" is defined as any non-hazardous work by children (ages 12 to 14) of less
than 14 hours during the reference week (for more details see ILO-IPEC, Diallo, Y., et al. (2013)15).

III.2 Data quality

Schultz and Strauss (2008) provide a complete account of the particular challenges that arise from
measuring children employment through household surveys. The authors highlight difficulties arising
from coverage (i.e. capturing the most vulnerable children through random sampling) and accuracy
(i.e. misreported hours worked and sensitivity to the recall period used).

Cunningham and Viazzo (1996) and Humphries (2010)16 note similar challenges in the use of
national census and household survey data for accurate coverage of the incidence of child labour.
There remains a generally accepted consensus that census data is likely to underestimate the scale
of child labour for several reasons. This is particuarly important in case of later censuses, where
national regulation required children to be in education; in this case, child labour was likely to be
underreported, for fear of prosecution. These estimates therefore often underrepresent the
numerous children, particularly girls, who worked unpaid at home. Since census results typically
capture data from households, this often limits coverage to children who live within a family
household. This can exclude children either orphaned, or living on the streets- in many cases, we
might expect the incidence of child labour to be more prevalent in these demographics.

Specifically regarding the information published by the World Bank in their World Development
Indicators, it is important to highlight that, while definitions are standardized (children in
employment are always defined as those children aged 7-14 involved in economic activity for at least
one hour in the reference week of the corresponding survey), the data-collection instruments are
not standardized across the different sub-sources feeding the consolidated dataset. It is because of
this that many policy reports (such as the much-referenced report Marking Progress Against Child
Labour (2013) ) 'homogenize' the data before reporting estimates, by correcting for discrepancies in
the underlying survey instruments. Those visualizations presented here that use the consolidated
data published by the World Bank have not been corrected.

Issues of consistency across different survey instruments in the World Bank consolidated data can
help us explain country-specific patterns that are otherwise difficult to interpret. Consider the case
of India. As it can be appreciated in the following visualization, the incidence of child labour in India
seems to jump up in 2006, only to go back in 2010 to the levels that would have been predicted with
the observations from 2000 and 2005. After checking the survey catalogue, it becomes clear that the
estimates for 2006 come from the country's Demographic and Health Survey, while those for the
other years come from consecutive rounds of the National Sample Survey. Cases such as this
illustrate why current academic studies typically rely on data stemming from a single survey
instrument, such as UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys.

Share of children in employment

Share of children ages 7-14 involved in economic activity for at least one hour in the reference week
of the correspondingsurvey (irrespective of school attendance)

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

CC BY-SA

III.3 Data and research gaps

In addition to the above-mentioned difficulties related to measurement, there are also important
limitations in the way child labour data is made available.

As pointed out before, most UN reports publish global child labour estimates for custom age
brackets, and only sometimes break down estimates by gender and type of work (including
distinctions for ‘light work’, ‘hazardous work’, etc.). To our knowledge, there are no publicly
available cross-country estimates of the evolution of child labour, broken down simultaneously by
gender, age and type of work.

This is unfortunate, since a set of time-series constructed from 'contingency tables' cutting across
age, gender and type of work would give us a much better picture of where to focus our efforts to
fight child labour. Constructing such tables should be straightforward from the depurated micro-
data used to produce the existing global reports.
Relatedly, it would be similarly helpful if the depurated cross-country series published in the World
Bank – World Development Indicators were expanded to account for more flexible definitions of
economic activity beyond "one hour of work in the reference week".

Some exercises along these lines have already been undertaken in academia. As we discuss above,
Schultz and Strauss (2008) present estimates of ‘children in economic activity’, by type of activity
(market work and domestic work) and by number of hours worked. To do this, the authors used
mainly UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) from 2000 and 2001. It would be
extremely helpful for researchers and policymakers if such exercises were updated and published
regularly in open-access data portals.

Regarding gaps in empirical research, it is important to highlight the lack of robust evidence speaking
to the consequences of child labour on future outcomes – such as the working children’s subsequent
health and earnings in adulthood. Schultz and Strauss (2008) provide a summary of available
evidence on this research front. The body of literature is thin and the econometric results tend to be
fragile because of difficulties to establish causality.

A related research question for which there is little robust empirical evidence is whether child labor
is the result of ‘agency problems’ – namely, whether children work because parents fail to fully
consider the tradeoffs and costs that work has on their children.

IV. Data Sources

IV.1 Children in employment (country-specific historical data)

Toniolo and Vecchi (2008)

Data Source: Toniolo, Gianni, and Giovanni Vecchi. Italian Children at Work. 1881—1961. Giornale
degli economisti e Annali di economia (2007): 401-427.

Description of available measures: Share of children ages 10-14 (total, and by gender) who are
economically active

Time span: 1981-1961

Geographical coverage: Italy

Cunningham and Viazzo (1996)

Data Source: Cunningham, Hugh, and Pier Paolo Viazzo. Child Labour in Historical Perspective 1800-
1985: Case Studies from Europe, Japan and Colombia. No. hisper96/1. UNICEF Innocenti Research
Centre, 1996.

Description of available measures: Share of boys and girls (ages 10-14) recorded as working

Time span: 1851-1911

Geographical coverage: United Kingdom

IV.2 Children in employment (consolidated cross-country data)

World Development Indicators published by the World Bank (based on data from ILO, UNICEF and
the World Bank)

The main source of consolidated data on child labour is the inter-agency research cooperation
programme Understanding Children's Work. The principal source for this programme is the ILO’s
Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour (SIMPOC), which is the statistical
arm of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). Understanding
Children's Work links the SIMPOC data with data produced by the World Bank (specifically the Bank’s
Living Standards Measurement Study datasets) and UNICEF (specifically datasets produced with the
organization’s so-called Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys); as well as data from direct partnerships
with national statistical offices. Details about the corresponding household surveys used to produce
these datasets, including information about sample size, sample units and coverage, can be found in
survey catalog of Understanding Children's Work.

