LAWS ON CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

Term Paper
SUBMITTED BY:
Harivansh Dagar
LLM, 1st Year (1 year course)
Roll No-23LAW3BL012

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. Shilpa Rastogi

2023-24
Laws Related to Child Labour in India
Introduction
Childhood is a precious period of everyone’s life. Right to childhood is a most important thing.
This is the period when a foundation for a good life is laid. Without care and nourishment a
sapling doesn’t become a strong and useful tree, same is the situation with a child. 1 Many
children are compelled to do labour due to various reasons and consequently there are bad effects
on children, society and the country. A society which promotes life of equality and dignity must
provide children enough opportunity to grow by nourishing them in terms of education and
health. But sadly many children are living in bad economic conditions and are robbed of their
basic rights.2

Kofi Annan claimed in his speech in 1999 that:

"We need super-ordinate computational forecasts to look at some areas of the future.
Some of the next generations will be expected by the way we look at today's children.
Tomorrow‘s future can be formed by science and technology, but it is still taking form in
children's minds and bodies.”

Children can’t be treated as items; they are as wise, good and useful as we elders are. 3

Legislative History
Pre Independence

One of the essences of identifying child labour is to understand who is a child. The definition of
child has changed in different periods and in different contexts. In context of labour work, Indian
Statute has talked about child labour firstly in 1881. In Factories Act, 1881 minimum age of
employment in a factory was set to be 7 years 4 with maximum working hours as 9 hours a day. 5
In 1891 amendment to the Act, this age was increased to 9 years. 6 In 1911 the Act was again
amended to prohibit employment of children in dangerous processes. A tool ‘certificate of
fitness’ was introduced which is available even today wherein a certifying surgeon certifies a

1
K.Subba Rao, Social Justice and Law 5 (National Publications House, Delhi, 1974)
2
Helen R. Sekhar, Towards Combating Child labour 2 (V.V.Giri National Labour Institute, Noida, 2nd edn., 2005).
3
Hon‘ble Mr. Justice Shivaraj V. Patil, Children—Supreme Asset Of The Nation, Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial
Lecture, Held on 08-11-2004 available at https://www.ebc-india.com/lawyer/articles/2005_2_55.htm (last visited
on April 16, 2023)
4
The Indian Factories Act, 1881 (Act 15 of 1881), s.6
5
Id., s.7
6
The Indian Factories Act, 1891 (Act 11 of 1891), s.7
children whether he has completed the age of 14 years and he has attained the prescribed
standard of physical fitness and is fit for work.7

Indian Mines Act, 1901 prohibited the employment of children of less than 12 years of age in
mines where conditions were harmful for their health and safety. 8 ILO (International Labour
Organisation) convention 5 prompted the minimum age of children in Factories Act to be 15
years. Royal commission of labour in 1929 reported widespread prevalence of child labour in
various industries including textile, bidi, match etc.9 Thereafter a series of laws were enacted viz.
Tea Districts Emigrant Labour Act10 of 1932, The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act11, 1933,
Employment of Children Act 12 , 1938 wherein different provisions for minimum age for
employment in different kinds of work were provided. In International Labour Convention in
1937, a special article for India was adopted wherein minimum age of children was
recommended to be 13 years in certain employments.13

Despite the existence of the Employment of Child Act of 1938, the Labour Investigation
Committee (1944- 1946), also known as the Rege Committee after its chairperson, found that
child labor was extensive in bidi making, carpet weaving, glass, and other small-scale
industries. 14

Constitutional Provisions

In draft constitution Article-18 15 was included for prohibition for employment of children in
factories which is available in Constitution of India in Part-3 i.e. Fundamental Rights as Article-
24. Article-24 of Indian Constitution reads:

“No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any
factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.” 16

Shibban Lal Saxena during constitutional assembly debate suggested that this age should be
raised to 16 years but he didn’t move any amendment for it and it was kept to be fourteen. 17

7
The Indian Factories Act, 1948 (Act 63 of 1948), s.69
8
Indian Mines Act, 1901 (Act 8 of 1901), s.2(b)
9
Evolution Of The Law On Child Labor In India by Usha Ramanathan, available at:
https://www.ielrc.org/content/a0905.pdf (visited on April 16, 2023)
10
Tea Districts Emigrant Labour Act, 1932 (Act 22 of 1932)
11
The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933 (Act 2 of 1933)
12
Employment of Children Act, 1938 (Act 26 of 1938)
13
Minimum Age (Industry) Convention (Revised), 1937, art.7
14
Labour Investigation (Rege) Committee, “Report on an enquiry into conditions of labour in the engineering and
minerals and metals industries in India” (1945-46)
15
Draft Constitution of India, 1948
16
The Constitution of India, art.24
On the other hand, article-45 was included which provided that State shall endeavour for
children’s education upto age 14 years18. This provision was under directive principle of state
policies and not in fundamental rights. In 2002, through constitutional amendment right to child
education upto 14 years of age was made a fundamental right and article-21A was inserted in
part-3 of constitution 19 . Illiteracy and poverty are the prime causes of child labour; without
addressing these problems it is difficult to eliminate the problem of child labour. Article-39(e)
and 39(f) press the need to protect the children against abuse of their tender age by forcing them
to work in avocations which are not suitable for them and the need to provide them opportunities
to develop in a healthy manner in conditions of freedom and dignity20. Article-45 provides that
the State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they
complete age of six years. 21 Both the articles 39 and 45 are not fundamental rights but directive
principles of state policy which means that these are not enforceable in court of law but are to be
kept in by the government which making laws and policies. Article-51A(k) was also included
which put fundamental duty on parents or guardians to provide opportunity for education to his
child or ward between age of 6 years and 14 years. 22

Post Independence

The tobacco industry, where child labor has been rampant and the handling and inhalation of
tobacco have been recognized as hazardous, was drawn into the law in 1966, in the Beedi and
Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act 23. The act prohibits the employment of children
under fourteen in any industrial premises, and “young persons” between fourteen and eighteen
years were not to be engaged in work except between 6 A.M. and 7 P.M. However a significant
exception was provided for self employed persons at dwelling houses. 24

In 1969, the National Commission of Labour, chaired by Justice PB. Gajendragadkar, observed
that child labor was “noticed mostly in agriculture, plantations and shops.” 25

The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976 abolished the bonded labor system and
extinguished the liability to repay bonded debt. Identification, release, and rehabilitation of the

17
Constituent Assembly Debates on December 03, 1948 available at
https://www.constitutionofindia.net/debates/03-dec-1948/ (last visited on April 16, 2023)
18
Supra note 16, art.45(pre-amendment art. 45)
19
Id., art.21A
20
Id., art.39
21
Id., art.45
22
Id., art.51A(k)
23
Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 (Act 32 of 1966)
24
Id., ss.24, 25, 43
25
National Commission on Labour, “Report Of The National Commission On Labour” (1969)
bonded laborers are the significant provisions of the 1976 act 26. In the 1980s, the Supreme Court
also struck at the practice of bonded labor.27

Convention No. 138 was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1973. It
stipulates that States should progressively raise the minimum age to a level consistent with the
fullest physical and mental development of young people. It establishes 15 years as the minimum
age for work in general. 28

India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) in December 1992 29 with a
declaration that it would not be “practical immediately to prescribe minimum age for admission
to each and every area of employment in India” wherein under article-1 the age of a child was
fixed to be 18 years unless he has attained the majority under the law to which he is subjected. 30
This helps to explain why India has not signed and ratified ILO Convention 138 and 182. In ILO
Convention on worst form of child labour no. 182 held in 1999 also, the age of a child was fixed
to be 18 years. 31

In 1979, the Gurupadaswamy Committee on Child Labour reported on the status of child labor.
The committee noted flagrant violations of the laws, difficulties in regulation, the paucity of
prosecution, and the meagerness of penalties prescribed. It recommended a law that would adopt
uniformity in defining the child, with regulation of hours of work and conditions of work, and
identification of areas of employment where child labor would be prohibited 32 . In 1986, the
Sanat Mehta Committee reiterated the recommendations of the Gurupadaswamy Committee 33.
Consequently, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 was enacted which has been
amended several times till date.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 198634 was the most significant step of Indian
legislature to prohibit, control and to regulate child labour in India. Under the Act, age of child is
fixed 14 years or as may be specified under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education, 2009 (as amended in 2016 amendment)35. A person between age of 14 years and 18

