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The new Domestic Workers Dataset is the largest single set of surveys (n = 11,759) of domestic workers to date. Our analysis of this dataset reveals features about the lives and work of this "hard-to-find" population in India—a country estimated to have the largest number of people living in forms of contemporary slavery (11 million). The data allow us to identify child labour, indicators of forced labour, and patterns of exploitation—including labour paid below the minimum wage—using bivariate analysis, factor analysis, and spatial analysis. The dataset also helps to advance our understanding of how to measure labour exploitation and modern slavery by showing the value of "found data" and participatory and citizen science approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a systems analysis approach, the authors analyse forced child labour incidents in Indian cottonseed farms in the years 2003/04 and 2014/15, and explore the role played by human factors in contributing to the illegal use of child labour in the Indian agri-food sector. National policies on labour welfare and rights are reviewed through the case studies used as a lens to explore wider issues associated with forced child labour in supply chains. The study highlights the evolution of organised crime in India with regards to the reliance on forced child labour, using the four conceptual dimensions of modern slavery established by the UK Home Office in 2017. The study does identify limitations and flaws associated with designing policies based on a "work-as-imagined" philosophy and demonstrates how the use of maturity modelling can explore how exploitation, corruption and organised crime is framed and can become more formalised over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the prevalence of child labour and long working hours in India using 2019 data, with estimates for boys and girls that deal with age-related child development concerns related to long hours of work. We use international suggestions to define harmful child labour from ILO and UNICEF and a nationally defined time-threshold model in analysing the child-labour phenomenon. Measuring time by the three measurement systems and splitting children by age, gender, and cultural components make harmful forms of labour become clearer. The results show that girls doing agricultural labour and boys working as non-agricultural labourers had the longest average working hours in India. Important social-group differentials emerge. This study implies that policy-makers can be, and need to be, aware of explicit measures of hours worked by children aged six to 17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour is a serious problem not just in India but in other developing nations since it harms a child's physical and mental development. Numerous laws have been passed to forbid child labour, but they haven't been successful in putting a stop to the issue. Poverty and Child Labour are linked together, which robs children of their childhood and dignity while also harming their health, education, and, most significantly, their development potential. It is plainly at odds with the notion of human development, which focuses directly on the advancement of human lives and well-being, and is assessed using three criteria: economic well-being, education, and health. Childhood is an important and sensitive stage in human development because it has the possibility for future advancement in every civilization. Every developing or encircling country connects its future to the position of its children. Several interrelated elements impact the risk of Child Labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study on spatial analysis of child labour in India is a macro level analysis on child labour using the census data, 2011 of Government of India. The population census which is conducted once in 10 years only provides district level data on work-force distribution. The study has spatial analysis of child labour in the age group of 5–14 years in India. To assess the magnitude of the children in the labour force, district level data of Census 2011 has been used in the study. The study has made an attempt to identify the districts where there is high level of children in the labour force. This paper aims to estimate the magnitude and trends of children's workforce participation using the census data as it is the only data base, which is available at the district level since 1961 onwards. The study has made an attempt to identify the clustering of child labour across districts in India and how child labour is clustered by different background characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: The study has used ArcGIS software package, GeoDa software and local indicator of spatial association test. Findings: The findings of study reveal that the proportion of rural, total fertility rate (TFR) and poverty headcount ratio is positively associated, whereas female literacy and the pupil-teacher ratio are negatively associated with child labour. It suggests that in the hot-spot areas and areas where there is a high prevalence of child labour, there is need to increase the teacher's number at the school level to improve the teacher-pupil ratio and also suggested to promote the female education, promote family planning practices to reduce TFR in those areas for reducing the incidences of child labour. Research limitations/implications: The study also recommends that the incidences of child labour can be controlled by a comprehensive holistic action plan with the active participation of social workers. Practical implications: The promulgation of effective legislation, active involvement of judiciary and police, political will, effective poverty alleviation and income generation programmes, sensitisation of parents, corporates and media can play effective role in mitigating the incidences of child labour in India. To achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015 to eradicate child labour in all its forms by 2025. Social implications: The study aims to achieve the SDGs adopted by world leaders in 2015 to eradicate child labour in all its forms by 2025. Originality/value: The study is purely original and there are no such