Child labour audit mooted

In a move that would impact several labour-intensive sectors, the government wants independent agencies to undertake a child labour audit of export units. The move comes close on the heels of global clothing major GAP pulling from shops in the US and Europe garments made in India after allegations that local contractors employed children to manufacture them.
The government also proposes that representatives of the ministries of labour, women & child development and commerce meet every three months to review progress. The government is of the view that the allegations of child labour could adversely affect India’s exporters, already reeling under the impact of a rising rupee.
According to estimates, there are around 1.5 crore children at work in various export units across the country, although domestic laws have banned employing anyone below 14 years of age. The government has increased budgetary allocation from Rs 662 crore in the 10th Plan to Rs 4,000 crore in 11th Plan for a national child labour rehabilitation project and to set up schools for them.
The export sectors under the government’s child labour scanner are the five labour-intensive sectors of apparel, handicrafts, carpets, Sports goods and gems & jewellery. The export promotion associations of these sectors have also given their consent to the move. Apart from the exporters themselves, the entire chain of sub-contractors and suppliers would have to conform to laws relating to child labour.
A decision to this effect taken on Friday at a meeting held between labour minister Oscar Fernandes and women & child development minister Renuka Chaudhary, minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh and National Commission for Child Rights chairperson Santha Sinha.
Plans for child labour abolition in specific geographical areas of industry concentration would also be undertaken. They include Varanasi, Bhadhoi and Mirzapur for carpets, Jalandhar for Sports goods, as well as Surat and Bhavnagar for gems & jewellery.