26
The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (Act 19 of 1976)
27
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union Of India & Others, 1984 AIR 802
28
Minimum Age Convention, 1973, art.2
29
Pledge by India Celebrating 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, available at:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crc/celebrating-30-years-convention-rights-child/pledge-india (last
visited on April 16, 2023
30
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, art.1
31
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, art.2
32
Government of India, “Report of the Committee on Child Labour” (Ministry of Labour. 1979)
33
About Child Labour, available at: https://labour.gov.in/childlabour/about-child-
labour#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20recommendations%20of,the%20working%20conditions%20in%20others
(visited on April 16, 2023)
34
Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, (Act 61 of 1986)
35
Id., s.2(ii)
years is considered to be adolescent in the Act 36. Employment of children is prohibited in any
occupation or profession excepting a child helping in his family enterprises after his school hours
or in vacations in processes which are not hazardous as per the schedule of the Act 37. Another
exception is provided for child artists in entertainment or sports activities subject to safety
measures and so that his school education is not affected 38. Also the employment of adolescents
in hazardous processes as set forth in schedule is prohibited.39

Provisions regarding adolescents are inserted in the Act in 2016 amendment. 2016 amendment is
a significant step in the Act. Before this amendment, employment of children below 14 years of
age was prohibited only in scheduled occupations and processes considered as hazardous. Now
the employment of children below 14 is totally prohibited except the exceptions provided in the
section. In this amendment, employment of adolescents of age between 14 and 18 years is
allowed only in the scheduled occupations and processes. Previously no provision for
adolescents was available in the Act.

In section-4, Power to amend the schedule is with Central Government by giving a notification in
official gazette. Central Government has to give a three month prior notice of its intention to
make a change in schedule by adding or omitting from schedule any hazardous occupation or
process.

For adolescents in part-3 of the Act, provisions of hours and period of work, weekly holiday,
rules regarding their health and safety at workplace to be made by appropriate governments are
included. 40

In section-10 it is provided that in case of any dispute regarding the age of a person in absence of
a certificate of age granted by the medical authority, inspector shall refer the question for
decision to the prescribed medical authority.

Occupier or employer has several obligations under the Act i.e. to give notice giving information
about the establishment to the inspector appointed under the Act and to maintain a register in
respect of adolescents working in the establishment entering their information and the kind of
work they are given under section-9 & 11 respectively.

Railway administration, port authorities and occupier of an establishment has an obligation to

36
Id., s.2(i)
37
Id., s.3
38
Ibid.
39
Id., s.3A
40
Id., ss. 7, 8, 13
41
Id., s.12
Offences under the Act are made cognizable under section-14A. Where the accused is a parent or
a guardian, first time offence is made compoundable under section-14D.

In section-14C appropriate government is given a duty to constitute in every district or for two or
more districts, Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund.

Procedure for prosecution under the Act is provided under section-16. Appropriate government
is given the power to make rules to carry out the provisions of the Act. Every rule made under
the Act by appropriate government shall be laid before the concerned legislature.42

It is also provided that the provisions of the Act are in addition to and not in derogation to certain
other Act i.e. Factories Act, 1948, Plantation Labour Act, 1951 and Mines Act, 1952. 43

The act aimed to achieve uniformity in the definition of child labor, prescribing a uniform, age of
fourteen years in the definition of a child. In pursuing this objective, initially the Act actually
reduced the minimum age for employment in merchant shipping and motor transport from fifteen
to fourteen years. Further, the act repealed the Prohibition of Child Labour on Plantations. In
2001, amendment was made to restore the minimum age of fifteen in merchant shipping and
motor transport and to restore the prohibition of child labour on plantations. 44

Government Initiatives
Government initiated the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme in 1988 to rehabilitate
working children.
Objective of the Scheme:
 Under the Scheme, survey of child labour engaged in hazardous occupations & processes has
been conducted and the identified children are to be withdrawn from these occupations &
processes and then put into special schools in order to enable them to be mainstreamed into
formal schooling system.
 Project Societies at the district level are fully funded for opening up of special
schools/rehabilitation centres.
 Non-formal/bridge education, Skilled/vocational training, Mid Day Meal etc are provided at
special schools/rehabilitation centres.
 Stipend @ Rs.150/- per child per month alongwith health care facilities through a doctor
appointed for a group of 20 schools are also provided at these special schools.