studies in Indian context by using the latest software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the children from low-income families in India who are susceptible to child labour. They are constantly included in various manifestations of works and, as a result, stay out of school during their valuable junior years. The future of such children is jeopardized. The main cause of child labour is the widespread unemployment and underemployment among the adult impoverished strata of the population, which is exacerbated by population expansion. Large families with poor money, a lack of educational facilities, illiteracy, and parental ignorance about the importance of education are highly susceptible to child labour cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the patterns and incidence of child labour in India and to examine the magnitude of child labour across different social groups. It analyses the impact of the socio-economic background of the children on their participation in the labour market. Design/methodology/approach: The paper primarily relies on the data collected from secondary sources. The census of India data and the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) 66th round data (2009–2010) on employment and unemployment in India for the study. The dependent variable on child labour has been computed by the author for the analysis in the paper. Findings: The findings of the paper suggest that poverty is not the only determinant of child labour, but gender and caste of a person is also a significant factor for child labour. The study found that children from lower-caste backgrounds in India seem to participate more in the labour market. In terms of gender, the study found that boys are more likely to engage in economic activities or paid jobs while girls are more likely to engage in household activities. Originality/value: Data used in this paper has been extracted by the author from unit level data provided by NSSO. The variables used for the analysis in the presented paper has been constructed by the author and the figures provided are the result of the author's estimation on data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the changing trend and pattern of workforce structure in India of the decade 1991-2011. The analysis show that the rates of work participation softly is increased from the decade to decade. The female work participation rate near about half of male work participation in the country. However, gender equality is mandatory for the growth of the country. The rate of main workers decrees gradually. On the other hand, the marginal workers increasing rapidly in the country. The share of female agricultural workers decreased at the same time, non-agricultural workers for both male and female has increased during the study periods in both Urban and rural area. The geography of work participation rate goes well in high altitude, tribal majority and high rainfall areas devoted to rice cultivation show higher participation rates. The child labourers have declined gradually, at the same time the ageing workforce is increasing in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relation shackled, labour Child characteristically means the service of offspring in any labour-intensive labour without imbursement as helping hands of their parents. Child labour is not only restricted to India, it happens to be a large-scale phenomenon. When a child has refusal reliance, a homeland has no prospect. As children in Indian civilization have until the end of time been a topic less speaking or discussed as of the earlier period or the socio-edifying conditions of the country. Child labour is a labour that children have to not be performance because they are too teenager or there are old sufficient to labour, because it is perilous or adverse for them. Whether or not employment performed by brood is defined as child labour depends on the child have become old, the hours and nature of employment and the stipulation in which the effort is performed. But scores of millions of kids labour beneath obnoxious and disproportionate state of affairs that are visibly unsafe to them. India is not exclusion. As per statement, India lines among apex nations where the fraction of manual labour strength constituting relation shackled 'child labour' is exceptionally towering. Like others, India too, comprise formulated regulations in order to restructuring and bring an last part to every one of forms of 'child labour', right from its opening seeing that a gratis country, but the position authenticity is still very depressing in natural humanity. In India child labour is addressed by child labour act 1986 and countrywide child labour enlargement. Nowadays in India, there are more than 11.24 million children who are expenses their early year's erudition, relations labour, carpet-weaving, brick making, beedi-rolling, cultivation and immeasurable erstwhile occupations as an alternative of obtainable to schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The purpose of this study was to describe the health hazards among child labourers in brickfields, and to assess occupational health problems, together with physiological and respiratory stress, compared with child control subjects. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 112 child brickfield workers and 120 control subjects, and a modified Nordic Questionnaire was applied to assess the discomfort felt among both groups of workers. Physiological assessment of the workload was carried out by the measurement of heart rate, blood pressure and spirometry of the workers. Results Child brickfield workers suffer from pain, especially in the lower back (97%), shoulder (88%), hands (82%), wrist (76%), neck (73%) and ankle (71%). The post-activity heart rate of the child brickfield workers was 166.5 beats/min, whereas the systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 132.2 and 67.2 mm/Hg, respectively. The forced vital capacity value of child brickfield workers was 2.04, and in the case of the controls it was 2.18, which was significantly different. The forced expiratory volumes in 1 s of experimental and control subjects were 1.82 and 1.92, respectively. The peak expiratory flow rate was significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions Most of the brick-making activities were strenuous ones that affected the children. The cardiovascular and respiratory health of the child brickfield workers has changed markedly due to strenuous activity. The child brickfield workers also experienced other occupational health problems and severe musculoskeletal pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of the present study were to validate the discriminatory potential of Cameriere's third molar maturity index (I3M) cut-off value of I3M < 1.1 and whether closed apices of permanent second mandibular molar (I2M = 0.0) and I3M < 1.1 indicate the legal age of 14 years and older. A digital orthopantomograms of 804 healthy South Indian children, aged between 10 and 18 years, were collected retrospectively, and mineralization of the third and second left mandibular molars was analyzed by Cameriere's method. The proportion of accurately classified (Ac) individuals using the cut-off value of I3M < 1.1 was 79.4% for males, with Bayes post-test probability (Bayes PTP) of 68.8%. For females, Ac was 79.9% and Bayes PTP was 70.9%. The sensitivity was 94.8% and 98.2% for males and females, and the specificity was 58.7% and 62.8%, respectively. The combination of both variables, I3M < 1.1 and I2M  = 0.0, increased the Ac to 87.2% and 94.4% in males and females, the specificity to 98.6% and 99.2%, and Bayes PTP to 98.2% and 94.4%, respectively. In conclusion, the suggested cut-off value of I3M < 1.1 is of moderate accuracy in discriminating individuals between 14 years or older from those under 14 years in the studied population. A combination of both variables, I2M = 0.0 and I3M < 1.1, the discriminating test achieves an excellent specificity and Bayes PTP, which is mandatory for the forensic and medicolegal purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine literary representations of children as earning members of society against the history of child labour in India, as a means of understanding the relationship between class, labour, nationalism and childhood. It is part of my ongoing attempt to examine formulations of childhood in the Global South as a way of engaging with the concept of 'multiple childhoods' and examining their position vis-à-vis global, universal (and, according to scholars like Emer O' Sullivan, Western) paradigms of childhood. In the wake of The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016, the historical and constitutional journey India embarks on is examined, beginning with the Indian Factory Act, 1881, along the path of its nascent nationhood, to The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 and the subsequent Amendment. The focus is on Mulk Raj Anand's Coolie and Anita Desai's The Village by the Sea as texts which portray two different modes of thinking about labouring children. Applying Viviana Zelizer's definitions of the 'uselessness' and 'usefulness' of children, my paper studies these two literary representations of useful childhood in India, published at different points in India's journey as a nation, in a political and historical continuum within which the futurity of a young country is embodied by the willing labour of youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the Indian government's efforts to combat pervasive child trafficking for labour exploitation through rescue and reintegration of affected children. It evaluates the extensive policy and legal frameworks against on-the-ground realities in the states of Bihar and Rajasthan, using empirical findings from a qualitative study carried out by the FXB Center for Health & Human Rights at Harvard University. The results demonstrate that current practices fail to adhere to human rights norms or protect rescued children from risk of future exploitation. They underscore important challenges in the rescue and reintegration of trafficked children, and call into question the singular focus on this category of post-harm response over preventative interventions. The findings point to a critical need for future research, sustained multi-stakeholder discussion and concrete reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small tiny hands can grip a pen well not a tool. But the diffusion of child labour is one of the critical snags threatening the world at great. It is a matter of abundant alarm to many emerging Countries like India. It's become a socio-economic problem which robs children of their infantile, impending and composure. In many cases child slog is primarily compelled by fiscal pressures of the parents. The foremost aspect which gives surge to child labour is extensive redundancy. India is the second largest populace country but it has prime figure of child labour. The pivotal gardens of child labor encompass scarcity, redundancy and surplus populace but poverty is the key root behind this production. Employed children are the stuffs of punishing manipulation in terms of slogging for long hours of negligible compensation and usually these labors toil in lethal workshops. So, the utmost needed part in this regard is the effective execution of rules and strict implementation of labour laws in India. Now the government of India has also reserved numerous other superiorities to remove child labour problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour is a multi-faceted problem. When we hear about child labour, generally we think of market work, i.e. children employed in mines and factories. Yet only small portion of child labour are engaged in market work particularly in developing countries like ours. Those children who are working in household industries are often excluded by researchers and policy planners. Thus leaving us with a limited knowledge about the possible causes of child labour in the home based industries like carpet weaving in Jammu and Kashmir state. To fill this gap, an attempt is made in the present study to analyse various determinants of child labour in the carpet weaving industry of Kashmir, so that necessary measures can be suggested for its reduction. Data has been collected from a sample of 960 sampled households with the help of interview schedules from four selected districts of Kashmir Valley. Our results shows that low socio-economic status i.e. low income