The
Times of India, New Delhi.
Monday, July 13, 1992,
'Child
labour laws only on paper'
NEW
DELHI: Most laws on child labour are merely on paper. Implementation
is almost nil, regrets the former Chief Justice of India,
Mr. P.N. Bhagwati. Inaugurating the First South Asian Consultation
on carpet child labour here yesterday, Mr. Bhagwati said,
"we already have enough legislation on child labour".
"It is high time the governments of the day ensure child labour
in the carpet industry is completely eliminated". The three-day
meet is organised by the Committee for Eradication of child
Labour in Carpet Industry and Asian culture forum on Development.
We
need to build public opinion against this form of child labour
he stresses. It is a great tragedy that governments do not realise
the inhumanity they are perpetrating, he says. These children
lead a helpless and hopeless life, with lost eyesight and sunken
cheeks. Hunger has taken away life from them, he notes. The
law prohibits any child below 14 years to work. But is it
enforced?The subject is heart-rending. It breaks one's heart
to see these children forced to work for 14 to 20 hours a day,
notes Mr. Bhagwati.
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"They
dare not protest. They are not allowed to move, not even
to case themselves". And these are future citizens
of our country, Don't they have the same aspirations as
others? Have they no right to partake of the fruits of
freedom and liberty? Has society given anything to them.?
he asks. They should be given full opportunity for the
development of their potential, the former Chief Justice
advocates.
'NO
NEED FOR FOREIGN HELP: Mr. Bhagwati welcomes the participation
of Nepal and Pakistan with India in the Consultation meet.
"If concerted action is taken in these three countries,
a combined public opinion can be created. One country
then cannot say the other is not doing it," he adds. Plus
we do not need foreign assistance to fight this form of
child labour.
On
an optimistic note, he says " I am sure we'll be able
to eradicate child labour, once public opinion is mobilised.
If we could remove the British from our roll, why not
this?"
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The
director, Anti-slavery International, London, Ms Lesley Robberts,
says the problem of child labour in South Asia could take
their entire time. "No legislation can help, only changes
in attitude can, "she notes,. She says "We still await the UN's
plan for a seminar on bonded labour, since 1990."
There
should be an awareness campaign against child-woven carpets,
she notes. Importers of carpets should be the target. A label
on carpets saying it was made without child labour will have
wide impact on consumers, she notes. In some European countries,
people look for labels certifying the buying has been from responsible
producers and suppliers - those who provide fair remuneration
and conditions of employment, including employees' right to
organise and paying a fair price.
THREE
LAKH KIDS: Today, there are three lakh children employed in
the carpet trade, notes Swami Agnivesh, president of Bandhua
Mukti Morcha. We have a responsibility towards them. In
1984, the government accepted there was child labour but whether
it was bonded labour was a legal question, it said, he regrets.
These children are from the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes
and backward classes. But if they were children of ministers
or officers or even the upper caste only then there would be
an uproar, he said.
There
are five and a half crore children in servitude putting in 10
hours work in our country. "If our children were vote banks,
politicians would have done something about them. Today no one
fights for them".
Swami
Agnivesh hits out at Doordarshan and all India Radio. How much
of time do these two devote to these children? The former can
show Wimbledon for hours even when there is no play. But for
these children what does it do? It is a sick society, notes
Agnivesh. He
denies calling for a boycott of Indian carpets. "We only say
buy carpets but demand a label that it is not produced by children.
We must strive towards producers using such labels, genuine
ones. This is possible," he adds.
India,
Pakistan and Nepal are among the largest producers and exporters
of hand-knotted carpets, roughly two-thirds of the total world
market, says Mr. Kailash Satyarthi convenor of the consultation.