Data Source: Understanding Children's Work project based on data from ILO, UNICEF and the World
Bank. This data is published by the World Bank.

Description of available measures:

Share of children aged 7-14 (total, and by gender) involved in economic activity for at least one hour
in the reference week of the corresponding survey (irrespective of school attendance)

Share of children aged 7-14 (total, and by gender) involved in economic activity for at least one hour
in the reference week of the corresponding survey (not attending school)

Share of children aged 7-14 (total, and by gender) involved in economic activity for at least one hour
in the reference week of the corresponding survey (working while attending school)

Time span: 1994-2015

Geographical coverage: Global by country (predominantly low and middle income countries)

Link: http://data.worldbank.org/indicators

ILO - ILOSTAT (formerly ILO - LABORSTA)

The ILO Programme on Estimates and Projections of the Economically Active Population (EPEAP) has
been producing statistics on labour force participation (for adults and children) since 1945, through
the database known as ILOSTAT (formerly LABORSTA). Many studies rely on the LABORSTA/ILOSTAT
data to shed light on the extent of child labour in the 20th century, before ILO started producing
specialized child labour data. LABORSTA/ILOSTAT data is however problematic as a source to
measure child labour, since data on work inside the household (even market work) are often not
collected. Schultz and Strauss (2008) say that this source is not reliably useful for analyzing changes

in child labor over time, given that the survey instruments, coverage, and estimation methodologies
are not designed for this purpose.17

Data Source: ILO Programme on Estimates and Projections of the Economically Active Population
(EPEAP), through the
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International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines the term child labour 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, or work whose schedule interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or
work that affects in any manner their ability to focus during school or experience a healthy
childhood.”

UNICEF defines child labour differently. A child, suggests UNICEF, is involved in child labour activities
if between 5 to 11 years of age, he or she did at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28
hours of domestic work in a week, and in case of children between 12 to 14 years of age, he or she
did at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours of economic activity and domestic
work per week. UNICEF in another report suggests, “Children’s work needs to be seen as happening
along a continuum, with destructive or exploitative work at one end and beneficial work – promoting
or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest – at
the other. And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a
child’s development.”

India’s Census 2001 office defines child labor as, “participation of a child less than 17 years of age in
any economically productive activity with or without compensation, wages or profit. Such
participation could be physical or mental or both. This work includes part-time help or unpaid work
on the farm, family enterprise or in any other economic activity such as cultivation and milk
production for sale or domestic consumption. Indian government classifies child laborers into two
groups: Main workers are those who work 6 months or more per year. And marginal child workers
are those who work at any time during the year but less than 6 months in a year.”

CAUSES

Major causes of child employment that can be understood keeping in mind the Indian scenario, are:

 POVERTY:

In developing countries it is impossible to control child labour as children have been considered as
helping hand to feed their families, to support their families and to feed themselves. Due to poverty,
illiteracy and unemployment parents are unable to bear the burden of feeding their children and to
run their families. So, poor parents send their children for work in inhuman conditions at lower
wages.

 PREVIOUS DEBTS:

The poor economic conditions of people in india force them to borrow money. The Illiterate
populations go to money lenders and sometimes mortgage their belongings in turn of the debt taken
by them. But, due to insufficiency of income, debtors find it very difficult to pay back the debt and
the interest. This vicious circle of poverty drags them towards working day and night for the creditor
and then the debtors drag their children too in assisting them so that the debts could be paid off.

 PROFESSIONAL NEEDS:

There are some industries such as the ‘bangle making’ industry, where delicate hands and little
fingers are needed to do very minute work with extreme excellence and precision. An adult’s hands
are usually not so delicate and small, so they require children to work for them and do such a
dangerous work with glass. This often resulted in major eye accidents of the children.
LEGISLATIONS

When in the 20th Century, child labour became so prominent that news of factory hazards and
mishappenings taking innocent children’s life, flashed all around in the newspapers, then was the
time, a need for legislations and statutes were felt to prohibit the mal practice of child labour.
Today, there are sufficient statutes condemning and prohibiting child labour such as:

The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years
in any factory. The law also placed rules on who, when and how long can pre-adults aged 15–18
years be employed in any factory.

The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a
mine. Mining being one of the most dangerous occuptions, which in the past has led to many major
accidents taking life of children is completely banned for them.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of
children below the age of 14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law. The list
was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a crime,
punishable with a prison term, for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous
employment or in bondage. This act provides punishment to those who act in contravention to the
previous acts by employing children to work.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009: The law mandates free and
compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that 25
percent of seats in every private school must be allocated for children from disadvantaged groups
and physically challenged children.

HAZARDOUS OCCUPATIONS

Part III of ‘The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 provides for the ‘Prohibition of
employment of children in certain occupations and processes’. The Schedule gives a list of hazardous
occupations in two parts, via; A and B

Part A provides that, No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the following
occupations:

1. Transport of passengers, goods; or mails by railway

2. Cinder picking, clearing of an ash pit or building operation in the railway premise.

3. Work in a catering establishment at a railway station, involving the movement of vendor or

any other employee of the establishment from one platform to another or into or out of a
moving train.

4. Work relating to the construction of railway station or with any other work where such work
is done in close proximity to or between the railway lines.

5. The port authority within the limits of any port.

6. Work relating to selling of crackers and fireworks in shops with temporary licenses

7. Abattoirs/slaughter Houses
 8. Automobile workshops and garages.

9. Foundries

10. Handling of taxies or inflammable substance or explosives

11. Handloom and power loom industry

12. Mines (Underground and under water) and collieries

13. Plastic units and Fiber glass workshop

Part B provides that, No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the following
workshop wherein any of the following processes is carried on.