of the family, illiteracy of household head and large size of the family force the children to enter into the labour market at their tender age. Further, we found because of growing educated unemployment problem in the state, parents prefer to employ their children in the labour market instead of schooling. The study suggests that child labour can be reduced if parents are compensated equal to the earnings of their children and their educational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the incidence and causes of child labour in the carpet industry of Kashmir valley. An empirical study was conducted using structured questionnaire to determine the different reasons for child labour in carpet industry in Jammu and Kashmir (India). The survey data was collected in 2013 in District Baramulla of State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). In the results, poverty, absence of adult wage earner, illiteracy and parent unemployment were found the main causes for the incidence of child labour in study area. About 68 percent of child labour in case study is caused by poverty, 27 percent and 10 percent by illiteracy and parent unemployment respectively. Results showed that families having larger in size may also be responsible for child labour. The study further enlightens about several laws and enactments about child rights and their working conditions. It further studies the extent to which labour laws in the state are in consonance with the core international labour standards. The study suggested that on one hand the main causes of child labour should be eradicated and on the other hand presents that the legislative framework for child welfare should be strictly implemented to overcome this social evil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour is not only detrimental to individual children, but also to the society, community and the nation as it negatively affects the pace of economic growth by preventing full realization of positive externalities associated with human capital formation. It is also one of the major causes and consequences of poverty. Until early 1990, India had one of the highest incidences of child labour and out of school children in the world. Following the launching of economic reforms, India’s economy started growing at an accelerated rate in the post-reforms era, along with faster decline in the incidence of poverty. In the post-reforms era, the state of India also launched a slew of policies and programmes to eradicate child labour and to increase school enrolment in the country. But, had there been a phenomenal decline in the incidence of child labour and ‘nowhere’ children in the country? Had there been a phenomenal increase in school enrolment and decline in gender educational disparity in the post-reforms era in India? This article addresses these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour phenomenon in the Assam tea gardens was introduced by the Colonial planters out of poverty stricken immigrant labourers. Inspite of the enactment of child labour prohibitory laws incidence of child labour in disguise is more prevalent in the tea gardens because of parental poverty and ignorance as well as management denial. Child labour is not only detrimental to children's meaningful development and schooling but it adversely affects their family that leads to their economic backwardness. Poverty along with several socio-economic factors, management and government heedlessness are responsible for existing child labour in the tea gardens. Besides ensuring children's schooling; measures should be taken to provide economic security to the poor families because of which they cannot withstand without engaging their children in work. Hence, joint efforts of the government, management and civil societies are required besides enforcement of legislations to combat this social menace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on a study of the psychosocial effects of child domestic work (CDW) in six countries and the relevance of our findings to international legislation. Our results suggest that CDW is highly heterogeneous. While some young child domestic workers work long hours, suffer physical punishment and are at risk of psychosocial harm, others are able to attend school and benefit from good relationships with their employers and networks of support. Child domestic workers in India and Togo were most at risk of psychosocial harm. We conclude that classification of this employment as hazardous would not be appropriate and could be counterproductive and instead propose that legislation focuses on protective factors such as a social and community support. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Poverty and child labour have a positive relationship in India. • Agriculture employs more than half of all child labourers in India. • The average age at which children begin working is 16 years, with and average of 6 to 8 years of education. • Children from economically disadvantaged families and the Muslim community are more likely to engage in child labour. Child labour continues to be a major concern in India despite the implementation of various policies and programmes aimed at its eradication. This study investigates factors that influence child labour in India with a focus on regional differences. The data is drawn from the 2019–20 Periodic Labour Force Survey. Binary logistic regression is used to identify factors that influence child labour. The findings show that children with pre-primary and primary education are less likely to be in the workforce, whereas children with secondary and higher secondary education are more likely to be in the workforce. This reflects the higher rates of secondary school dropouts attempting to enter the labour force. Likewise, poor families are more likely to send their children to work. Similarly, children from economically and socially disadvantaged communities, and Muslim households are more likely to be sent to work. The findings suggest that increasing children's educational attainment and providing financial assistance to poor families could effectively eradicate child labour in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low attendance and high drop-out rates of children are among the