According to our constitution, “no child below the age of 14 years” is allowed to work “in any factory or mine or any other hazardous environment”. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines child labour as any form of work that has the potential to deprive children of their rights and is also harmful for their physical and mental development. Even though all governments talk about eradicating child labour, little has been done to deal with the problem. Children in different parts of the country work from dawn to dusk to financially support their families.
To date, no serious action has been taken against those institutions which exploit the laws to save money by employing children on low salaries. The government should take remedial measures to tackle this issue. It should take action against those who hire children. Anyone found guilty of violating the law should be fined or even arrested.
Kamlesh Bansari
Sujawal