CRY Against Child Labour!

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Twenty-three years after child labour was banned in India [vide the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986], the country continues to be home to the largest number of child labourers in the world – 17 million.

On occasion of the Anti-Child Labour day, CRY (Child Rights and You) urges the government to renew its commitment to children by putting the weight of its political will behind the ministries and departments responsible to send children to school, not to work.

“The Act to ban child labour today covers only 15% of the total child labour population in the country. Sectorslike commercial agriculture, unregulated factories and immediacies like chronic poverty, that employ close to 80% of the child labour, is not covered by the Act," said CRY"s regional Director, Regina Thomas.

“Every Census throws up larger numbers of children labouring across the country. In fact, we see the increase in real poverty as closely linked to increase in the number of child labour. How will child labour decrease in a country where it often the only choice for the increasing number of near-destitute families?" asksDipankar Majumdar, Director,Development Support and Youth, CRY.

CRY Demands:

On the positive side, the State is, has taken some concrete, commendable steps, the most recent being the ban on child labour in the domestic sector. But rather than limiting action to what is visible, the State must address is the root cause, which is poverty.

Tackling the root cause:
For those who are forced to send their children to work, ensure: