Skip to main content

Labour laws dilution to 'spike' child labour, trafficking: Kailash Satyarthi foundation

 The dilution of labour laws by some states in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown must be reviewed and rescinded immediately, since doing away with crucial safeguards is likely to lead to a spike in the incidence of child labour and child trafficking while deepening exploitation and abuse of workers, a Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation (KSCF) report based on a study conducted in some of India's rural areas has recommended.
The KSCF study, titled 'A Study on Impact of Lockdown and Economic Disruption on Low-Income Households with Special Reference to Children', is based on responses of over 50 NGOs and 250 households from the trafficking prone states.
Pointing out that 89 percent of non-governmental organisations surveyed had voiced the concern that "there is a very high likelihood of increase in trafficking of both adults and children in the post-lockdown period for the purpose of labour" and "76 percent of the NGOs...anticipate 'human trafficking for the purpose of sexual abuse' and 'child trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation' to see an upsurge post- the lockdown", the report recommends greater surveillance at village level and alertness on the part of law enforcement agencies. Surveyed NGOs also expressed the view that child marriages post the lockdown are also likely to go up.
During the household survey conducted as a part of the study, it was found that "21 percent of the households are potentially ready to send their children into child labour due to their increased economic vulnerability".
Recommending that systems be created for micro-level surveillance in and around villages on a "continuous basis", so as to prevent children of families impoverished by the lockdown from working as child labour, the report says that "panchayats, other village level officials as well as Block officials should play a major role in ensuring that children do not work and are retained in schools".
Pointing out that once business operations and manufacturing resume, the officials concerned must carry out surprise inspections of such establishments to ensure that no child labour or trafficked children are found employed there, KSCF insists, payment of "all compensation amounts due to child labourers, bonded labourers and victims of trafficking" by the state governments. The logic for immediate payment is that "financial relief to the families to which the rescued children belong shall prevent re-trafficking of all such children".
Since the lockdown has triggered a financial crisis, heightened economic insecurity, poverty and marginalisation, driving families to desperation and making them susceptible to pushing their children to trafficking, the report seeks "increased role for panchayati raj institutions (PRIs)" in which panchayats will be "mandated to maintain a migration register to monitor movements of children in and out of villages".
The report recommends that the migration register should be regularly checked and verified by the block officials. It says:
"A wide safety net (must) be spread in source areas of trafficking to protect children from being trafficked. Schools, communities, and the local administration must work together to control trafficking and bonded labour in villages. Intensive campaigns should be launched to educate communities about the threat and modus operandi of trafficking agents, especially in the source areas such as Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam."
Seeking enhanced capacity of law enforcement agencies through regular training, the report says that, trafficking of children from rural areas through the Railways should be prevented with the help of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and the Government Railway Police (GRP).
21 percent of the households are potentially ready to send their children into child labour due to their increased economic vulnerability  
Activation and proper functioning of the Village level Child Protection Committees (VCPC) must be ensured in each village to stop marriages of underage children and make the community aware about its ill impacts, the report says, adding that a Helpline to enable citizens to report child marriages should be established.
Meanwhile, KSFC has announced it will launching Justice for Every Child National Campaign on July 30, marking the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to raise awareness against combating trafficking through education and demanding quality education through the 100 million campaign in India.
It is a call to action to protect the marginalised children from the impact of Covid-19 Pandemic and this campaign will be a three months phase-wise initiative calling upon all the youth-led organisations and student bodies to support in solidarity and will write letters to their local decision makers and government representatives.

Comments

TRENDING

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.  

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead. 

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.