While walking to the station in early morning, I see lot of young boys and girls and even older ladies smartly walk past me. They are in a hurry to board train for reaching their work places which is a good sign. Earlier, labour unions behaved as if they were superior and others who don’t operate a machine are inferior. The people working in agricultural fields were also technically not considered as labour even though, the men, women and young children toiled hard. However, times are changing and I have read reports that even the cattle will get a unique chip that will hold it’s identity and milk yielding capacity. Why not, they too deserve recognition.
In major changes to the child labour law, the Cabinet approved allowing employment of children below 14 years in ‘non-hazardous’ family enterprises, entertainment industry and sporting events after school hours, while relaxing the penal action against the parents. The original Child Labour Law banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries. The amendments also make it clear that children between 14 and 18 years will also not be allowed to work in hazardous industries.
While child rights activists have been demanding a complete prohibition of child labour, the government said “it would be prudent to also keep in mind the country’s social fabric and socio-economic conditions” before taking any such decision”.
The government has done well by keeping young persons from 14-18 working in family business (not hazardous) out of the purview of Child Labour Act. It is true that many boys and girls in age group of 14-15 are working hard and gaining experience on agricultural fields and in enterprises supervised by family members. Once a while dry docking in China, I noticed an old man removing our fuel pumps for overhauling and a young boy assisting him.
This boy must have been around 14 years of and he was learning work from his old father. He will eventually turn successor to his father’s business and won’t depend on “sarkari naukri”. Skills are to be taught from an early age. I was reading a report where a young boy jumped into water to rescue a young girl. These young boys will become champion swimmers tomorrow. Few years back, a bright young boy in the age between and 13-14 used to work around our land. One day while walking outside our fences, he showed me the marijuana plant which I was unable to recognize. This boy could ride a buffalo and cycle with equal ease. The young girls in the age ranging from 13 to 14 work at home and help their mothers for cooking. They also attend schools and excel in studies. Working from a young age makes a person more proficient.