1 Beedi making

2 Carpet Weaving

3 Cement manufacture including bagging of cement.

4 Cloth printing, dyeing and weaving.

5 Manufacture of matches, explosive and fireworks.

6 Mica cutting and splitting.

7 Shellac manufacture

8 Soap manufacture

9 Tanning.

10 Wool cleaning

11 Building and construction industry

12 Manufacture of slate pencils (including packing)

13 Manufacture of products of agate

14 Manufacturing processes using toxic metals and substances such as lead, mercury, manganese,
chromium, cadmium, benzene, pesticides and asbestos

15 All Hazardous prossess an defined in section 2(cb) and dangerous operations

as notified in ruler made under section 87 of the factories Act 1948

16 Printing (as defined in section 2(k) of the factories Act 1948

17 Cashew and cashew nut descaling and processing

18 Soldering process in electronic industries

19 Incense Stick (Agarbathi) manufacturing

20 Automobile repairs and maintenance (namely welding lather work , dent beating and printing)

21 Brick kilns and Roof files units

22 Cotton ginning and processing and production of hosiery goods

23 Detergent manufacturing

24 Fabrication workshop (ferrous and non-ferrous)

25 Gem cutting and polishing

26 Handling of chromites and manganies ores

27 Jute textile manufacture and of coir making

28 Lime kilns and manufacture of lime

29 Lock making

30 Manufacturing process having exposure to lead such as primary and secondary smelting, welding
etc. ( See item 30 of part B process)

31 Manufacture of glass, glass ware including bangles fluorescent tubes bulbs and other similar glass
products

32 Manufacturing of cement pipes, cement products, and other related work.

33 Manufacture of dyes and dye stuff

34 Manufacturing or handling of pesticides and insecticides

35 Manufacturing or processing and handling of corrosive and toxic substances, metal cleaning and
photo enlarging and soldering processes in electronic industry

36 Manufacturing of burning coal and coal briquette

37 Manufacturing of sports goods involving to synthetic materials, chemicals and leather

38 Moulding and processing of fiberglass and plastics

39 Oil expelling and refinery

40 Paper making

41 Potteries and ceramic industry

42 Polishing, moulding, cutting welding and manufacture of brass goods in all forms.

43 Process in agriculture where tractors, threshing and harvesting machines are used and chabt
cutting

44 Saw mill all process

45 Sericulture processing

46 Skinning dyeing and process for manufacturing of leather and leather products

47 Stone breaking and stone crushing

48 Tobacco processing including manufacturing of tobacco, tobacco paste and handling of tobacco in
any form

49 Tyre making repairing, re-trading and graphite beneficiation

50 Utensils making polishing and metal buffing

51 Zari Making (all process)

HOURS OF PERIOD AND WORK

No child shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of number of hours
prescribed (Section-7)

The period of work on each day shall not exceed three hours and no child shall work for more than
three hours before he has had an interval for rest for at least one hour. No child shall be permitted
or required to work between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.

No child shall be required or permitted to work overtime. (Section-7).

PENALTIES

Violations under Section-3 shall be punishable with imprisonment which shall not be less than three
months which may extend to one year or with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees
but which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both. Continuing offence under section (3)
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which
may extend to two years.

Any other violations under the Act shall be punishable with simple imprisonment, which may extend
to one month or with fine, which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both.

EFFORTS BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO CONTROL CHILD LABOUR

The child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 prohibits the employment of children below
the age of 14 years in 16 occupation and 65 processes that are hazardous to the children’s lives and
health. Many states including Haryana have constituted the child labour rehabilitation –cum-welfare
funds at district level and separate labour cells are being formed to address the issue. National child
labour projects have been implemented by the central government in states from 1988 to provide
non-formal education and pre-vocational skills. From 2001, Sarve shiksha Abhiyan has been
launched to educate poor and employed children in all states. Ministry of women and child
development has been providing non-formal education and vocational training. Establishment of
Anganwadies is also a big step by the government for the welfare of children and their physical,
mental and educational development.

CONCLUSION

If awareness about the cons of child labour is spread across the nation and strict policing of
implementation of existing laws are done, India can combat the issue of Child Labour. Every
individual must understand how important it is for the children to grow and study, as they are the
ones who will shape the future of the nation.

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Every child is a gift of God –a gift must be nurtured with care and affection, with in the family and
society. But unfortunately due to socio-economic and cultural problems, the code of child
centeredness was replaced by neglect, abuse and deprivation, particularly in the poverty afflicted
sections of the society. (1) While child labour is a complex problem that is basically rooted in
poverty.(2) The strategy of progressive elimination of child labour underscores India’s legislative
intent, and takes cognizance of the fact that child labour is not an isolated phenomenon that can be
tackled without simultaneously taking into account the socio-economic milieu that is at the root of
the problem.(3). An International Moral Code of Right and Wrong Behavior said that “human rights
and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings” and as a result such rights may
neither be granted nor be taken away by legislation.(4)

The position of India in terms of child labour is not an appreciable one; with a credible estimates
ranging from 60 to 115 million, India has the largest number of working children in the world.
Whether they are sweating in the heat of stone quarries, working in the fields 16 hours a day,
picking rags in the city streets, or hidden away as domestic servants, these children endure
miserable and difficult lives. They earn little and are made to work more. They struggle to make
enough to eat and perhaps to help feed their families as well.