common phenomena observed in the Indian education system. These problems are especially prominent in the urban slums of Mumbai. Not only do these slums lack basic amenities but most of the educational institutes are also located at distances of more than two kilometers from here. This paper attempts to arrive at an empirical understanding of the reasons for the low educational attainment among the children in these slums while trying to examine the situation with regard to the prevalence of child labour practices specifically in the Ambujwadi slum in the western suburb of Mumbai city. It has been found that apart from economic reasons for not attending school such as lack of accessibility to and affordability of education and the low incomes earned by the households, the other reasons as to why the children in Ambujwadi either do not attend school at all or choose to drop out at an early stage for taking up work are the lack of protection, non-availability of adequate local educational institutions and non-supportive government policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resilience of the problem of child labour in the global economy has been amply documented, but, we suggest, the reasons for this situation have not yet been fully captured in the associated debates. Our aim is to advance a way of thinking about those forms of child labour which occur in the context of global production networks (gpns), and to contend that greater attention must be paid to the organisation and functioning of gpns, and the social foundations on which they rest, if we are to grasp more fully the conditions and processes which facilitate the persistence and evolution of child labour. The way of thinking we propose is rooted in the concept of ‘adverse incorporation’ in the global economy, which we develop by drawing together currents in gpn analysis and poverty research to explore the commercial and social dynamics in gpns which give rise to these forms of labour exploitation. We illustrate our arguments with reference to the garments industry in New Delhi, India. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a huge demand for beedis in the domestic market, but hardly any in the export market. The making of beedis is a labour-intensive job which draws growing numbers every day. Home-based workers, mostly girls and women, are the foundation on which this industry stands. Sambalpur and Jharsuguda are two districts where the concentration of beedi workers is greater than other districts of Odisha. Young girls, with their soft and nimble fingers make beedis faster than adults, for which parents entrust this dangerous job to them. This is the main reason why employment of girls in the beedi-making sector is increasing in an uncontrolled manner, at the cost of their schooling and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of the success of Bayer CropScience in India in building and sustaining a supply chain. It explores how the top level management commitment, a dedicated team and an independent budget in the CropScience Child Care Programme strive hard to achieve zero child labor in is supply chain. It also notes the strategic approach of the multinational firm delivers innovative solutions which strengthened the rural economy and bring about a socio-cultural change.

The paper addresses the methodological issues related to the estimation of child labour. The objective is to overcome the lacunae in the usual quantitative measure of child labour, captured as 'children in the workforce'. Such estimates do not include children who are technically 'not in the labour force' but perform such productive activities that might impair the health and development of children, and should, therefore be considered as child labour. It also misses out such children who usually perform some domestic work, while also attending school. What matters is the time spent by the 'child' in performing the identified activities. A study on the detailed time disposition of the children, as tested here, might capture this reality. The findings indicate that the workforce-based measures of child labour heavily under-estimate the true incidence of child labour in the field area of the study. This paper suggests that if the NSSO schedule is revised to include a block on the detailed time disposition of a child and information is collected in a regular statistical manner, it would be possible to address one of the basic weaknesses of the quantitative literature on the estimation of child labour in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary focus of this essay is on the representation of child labour in Mulk Raj Anand's Coolie (1936). I argue that the young-ness of Munoo, the coolie-boy is significant for understanding Anand's social critique of the colonial–capitalist machinery and its reliance upon the sub-waged labour of children and adolescents. It is limiting to read the novel as merely a social critique, however, as it also opens up crucial debates on what it means for an Indian writer writing in English to represent a young ostracised citizen-subject who can hear English and mimic its sounds without having access to an English education. Anand's use of an adolescent is thus significant as an early attempt at foregrounding regional disenfranchisement in English. Through the tropes of listening, seeing, and smelling, and Anand's selective translations and transliterations, I show why Munoo's adolescence matters: it provides a social commentary as well as enabling Anand to highlight the conundrum of representing Munoo's semi-literate, non-English subjectivity into the English language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitioning child labourers from work to education is a key component of global efforts to eliminate child labour. In India, the National Child Labour Project is the central programme aimed at achieving this goal. This paper examines the operation of the project in the state of West Bengal using original survey data collected in 2008. The survey reveals a number of promising findings, including high rates of provision of both midday meals and free learning materials to students, as well as evidence of adequate schooling quality and availability. However, areas of concern were also identified, including