Surveys are conducted by the project societies to identify the children working in hazardous
processes. These identified children are the target group for the project society. Out of these the
children in the age group 5-8 years have to be mainstreamed directly to formal educational
system through the SSA and those in the age group of 9- 14 years have to be rehabilitated
through NCLP schools established by the Project Society.

42
Id., ss. 18, 19
43
Id., s.20
44
Repealing and Amending Act, 2001 (Act 30 of 2001), s.2
At present about 6000 special schools are in operation under NCLP scheme. As on date more
than 10 lakhs children have been mainstreamed into the formal education system under the
Scheme. 45
According to the Census 2001 figures there are 1.26 crore working children in the age group of
5-14 as compared to the total child population of 25.2 crore. As per survey conducted by
National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2004-05, the number of working children is
estimated at 90.75 lakh. As per Census 2011, the number of working children in the age group of
5-14 years has further reduced to 43.53 lakh. 46 Data by these surveys show that the efforts of
government have been fruitful to some extent.

Judicial Contribution
Judiciary through its various judgments has contributed in favour of children.
In People Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India47 also known as Asian worker case it
was brought into the notice of the Supreme Court that children below the age of 14 years are
being employed in construction activity. Justice PN Bhagwati and Justice Bahrul held that
construction activity is obviously and absolutely a hazardous activity and as per Article 24 of
Indian Constitution no child below the age of 14 years can be allowed in construction work.

In M.C. Mehta v. State Of Tamil Nadu48 a bench of Justice Kuldip Singh, B.L. Hansaria, S.B.
Majmudar included payment of compensation amounting to Rs.20,000/- by the offending
employer for every child employed by him of the provisions of the Act, giving alternative
employment to any adult member of his family in place of the child withdrawn from the
hazardous occupation and payment of an amount of Rs.5,000 by the government.. The amount
collected was ordered to be deposited as a fund to be known as Child Labour Rehabilitation cum
Welfare Fund.

In Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. UOI49 the Supreme court directed the Government of India to
convene a meeting with the State Governments to evolve principles and policies for progressive
elimination of employment of children below 14 years in all the employment sectors. The Court
issued the following directions to the Government of UP:
1. Investigations were made for the conditions of employment of children in hazardous
occupation.
2. Issue such welfare directions as are appropriate for a total prohibition of employment below
the age of 14 years.
3. Provide facilities such as education, health and sanitation, nutritious and hygenic food, etc.

45
National Child Labour Project Scheme, available at: https://labour.gov.in/childlabour/nclp (last visited on April
16, 2023)
46
Supra note 33
47
1982 AIR 1473, 1983 SCR(1) 456
48
AIR 1997 SC 699, (1996) 6
49
1984 AIR 802, 1984 SCR (2) 67
Ground Reality
An Empirical Study was conducted on the Status of Child Labour before and after the
Implementation of National Child Labour Project Scheme in India by Jaya Surian and D.
Vezhavendan of Saveetha School of Law, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences,
Saveetha University, Chennai. Conclusion of the research study was heartbreaking which is
quoted below:
“According to the survey conducted regarding the National Child Labour Project
Scheme, this scheme was a total failure and it is not even implemented properly
was the thought of the majority of the people but according to the reports given
by the government this scheme was a great success and it is properly
implemented. Finally the present paper concludes its work by stating that people
knows their situation more properly as compared with the government it is
because even the government appoints officers to take a survey but the survey
that is made by the officers were completely fake and this statement was also
given by the majority of the people who took part in this survey.”50

It is believed by many rural families that labour work is the sole way of earning for them and it is
their destiny.