They do not go to school. Many of them have been working since the age of four or five, and by the
time they attain adulthood they may be irrevocably sick and deformed they will certainly be
exhausted, and in this way they are debarred from enjoying the basic human rights, which are
essential for the advancement of one’s personality. (5) According to the statistics given by Indian
government there are 20 million child labourers in the country, while other agencies claim that it is
50 million. (6)

Child labour is a conspicuous problem in India. Its prevalence is evident in the child work
participation rate, which is more than that of other developing countries. Poverty is the reason for
child labour in India. The meager income of child labourers is also absorbed by their families. The
paucity of organized banking in the rural areas creates a void in taking facilities, forcing poor families
to push their children in harsh labour, the harshest being bonded labour.(7) That declaration stated
that all ILO members have an obligation “to respect, to promote and to realize in good faith” a set of
fundamental rights which include freedom of association the effective recognition of the right to
collective bargaining the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour the effective
abolition of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and
occupation. (8)

Rights of Children under International Law

The concept of equality of all human beings, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of I948 stipulates under Article 25para 2 that childhood is entitled to special care and
assistance. The above principle along with other principles of the Universal Declaration concerning
child were incorporated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1959.The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights under Articles 23 and 24 and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under Article 10 made provisions for the care of the child. (9)
However the International Labour Organization (ILO) provides universal standards and guidelines.
The ILO, a specialized agency of the UN, aims to provide guidance and standards for labour practices
around the world. The International Convention and other international instruments, (10) which
deal with the subject of child labour are as follows:
1. Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.

2. Worst Form of Child Labour Convention, 1999; and

3. Worst Form of Child Labour Recommendation

The International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) is a global program launched by
the International Labour Organization in December, 1991. India was the first country to join it in
1992 when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ILO. The MOU that expired on
31.12.1996 has been extended from time to time and has recently been extended till 31st
December, 2006. The long-term objective of IPEC is to contribute to the effective abolition of child
labour. (11) IPEC-India has, during the period 1992-2002, supported over 165 Action Programs.

The Govt. of India and the US Department of Labour have also initiated a US$ 40 million project
aimed at eliminating child labour in 10 hazardous sectors across 21 districts in five States namely,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi. This project, popularly
known as INDUS, is being implemented by ILO. An estimated 80,000 children will be withdrawn and
rehabilitated through this project. Support activities will also be directed to 10,000 families of
former child workers. (12) On 20 November 2009, the global community celebrates the 20th
anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, the unique document that sets international standards for the care, treatment
and protection of all individuals below age 18. (13)

Rights of Children under National Laws

India has all along followed a proactive policy in the matter of tackling the problem of child labour.
India has always stood for constitutional, statutory and development measures required eliminating
child labour. The Indian Constitution has consciously incorporated provisions to secure compulsory
universal elementary education as well as labour protection for children. Labour Commissions in
India have gone into the problems of child labour and have made extensive recommendations. (14)
The Constitution of India, too provides certain rights to children and prohibits child labour. Such
provisions are as follows:

1. No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed in any factory or mine or engaged in any
other hazardous work. (15)
2. State, in particular, shall direct its policy towards securing that the health and strength of workers,
men and women and the tender age of the children are not abused and that citizens are not forced
by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to their age or strength.(16)

3. Children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of
freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitations and against
moral and material abandon. (17)

4. The state shall endeavor to provide, within the period of 10 years from the commencement of the
Constitution, free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years.
(18)

5. The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of six to 14
years in such a manner as the state may by law determine (19)

6. Who is parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or the case may be,
ward between the age of six and14years. (20)

There are a wide range of laws, which guarantee to a substantial extent the rights and entitlement
as provided in the constitution and in the UN convention. Some of them are given below:

1. The Apprentices Act, 1861

2. The Child Labour Act, 1986

3. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929

4. The Children (pledging of labour) Act, 1929

5. Children Act, 1960.

6. The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890

7. The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956

8. The Hindu Adoption and Maintence Act, 1956

9. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

10. Juvenile Justice Act, 1986

11. The Orphanages and other charitable Homes (supervision and control) Act, 1960

12. Probation of offenders Act, 1958

13. Reformatory schools Act, 1857

14. The women’s and children’s institutions (licensing) Act, 1956

15. The young persons (Harmful publications) Act, 1956

Apart from these laws mainly concerning children, there are a host of related welfare and criminal
laws, which have beneficial provisions for the case, and protection of children. Even the laws relating
to commerce, industry and trade have protective provisions beneficial to children.

The first Act in India relating to child labour was the Enactment of Children (Pledging of Labour) Act
of February 1933. The child of today is the future of our country. So the investment made on
children is an asset for the future of our country. As a child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be
lit, they should not be exploited by engaging them in employment in tender age but they should be
given all necessary amenities and support so that they become responsible citizens of the nation and
make the world a happier place to live in. (21) Children under fourteen constitute around 3.6% of
the total labour force in India. Of these children, nine out of every ten work in their own rural family
settings. Nearly 85% are engaged in traditional agricultural activities. Less than 9% work in
manufacturing, services and repairs. Only about 0.8% works in factories. (22)

In 1979, Government formed the first committee called Gurupadswamy Committee to study the
issue of child labour and to suggest measures to tackle it. The Committee examined the problem in
detail and made some far-reaching recommendations. It observed that as long as poverty continued,
it would be difficult to totally eliminate child labour and hence, any attempt to abolish it through
legal recourse would not be a practical proposition. The Committee felt that in the circumstances,
the only alternative left was to ban child labour in hazardous areas and to regulate and ameliorate
the conditions of work in other areas. It recommended that a multiple policy approach was required
in dealing with the problems of working children.

