SME Times News Bureau | 31 Jul, 2014
India has 10.1
million child labourers in the 5-14 age group, the most in the world, a study
revealed in New Delhi Wednesday.
"India continues to host the largest number of child labourers in the
world with more than half of Delhi's working children forced to work more than
eight hours a day without a single day's rest," said the report released
by NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) in collaboration with Philips.
"Over 51 percent of the employers employ children in the age group of 5-14
years when they should be in school. The survey found 47 percent employers are
aware of the law, but that doesn't deter them from employing children,"
said the report that was released at the end of CRY's "Click Rights Open
Your Eyes" campaign, an initiative to sensitise citizens about child labour.
The report said child labour is prominent (75 percent) in tea stalls,
"dhabas" or small shops as there is complete lack of regulation of
working conditions in this segment.
"Though 84 percent employers find it important for child labourers to
attend school and attain education, they continue to employ them," said
the report.
"This is a vicious cycle where employers themselves are illiterate and
have at some point been child labourers; the lack of education forces them into
the unorganised sector which is unregulated and exploitative," Soha
Moitra, Regional Director-North, CRY, said at the release of the report.
"The persistence of this form of exploitation is indicative of a complete
failure of society -- there is no regulation and no fear of punitive action as
laws remain good on paper but are rarely enforced."