During lockdown because of Covid-19 industries and businesses came to standstill. Many
industries were in search of cheap labour to makeup the losses and consequently there was a
surge in child labour. Poverty driven and debt led families readily sent their children, hoping that
they would bring with them money so that they could survive. 51

Raj Kumar, the director of the Bihar Social Welfare Department, said that they had rescued three
hundred children from human traffickers in the lockdown period. Suresh Kumar of the Human
Liberty Network had expressed his agony and pain on seeing small children being taken in buses
as child labourers so that they could earn some money to feed their starving families. 52 The
executive director of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Mr. Dhananjay Tingal, had said that their efforts
had led to the rescue of twelve hundred children, between 8 to 18 years, who were being illicitly
trafficked to work in warehouses, farms, and factories. Mr. Tingal had stated that the traffickers
had begun to hire more children than adults after the lockdown was announced. Furthermore, the
deputy director of child protection for Save the Children India stated that child marriages and
child labour were the only plausible solutions that the poverty-stricken families had ever since
the pandemic.53

50
B. Jaya Surian and D. Vezhavendan, “An Empirical Study on the Status of Child Labour before and after the
Implementation of National Child Labour Project Scheme in India” 17 International Journal of Pure and Applied
Mathematics 247-267 (2018)
51
B. Suresh Lal, “Child Labour in India: Causes and Consequences” 8 International Journal of Science and Research
2199 (2019)
52
Id.
53
Id.
The State Convenor of Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), R. Karuppusamy, had also
released the rapid survey ‘COVID-19: Reversing the Situation of Child Labour’. It showed a net
increase in child labour in the South, North, and Eastern districts of Madurai. 54

Lacuna in Legal Framework

In 2016 amendment in Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986,
employment of children below 14 years age is prohibited in all kind of occupations and
processes which previously was prohibited only in scheduled occupations and processes. But this
provision is not applicable to the child who helps his family after school hours in occupations
other than hazardous as set forth in the schedule 55 . Numerous occupations which were in
schedule in list of hazardous occupations previously have been slashed out of the schedule. This
means that now a child may be employed to work in occupations and processes which were
previously considered to be hazardous provided that the occupation is of the family of the child.
Legislature has also failed to acknowledge that majority of population is employed in agriculture
which is not in scheduled items and hence children of such families are forced to do tough
agriculture work.56 Provisions for adolescents which are of age 14 to 18 years are added to the
Act but their employment is prohibited only in scheduled occupations. Further schedule can be
amended by the central government instead of by parliament which is not a proper safeguard
against corrupt practices. Also for implementation of laws in this regard, there is lack of
awareness in society. Lack of social and political will is also there as many people don’t make a
report of offences under the Act because they think that the family did not have an option but to
send their child for work and reporting a case would ultimately harm the interest of a poor
family.

In our constitution article-24 provides for prohibition of children below 14 years of age. This
prohibition is only in regards to hazardous employments. Safeguard is not provided in
constitution for children against child labour of all kind. Other provisions for children to be given
opportunity to develop in healthy environment are only in part-4 of the constitution which is not
enforceable by law.

54
P.A. Narayani, Child labour increased during COVID-19: survey, available at:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/child-labour-increased-during-covid-19-
survey/article34054623.ece (last visited on April 16, 2023)
55
Supra note 34, s.3(2)(a)
56
Child Labour in Agriculture, available at: https://www.ilo.org/ipec/areas/Agriculture/lang--en/index.htm (last
visited on April 16, 2023)
Conclusion and Suggestions
Through various surveys conducted by government it is shown that situation is improving but
some independent survey and experiences about which we have discussed in this article show a
contrary situation.

In our constitution the age of children under which child labour is prohibited is 14 years which is
not the age at which a child is developed to lead a good and healthy life without any protection
against exploitation.

Sadly even after more than 7 decades of independence India has not achieved an economic state
where it can protect from exploitation, labour etc. and provide for education and other
opportunities to all the minors below 18 years of age.

Eighteen years of age should be the age below which all kind of employment, except the ones
which may be helpful in personality development of a minor person, should be prohibited. In
recent decades the State is taking a shift from welfare state to capitalism. But it has to bear in
mind the state of people which need support from the government so that their future generations
may get sufficient opportunities and may be a part of mainstream society.

The loopholes as discussed in the article have to be eliminated and the reasons because of which
implementation of the law have to be addressed effectively.