irregularities in stipend payments to parents of child labourers who send their children to school and inadequate provision of free health services to children who attend school rather than work. These operational short-comings revealed by the survey reduce the incentive and ability parents have to send their children to school rather than work and, accordingly, undermine the effectiveness of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The gem-polishing industry in Jaipur, India employs a substantial proportion of children. The process of polishing may result in exposure to chromium in working children. Thus, this study aims to find out the levels of chromium in these working children and the associated factors. Blood samples were analysed for chromium using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean blood chromium levels were 2.51 ± 1.11 mg/100 ml and 2.33 ± 1.10 mg/100 ml in working and school children, respectively, which is well within the permissible levels. However, the practice of employing children should be totally curbed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper uses ethnographic and qualitative interview data with Muslim child domestic workers, their families and employers to investigate the social ties between young workers and their employers. Our analysis shows that working-class families use children’s domestic work with middle-class families as part of a web of resources to protect them from economic shocks and to enable them to afford to meet the cost of social obligations. We show that in this particular context, a town in Uttar Pradesh in north India, hiring domestic workers locks employers into relations of social obligation with their employees and their families. We conclude that these webs of support are enabled precisely because the domestic workers are children and not adults; their status as children makes it possible for the labour contract to be mystified and reconfigured as a social relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour in India has long been the focus of research, policy concern and intervention. This article presents an analysis of children’s involvement in agricultural work, particularly cottonseed production, drawing on evidence gathered for Young Lives in 2007 and 2008. In parts of Andhra Pradesh, children work in cotton fields for two or three months of the year, with marked gender and age differentiation. In the mid-1990s, there was reportedly a cultural as well as an economic basis for children’s work in cottonseed pollination, when it was believed that pre-pubescent girls were preferred, as they were considered ‘pure’. However, the reasons for preferring children are now largely financial and practical. The article focuses on accounts from two girls who highlighted the importance of this form of work in their everyday lives and its consequences for their schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the effectiveness of non-formal schools for working children in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, in mainstreaming child labourers into the formal education system through incentivised, informal schooling. Using a family fixed effects model and sibling data as an equivalent population comparison group, I find that the non-formal schools effectively provide an alternative to formal primary education and also show high success rates of mainstreaming and maintaining children into post-primary education relative to the control group. I find that the children within the non-formal schools are 40.47-50.07% more likely to still be studying relative to the sibling-inclusive control group, and have 1.976 to 3.389 years less of a gap in educational attainment. I conclude that the child labour schools are serving a useful function in helping poor children attend school, regardless of their labour status. The policy implications explored suggest that aspects of the techniques used in the non-formal schools should be applied more broadly to the formal schooling system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trafficking in women and children is one of the worst abuses of human rights. But it is very difficult to estimate the scale of the phenomenon as trafficking is closely related to child labour, bonded labour, child marriage, kidnapping and abduction and prostitution even though these phenomena can exist also independent of trafficking. This paper has attempted to analyse the nature, causes, modes and volume of trafficking in a country that has recently become a soft target in the South Asian region for trafficking in persons. India has failed to comply with certain international standards to combat the crime. The paper highlights the need to develop a multidimensional approach and focuses attention on structural factors of trafficking for recommending meaningful stratagems to counter the social evil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper portrays the nature of child workers in India and seeks to understand its many complexities. It looks at the definition of child labour, the extent of its prevalence, the reasons why children work, and the occupations they are engaged in. It outlines India’s position on international obligations, its expanding domestic laws, and the tardy implementation of these laws. It examines some of the inherent cultural constraints and the role of values and beliefs in perpetuating child labour. It analyses the relationship between education and child workers, and a possible solution in the form of compulsory education. The paper emphasises that child workers in India are from the marginalized sections and do not work out of choice. It stresses that this phenomenon is, above all, a problem for the children. The paper concludes by advocating the need to discard attitudes that are discriminatory or rationalise abuse, and the need to adopt a rights-based, child-centred approach to counter the increasing number of child workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's labour force ranges from large numbers of illiterate workers to a sizeable pool of highly educated and skilled professionals. Labour welfare activities in India originated in 1837. They underwent notable changes during the ensuing years. This article is a description