Child labour ban to be effective today

NEW DELHI: With the coming into force of a ban from Tuesday on child labour, social activists fear that the law, though well-meaning, could result in under-age workers getting pushed into hidden and more dangerous jobs.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed to the people to abolish this practice and warned firm action against those violating the law. Addressing concerns expressed by NGOs about the future of the children released from work, Mr Singh said in a statement that arrangements have been made by the government in all states to educate them under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Observing that the nation has solemnly pledged that children were not engaged in any form of work at the cost of their right to education, Mr Singh said as a major step in this direction “I call upon each one of you to stop employing children as workers and actively encourage children to join schools".

The Government has added employment of children as domestic help or servants at dhabas (roadside eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, teashops, resorts or in other recreatinoal centres to the list of occupations prohibited under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, he said.

While the government maintained that there were as many as one lakh child workers in the capital, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO working for the rights of children, claimed there were over four lakh under-age workers. With most of the child workers in the city coming from Bihar and Jharkhand, the Delhi government has prepared an action plan with the respective states for their rehabilitation.

“An action plan has been drawn up, which involves the various concerned agencies such as labour and social welfare departments, police and railways as well as NGOs and industrial and market associations,” an official said.