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Minna Zutshi
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, June 11
He is barely ten and expressions on his face are of worry. His day starts at 7 am and continues till the sun is down. He is the ubiquitous “chottu” working at a tea shop. He is one of the hundreds of child labour employed in the private sector in Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab.
Much-hyped days such as June 12 (World Day against Child Labour) hold no meaning for such children.
Ludhiana is home to migrants from UP and Bihar. Children from the migrant families are usually engaged in child labour. Some of them have been a victim of child trafficking. Their relatives bring them to cities such Ludhiana on the promise of providing them with education and gainful employment, but they end up working in dhabas, auto-repair shops, small cycle units – long hours of work for paltry remuneration. Some are also employed as domestic help in households.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan activist Dinesh and his team have been rescuing such children. From 2006 till date, around 650 children have been rescued. “Most of the children rescued were employed in the garment industry. They are 8 to 16 years of age. Even the minimum wages are denied to them. They are doled out Rs 50-Rs 100 per week. The plea taken is that these children are unskilled and are being taught the work. This logic is preposterous – one does not work 14 hours a day to ‘learn’ the task!” says Dinesh Kumar.
Kumar said around 200 complaints pertaining to child labour were pending with the Ludhiana administration. “In the last six months, hardly any child has been rescued. This is despite the fact that the state action plan clearly states that the complaint of child labour has to be addressed within 24 hours.”
What is child labour?
Child labour is work carried out to the detriment and endangerment of a child, in violation of international law and national legislation. It either deprives children of schooling or requires them to assume the dual burden of schooling and work. (Source: United Nations website)
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