Based on the recommendations of Gurupadaswamy Committee, The Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986 was passed. This Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14
in factories, mines and in other forms of hazardous employment, and regulates the working
conditions of children in other employment. Sec.3 of this Act imposes prohibition on employment of
children in dhabas, restaurants, hotels, motels, tea shops, resorts, spas or other recreational centre’s
etc. (23) Recently, child labour is totally banned by the government with free education and other
facilities to the child upto the age of 14. The list of hazardous occupations and processes is
progressively being expanded on the recommendation of Child Labour Technical Advisory
Committee constituted under the Act. (24)

According to a 2001 census, an estimated 185,595 children are employed as domestic help and in
small roadside eateries. Most child domestic workers in India are trafficked by placement agencies
operating in states like Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.(25) India has announced a
National Policy of Child Labour as early as 1987, and was probably the first among the developing
countries to have such a progressive policy. Through a notification dated May 26, 1993, the working
conditions of children have been regulated in all employment not prohibited under the Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. Further, following up on a preliminary notification issued on
October 5, 1993, the government has also prohibited employment of children in occupations such as
abattoirs/slaughter houses, printing, cashew de-scaling and processing, and soldering.(26) Child
labour would be abolished in hazardous occupations by the year 2000, reflects a national consensus
and commitment. After this declaration, several far-reaching initiatives have been taken by the
Government to effectively tackle the problem (27) India’s National Policy on Education, 1986 gives
the highest priority to the program of universal elementary education, and recommends that free
and compulsory education of sufficient quality be provided to all children up to the age of 14 years
before we enter the 21st century. The present thrust is on three aspects, namely, universal access
and enrollment, universal retention of children up to 14 years of age, and substantial improvement
in the quality of education to enable all children to achieve essential levels of learning. All these
aspects have been incorporated in the various initiatives taken up by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development.(28)

Role of Judiciary

Indian higher judiciary has played good role in protecting rights of children and specifically in the
case of child labour. The Supreme Court of India, in its M.C. Mehta Vs State of Tamil Naidu (29) has
given certain directions regarding the manner in which children working in the hazardous
occupations are to be withdrawn from work and rehabilitated, and the manner in which the working
conditions of children working in non-hazardous occupations are to be regulated and improved.
Withdrawal of children working in hazardous industries and ensuring their education in appropriate
institutions; Contribution of Rs.20,000 per child to be paid by the offending employers of children to
a welfare fund to be established for this purpose; Employment to one adult member of the family of
the child so withdrawn from work, and if that is not possible a contribution of Rs.5000 to the welfare
fund to be made by the State Government; Financial assistance to the families of the children so
withdrawn to be paid out of the interest earnings on the corpus of Rs.20,,000/25,000.00 deposited
in the welfare fund as long as the child is actually sent to the schools; Regulating hours of work for
children working in non-hazardous occupations so that their working hours do not exceed six hours
per day and education for at least two hours is ensured. The entire expenditure on education is to be
borne by the concerned employer; as a follow up of the directions of the Supreme Court, all the
State Governments were sent detailed guidelines on December 26, 1996 indicating the manner in
which the directions of the Supreme Court were to be implemented. A meeting of the NAECL was
convened on 31st December 1996 to discuss the directions of the Supreme Court on child labour. It
was decided in the meeting that the Ministry of Labour should immediately release funds to the
State Governments so as to enable them to conduct surveys of working children before June 10,
1997.

With child labour are filled with a high poverty level. These children have no choice but to go and
work because if they don’t they will starve and die. Child labour for these children is survival; there
are no other chances for them. None of these children have the privilege of going to school and
being able to go to a house at the end of a day. Most of these children work from the crack of dawn
and don’t stop working till late into the night.(30)

Child labour in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a serious and extensive problem,
with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making factories, glass blowing units
and making fireworks with bare little hands. According to the statistics given by Indian government
there are 20 million child labourers in the country, while other agencies claim that it is 50 million.
(31) According to the statistics given by ILO and other official agencies 73 million children between
10 to 14 years of age reemployed in economic activities all over the world. The figure translates into
13.2 of all children between 10to14 being subjected to child labour. (32) The child labour is
prevalent at a large scale in the country. In Punjab it is found in hotels, restaurant, tea-stalls, rag
collecting as domestic help in brick killen etc. for which the authorities ,parents ,educationist, police
and employers or responsible. There is lack of implementations of child laws .Since politicians and
other authorities exert pressure not to prosecute the child law violators. There are instances of
bounded child labour are found in Punjab but the authorities ignore it and the various departments
for the implementation of labour laws either lack funds or lack will to prosecute the child law
defaulters and the laws remain merely on the paper for which the lack of control of population and
increasing unemployment or the major causes and the politicians fear to tackle these problems in
view of their vote banks.
Suggestions – The Govt. should take proper effective steps to decrease the population and give the
employment to the parents of child labour. Necessary practical steps should be taken to educate the
children. Provided the necessary sufficient funds to the organizations working for the education and
removal of child labour. There should be effective implementations of child protective laws. There
should be necessary prosecution of child labour defaulters. The involvement of the religious leaders,
trade unionist and non government organizations and to tackle the child labour by forming advisory
committees on child labour on block level should be there. The authorities should not bend before
the pressure of the politicians while tackling the problems of child labour.

Conclusion- At present, inspite of policy of the government regarding removal of child labour. The
various steps taken in this direction and the laws passed about it haven’t controlled the ongoing
child labour. This is possible only with the co-operation of all sections of the society and the law
enforcement agencies and by removing or minimizing the causes of child labour. The main thrust
should be on controlling the population of the country, education of the children and providing
sufficient funds for its removal from the gross domestic product of India.