of these changes and the additions which were included over this period. On the whole, it paints a picture of the Indian Labour welfare scene. The 10 Five Year Plans have had a tremendous impact. Further, the Indian Planning Commission has laid down measures to enhance the welfare of workers in various areas such as child labour, bonded labour, female labour and occupational safety and health. Welfare work in India (broadly defined) is carried out by various government and non-government organisations of which the most important are National Government, State Government, Trade Unions, the Public Sector and Private Sector nongovernment organisations. Activities in this area include provision of housing facilities, education, occupational safety and health, prevention of child and bonded labour, and enhancement of working women's welfare. Private Sector welfare measures are of a similar nature. Notable companies taking initiatives in this regard are Tata and Larsen and Toubro. The article points out that the structure of a welfare state rests on its social security fabric. Government, employers and trade unions have done a lot to promote the betterment of workers' conditions. However, a great deal still needs to be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses household level data from National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) of India, the 55th (1999–2000) and the 61st (2004–05) rounds, to show that even with a significant wage incentive for schooling of urban children, the school drop out rate and child labour incidence are not small over this period. The parents’ level of education plays an important role in reducing this tendency; thus establishing the linkage between social and human capital outcomes in the family. We also look at the incidence of harmful and manual occupations among the child labour. Mother’s education appears as the more important factor in the recent round in curbing the manual work incidences; supporting earlier findings that women’s empowerment (one important indicator of which would be female educational level) is indeed becoming instrumental in increasing parental awareness. Using a pooled data set, we have also analysed the changes in the impact of parental education on these decisions between 1999–2000 and 2004–05. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the causes and circumstances of violent behaviour among a group of child labourers in the Indian unorganized sectors. From 14 categories of occupations, a total of 1,400 child labourers were interviewed in both urban and rural areas. The average family size of these mostly illiterate child labourers is seven, and average family income is 3,200 INR per month. In the short term child labourers become violent, aggressive, and criminal, following a pyramid of violent behaviour, including socio-economic pressure, cultural deviance, and psychological pressure. When considering family history it seems that the problem is part of a vicious cycle of violence, which persists through generations and evolves with financial crisis, early marriage, and violence in the family and workplace. Our study demonstrates that the most vulnerable groups of child labourers belong to the following workplaces: dhabas, food stalls, rail/bus stations, rail-floor cleaning, and rag picking. Giving high priority to capacity building within the community, including support for locally-generated solutions, is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses household level data from National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) of India, the 55th round (1999–2000), to show that for urban male children there exists significant wage incentive for schooling, though school dropout rate and child labour incidence are not so small. The parents’ level of education plays an important role in reducing this tendency; thus establishing the linkage between social and human capital outcomes in the family. We also look at the incidence of harmful and manual occupations among the child labour. Mother’s education now appears as a very important factor in curbing these incidences; supporting earlier findings that women’s empowerment (one important indicator of which would be female educational level) is indeed instrumental in increasing parental awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights some of our findings from a study carried out in the brick kiln industry in Tamil Nadu, India. We have led both a qualitative and a quantitative survey. As child labour is a common factor in the brick kiln industry, we show that in the interlinked credit-labour market employers do not directly employ children, but they have implemented a system that constrains parents to use their children to improve their productivity. In such an environment parents use child labour to improve their bargaining power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour is a global phenomenon occurring predominantly in countries with lower socioeconomic status and resources. Societal and familial poverty, loss or incapacitation/illness of parents, lack of social security and protection, and ignorance about the value of, or limited access to, education are among the myriad reasons for the involvement of children in the workforce. Child labour is a barrier to the development of individual children and their society and economy. Global estimates indicate that 152 million children (64 million girls and 88 million boys) are working, accounting for almost one in 10 of all children worldwide. Currently the COVID-19 health pandemic and the resulting economic and labour market consequences are having a major impact on people's lives and livelihoods. Unfortunately, impoverished families and their children are often the first to suffer, which may push many more vulnerable children into child labour situations. Child labour in India is more prevalent than in many other countries, with approximately 10 million children actively engaged in, or seeking, work. This paper focuses on the issue of child labour, its causes and its ill effects. Further, it also reviews the international legal framework relating to child labour and legislative issues in India. There is clearly an urgent need for this issue to be effectively addressed and resolved.