The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Kailash Satyarthi who has worked to end child labor and slavery, prompts a look at what Indian law says about children and work. Mr. Satyarthi, who gave up his career as an electrical engineer 31 years ago to start Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save the Childhood Movement in 1983, has in the past slammed India’s child labor laws as “weak and inappropriate.” Child labor is not completely outlawed in India. Children below the age of 14 are permitted to work as long as their work is in non-hazardous environments. In 1986, India introduced the Child Labor Act that allowed children below 14 to be involved in “non-hazardous” work such as working on farms and making handicrafts.
In 2012 an amendment to the law was proposed to prohibit children below the age of 14 from working in any industry. The new bill, called the Child and Adolescent Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, also stated that children under the age of 18 shouldn’t be employed in hazardous work. The amendment was introduced in India’s upper house of Parliament in late 2012. It was referred to a special standing committee and is still pending approval. Child labor laws in India only cover children up to the age of 14. Child laborers between 15 and 18 are covered by another law--the Juvenile Justice Act (2000)-- which allows prosecution of employers who employ anyone under 18 in hazardous jobs, keep them in bondage or withhold their earnings.
But when children at work have accidents, they are not covered under the country’s labor protection laws which apply only to those over 18. The National Advisory Council that advised the previous government set up a working group that said child labor should be forbidden until 14 and regulated between 15 and 18. But the suggestion was opposed by the labor ministry that believed it would hinder exports and hamper agricultural and artisanal communities who need to teach children from a young age. Mr. Satyarthi, who won the peace prize Friday, said he was hopeful India would work toward solving the issue of child labor. “India is a country of problems but also a country of billion solutions,” he said in a television interview with NDTV. For breaking news, features and analysis from India, click here and follow WSJ India on Facebook.
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