NEXT-unicef

Over the past two decades India has put in place a range of laws and programmes to address the
problem of child labour. UNICEF and its India partners are working together to ensure that children
are protected from work and exploitation which is harmful to their development They are working
to ensure that children remain in economically stable family homes and get the opportunity to go to
school and be educated. Child labour cannot be dealt with in isolation. It is intrinsically linked to
socio-economic factors. More specifically, UNICEF has also initiated work with employers and the
private sector to assess and address the impact of their supply chain and business practices on
children. The causes and nature of child labour The factors that contribute to child labour – including
“hazardous” child labour –include the poverty and illiteracy of a child’s parents, the family’s social
and economic circumstances, a lack of awareness about the harmful effects of child labour, lack of
access to basic and meaningful quality education and skills training, high rates of adult
unemployment and under-employment, and the cultural values of the family and surrounding
society. Often children are also bonded to labour due to a family indebtedness. Out of school
children (OOSC) or those children at risk of dropping out can easily be drawn into work and a more
vulnerable to exploitation. Girls, especially those from socially disadvantaged groups, tend to be at a
higher risk of being forced into work.Other reasons for children being forced into work: ·
Poverty and a lack of livelihood options lead to a child’s “need” to contribute to the family income, ·
Due to conflicts, droughts and other natural disasters, and family indebtedness,· Rural poverty
and urban migration also often exposes children to being trafficked for work. Children are
employed because they are cheap and pliable to the demands of the employer and not aware of
their rights. The risks that these children face can have an irreversible physical, psychological and
moral impact on their development, health and wellbeing.Types of child labour: A recent change The
types of child labour have changed in recent years due to enforcement of legislation, awareness
amongst buyers about child exploitation, and international pressure. Child labour is now more
invisible because the location of the work has changed from the more formal setting of factories, to
business owners’ homes. There has also been an increasing involvement of children in the home-
based and informal sectors. Children are engaged in manual work, in domestic work in family homes,
in rural labour in the agricultural sector including cotton growing, at glass, match box and brass and
lock-making factories, in embroidery, rag-picking, beedi-rolling, in the carpet-making industry, in
mining and stone quarrying, brick kilns and tea gardens amongst others. Work is often gender-
specific, with girls performing more domestic and home-based work, while boys are more often
employed in wage labour. In general, the workload and duration of the working hours increases as
children grow older. Getting accurate, detailed information about children working in different
sectors is a major challenge because, in many cases, children work in informal sectors such as
agriculture, and in urban settings in restaurants, motor repair workshops and in home-based
industries.Challenges to ending child labour Child labour is not uniform. It takes many forms
depending upon the type of work that children are made to do, the age and sex of the child and
whether they work independently or with families. Due to this complex nature of child labour, there
is no one strategy that can be used to eliminate it. Combatting child labour requires long term co-
ordinated action which involves many stakeholders and the government. This includes educational
institutions, mass media, NGOs and community-based organizations as well as trade unions and
employers. It is important that the attitudes and mindsets of people are changed to instead employ
adults and allow all children to go to school and have the chance to learn, play and socialize as they
should. Education is a key to preventing child labour and has been one of the most successful
methods to reduce child workers in India. This includes expanding education access to schooling,
improving the quality and relevance of education, addressing violence in schools, providing relevant
vocational training and using existing systems to ensure child workers return to school.

Big PictureIndia’s 2011 census showed that: · There were more than 10.2 million “economically
active” children in the age group of five to 14 years – 5.6 million boys and 4.5 million girls, · Eight
million children were working in rural areas, and 2 million in urban areas, · Although in rural
settings the number of child workers reduced from 11 million to 8 million between the 2001 and
2011 censuses, over the same period, the number of children working in urban settings rose from
1.3 million to 2 million,THE POLICY FRAMEWORK SURROUNDING CHILD LABOUR

The key international laws dealing with child labour include the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child 1989 (CRC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on the Minimum Age
for Admission to Employment of 1973 (ILO Convention138) and on the Worst Forms of Child Labour
of 1999 (ILO Convention182). India has not ratified either of the two ILO conventions and also made
a reservation to article 32 of the CRC at the time of ratification stating that it would apply the article
in a progressive manner, according to its national legislation and international commitments,
especially in relation to the minimum age.Related national legislations: · Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act (1986), “to prohibit the engagement of children in certain
employments and to regulate the conditions of work of children in certain other employments”
(preamble of the CLPR Act). It excludes a section of toiling children in the unorganized sectors
including agriculture, as well as household work. · National Policy on Child Labour (1987), with a
focus more on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and processes, rather
than on prevention. · Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 (the JJ Act) and
amendment of the JJ Act in 2006: includes the working child in the category of children in need of
care and protection, without any limitation of age or type of occupation. Section 23 (cruelty to
Juvenile) and Section 26 (exploitation of juvenile employee) specifically deal with child labour under
children in need of care and protection. · The Right to Education Act 2009 has made it
mandatory for the state to ensure that all children aged six to 14 years are in school and receive free
education. Along with Article 21A of the Constitution of India recognizing education as a
fundamental right, this constitutes a timely opportunity to use education to combat child labour in
India.
Indian legislation protects children from exploitation:

· The Child Labour Prohibition Act 1986 bans the employment of children below the age of 14 in
many professions, such as domestic labour, and in the hospitality trade for example in roadside
dhabas (restaurants), restaurants, hotels, motels and spas. It does not ban child labour in
agriculture. · The Right to Education Act 2009 ensures all children 6-14 years have the right to
free and compulsory education. · The Indian Constitution ensures the right of all children 6-14
years to free and compulsory education; prohibits forced labour; prohibits the employment of
children below 14 years in hazardous occupations; and promotes policies protecting children from
exploitation. · Whoever employs a child or permits a child to work is punishable with
imprisonment from three months to one year or with fine no less than INR 10,000–20,000 rupees or
with both. · The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 defines child as
being below 18 years of age. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ratified by India
in 1992, all children have the right to be protected from work that is dangerous, or that might harm
children’s health or education.

UNICEF In Action UNICEF has long experience in working against child labour in India. Most
programmes focus on children in specific types of work, for example cotton production in the states
of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, metalwork and
carpets in Uttar Pradesh and tea gardens in Assam. These programmes reach tens of thousands of
children and their families in areas with high levels of child labour.UNICEF has been working to
reduce and eliminate child labour using a combination of the following strategies: · Reform of
existing legislation, for example setting a minimum age for child labour, that brings policy coherence,
· Law enforcement to ensure the implementation of the Child labour Act, · Expanding
education access, improving quality and relevance of education, addressing violence in schools, ·
Awareness-raising and mobilization of families and communities against the exploitation of children,
· Social protection programmes and cash transfers to improve the economic situation of families
and to reduce the “need” to send children to work, · Strengthening child protection systems,
including the Integrated Child Protection Scheme and implementation of Juvenile Justice Act, ·
Working towards convergence between government departments to prevent child labour and
rehabilitate existing child labourers

HISTORY=
In the late 1700's and early 1800's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for making most
manufactured items. Factories began to spring up everywhere, first in England and then in the United
States. The factory owners found a new source of labor to run their machines — children. Operating
the power-driven machines did not require adult strength, and children could be hired more cheaply
than adults. By the mid-1800's, child labor was a major problem.

Children had always worked, especially in farming. But factory work was hard. A child with a factory
job might work 12 to 18 hours a day, 6 days a week, to earn a dollar. Many children began working
before the age of 7, tending machines in spinning mills or hauling heavy loads. The factories were
often damp, dark, and dirty. Some children worked underground, in coal mines. The working children
had no time to play or go to school, and little time to rest. They often became ill.
By 1810, about 2 million school-age children were working 50- to 70-hour weeks. Most came from
poor families. When parents could not support their children, they sometimes turned them over to a
mill or factory owner. One glass factory in Massachusetts was fenced with barbed wire "to keep the
young imps inside." These were boys under 12 who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40
cents to $1.10 per night.

Church and labor groups, teachers, and many other people were outraged by such cruelty. The
English writer Charles Dickens helped publicize the evils of child labor with his novel Oliver Twist.

Britain was the first to pass laws regulating child labor. From 1802 to 1878, a series of laws gradually
shortened the working hours, improved the conditions, and raised the age at which children could
work. Other European countries adopted similar laws.

In the United States it took many years to outlaw child labor. By 1899, 28 states had passed laws
regulating child labor. Many efforts were made to pass a national child labor law. The U.S. Congress
passed two laws, in 1918 and 1922, but the Supreme Court declared both unconstitutional. In 1924,
Congress proposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting child labor, but the states did not ratify it.
Then, in 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. It fixed minimum ages of 16 for work
during school hours, 14 for certain jobs after school, and 18 for dangerous work. Today all the states
and the U.S. government have laws regulating child labor. These laws have cured the worst evils of
children working in factories.

But some kinds of work are not regulated. Children of migrant workers, for example, have no legal
protection. Farmers may legally employ them outside of school hours. The children pick crops in the
fields and move from place to place, so they get little schooling.

The Canadian provinces today have child labor laws similar to those in the United States. Most other
countries have laws regulating child labor, too. But the laws are not always enforced. Starting in 1999,
over 160 countries approved an International Labor Organization (ILO) agreement to end the worst
forms of child labor. The ILO is a part of the United Nations and the agreement came into effect in the
year 2000. According to the ILO, the number of child laborers around the world has been falling.
However, as of 2006, there were still 218 million child laborers worldwide; 126 million of them were
engaged in hazardous work. The ILO also runs the world's largest program to help countries eliminate
child labor.

jdhflius

The National Anti-Child Labour Day is observed every year in India on April 30 to create
awareness and educate the citizens about the hardships of the child labourers.
It is also an effort to surface the responsibility we hold as social citizens. Apart
from this, the International Labour Organization (ILO) also observes World Day
against Child Labour every year on June 12 to raise awareness and activism to
prevent child labour worldwide.

Hbglygv,
Children are always considered next to the pious versions of the Almighty who always strive to
inculcate happiness, joy, innocence and hope. The future of a nation is determined by the way it
treats its children and its women, after all, children imply a hope, a hope to strengthen not only the
economy of the country, but also to provide the country with skilled human resources who have
access to the basic amenities essential for the existence coupled with the tenets of the education in
India. It is the moral duty of every citizen for the country to ensure that the childhood of our children
is protected and not marred with instances like that of child labour which arise out of poverty and
helplessness.

WHAT IS CHILD LABOUR

Child labour typically means the employment of children in any manual work with or without
payment. Child labour is not only limited to India, it happens to be a global phenomenon.

As far as India is concerned, the issue is a vicious one as children in India have historically been
helping parents at their farms and other primitive activities. Another concept that needs explanation
is the concept of bonded labour which is one of the most common forms of exploitation. Bonded
labour means the children are forced to work as employees in lieu of payment of debt by the
parents due to exorbitant rates of repayment of interest.

Also associated with the concept of bonded labour is the concept of urban child labour wherein the
labouers are the street children who spend most of their childhood on the streets.

CHILD LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA

The problem of child labour in India had become an issue of concern for one and all post
Independence. The drafting committee of the India constitution wanted to formulate laws on their
own without seeking recommendations from other countries with this regard. Since, India had been
under the exploitative regime of the British, it only made sense that the provisions were devised
keeping in mind the forms of exploitative labour that India had witnessed under the atrocious
regime.
The primitive laws that were formed to prohibit child labour in India were when the Employment of
Children Act, 1938 was passed. But this act failed miserably because it failed to address the cause of
poverty as it is poverty that drives children into forced labour.

The Indian Parliament time and again has passed Laws and Acts to ensure the protection of children
from child labour. The Fundamental Rights enshrined in our Constitution prohibit child labour below
the age of 14 years in any factor or mine or engaged in any hazardous employment under Article 24.
Apart from this, it is also provided under Article 21-A that State shall provide infrastructure and
resources for free and compulsory education for children of the age six upto 14 years.

There exists a set of laws which under the Constitution govern the protection of children from child
labour. The Factories Act of 1948 prevents the employment of children below 14 years in any
factory. The Mines Act of 1952 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 18 years. The
Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 prevents the employment of children below the
age of 14 years in life-threatening occupations identified in a list by the law. Further, the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection) of children Act of 2000 made the employment of children a punishable
offence.

Ironically, despite this huge array of laws, there seems to be no improvement in the working
conditions of the child labourers and employers also freely flout the provisions of the Act covering
the prohibition of child labour.

It needs to be highlighted that the violation of these provisions means a deprivation of the basic
human rights and demeaning the childhood of the children. The law also isn’t very clear as to how
where can the children work. The Acts covers only 10 percent of the total working children and thus
not applicable to the unorganized sector. The Act also exempts the family of the child labourer from
its purview if they all are working with the same employee as that of the child. Although the Act
prohibits the employment of children in certain hazardous industries and processes, it does not
define what constitutes hazardous work. It only provides a list of hazardous occupations.

ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN FIGHTING CHILD LABOUR

The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPECL) was launched under the
programme of International Labour Organization in 1991 to work towards the elimination of child
labour by creating awareness about child labour as a global issue using national platforms. India was
among the first nations to sign the MOU with IPECL to help in combating child labour.

National Labour Project (NCLP) is one of the major programmes implemented throughout the country
under which seven child labour projects were set up in the year 1988. Rehabilitation is also one of the
major policies that have been adopted by the government of India to reduce the incidence of child
labour in India.
Unfortunately, the concerned authorities are unable to combat the rising cases of child labour
because of varied reasons. They fail to establish the correct age if the child due to the lack of birth
proofs and at times fake proofs. Not much is being done on creating the awareness among people.
Even if efforts are being made, they cater to a limited population and the endurance among the
authorities is not visible. A lot of laxity can be observed during the conduct of awareness
programmes. There is still a need to address the issue on global platforms time and again with
stringent policy framework in place.

HOW TO ELIMINATE AND STOP CHILD LABOUR

Let’s learn how to stop child labour and solve the problem of child labour:

To prevent child labour, incidence of poverty needs to be reduced first, so that poor people do not
have to send their children to earn their bread and butter.

Spreading literacy and education is a potent weapon against the practice of child labour, because
illiterate persons do not understand the implications of child labour.

Another way to stop child labour is to eliminate or rein in unemployment. Because of inadequate
employment, many families cannot afford to meet all their expenses. If employment opportunities are
increased, they will be able to let their children read and write and become worthy citizens.

To stop child labour, we will have to first change our own thinking. We have to ensure that first of all,
we do not keep any child at work in our own home or office. We have to remember that we are not
doing any favour to children of tender age by paying them money in exchange of their labour, but we
are rather playing with their future.

We also need to spread awareness about child labour, so that people can understand that child
labour is messing with the future of the country. They will have to understand that there is no future
for India if its children are weakened mentally and physically through the practice of child labour.

The common man should take up a resolve that he will not buy any items from the shops where a
child is employed as labour. Also, if we come across such instances, we should complain to the police
or other agencies, about it. The common citizen should prevent child labour from taking place in
society. In this way, the general public can help in the prevention of child labour.

There are laws prohibiting child labour in our country. If we notice any case of child labour, then we
should immediately go to the nearest police station and register our complaint. We must raise our
voice against the stonehearted who employ child labour.

We can also dial 100 to register a complaint against child labour. We can also dial the telephone
service number 1098 started by the government to register complaints against child labour.

We will have to play the role of a conscious customer. Many times we go to the market and shop for
our necessities, without knowing that there may be child labour practice behind the texture of that
stuff. Why not form a habit from today that whenever we purchase any goods, we ask the
shopkeeper about the technique used in their manufacture. Most shopkeepers may not know the
answer to this question, but we can take one step from our side. We can create a sensible
environment in the society by these inquiries. And say No to the use of something made of child
labour. It may seem a little odd, but this can bring a big change in our society.

Let the parents of the children know the consequences of child labour. If we find any child labour
somewhere near us, first we should talk to the family of that child. Empathising with their conditions,
we should tell them about the bleak future of their child in case of continuance of this practice.

Owners of factories and shops should take a vow that they will not force any child to do labour and
stop other people from doing the same.

To prevent child labour, we need proper implementation of laws that prescribe strict punishment to
vendors, shopkeepers and mill owners in case they engage children on cheap wages.

There should be also be more robust and stricter laws for child labour, so that the people fear from
employing any child labour.

Poor parents should pay full attention to the education of their children because today the
government is providing free education, food, and even medicines in certain schools.

They should not make any difference between boys and girls. By this practice, the number of girl child
labour can be reduced to a great extent.

Govt,-=
Child Labour is one of the serious hurdles on the path of human development
in India. Adverse effects of child labour have been accepted by the world and
internationally, steps are being taken to check it. Indian Government has also
taken some positive steps in this direction.
Ever since independence, the government of India has taken several measures
to eradicate the menace of child labour. There have been specific legislations
aimed at curbing the problem, and punishing the offenders.

Also, several social programs for the rehabilitation for children who are
rescued from child labour are run at the central and state level. In recent years,
there has been a major emphasis on providing basic education for all children,
which is a long-term answer to this social menace.

In 1988, the government of India launched the National Child Labour Project
(NCLP). Initially, the scheme was implemented in nine districts with a high
concentration of child labour. The scheme involves establishment of special
schools for child labour who are withdrawn from work
These special schools provide formal and informal education along with
vocational training, and also provide a monthly stipend. Other facilities such as
supplementary nutrition and health care are also provided to such children.
The number of districts covered under the NCLP Scheme were increased to 100
in the 9th five-year plan and further increased to 250 in the 10th plan.

On August 15, 1994, the government of India launched a major program to

remove child labour working in hazardous occupations, and to rehabilitate
them by setting up special schools for them. Under the programme, a total of
two million children are sought to be brought out of work and put in special
schools where they are provided with education, vocational training, monthly
stipends, nutrition and health-checks.

A highly powerful body, the National Authority for the Elimination of Child
Labour (NAECL) was established on September 26, 1994, headed by the Union
Minister of Labour in the government of India.

There are credible efforts being made at the administrative level to eliminate
the problem of child labour. Also, there are several voluntary organizations
working for the rescue and rehabilitation of child labour in India.

Education for all children is the key that can bring about a fundamental change
and help to end the problem permanently. A collective public and
governmental effort on various fronts will eventually lead to the complete
eradication of child labour menace from India.