There is no doubt that Child labour exists across the globe and children, most of them belongs to poor families, and they are forced to work in hazardous situation which leads to unending physical, mental and social exploitation of those children. Children are deprived of living their childhood to their fullest and basic rights.
World Day Against Child Labour, aims to spread awareness about prohibiting the illegally engaging the children into work and employment and also talk about the ways to eradicate it. The day is observed by people across the globe. It was launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations, in 2002. The theme of Year 2021 is ‘Act now: End child labour’.
According to the latest report by the ILO and Unicef, child labour has soared to 160 million worldwide, the first increase in 20 years. There is significant rise in the number of children between 5-11 years in child labour, who account for over half of the global figure. “The number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide — an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years — with millions more at risk due to the impacts of Covid-19,” the report added.
Developing countries like India contribute maximum towards child labour. According to the census of 2011, 259.64 million children belonged to the age group of 5-14 years of which 10.1 million were child labourers. Be it manufacturing of firecrackers in Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi, the country’s bangle making industry, roadside eateries and restaurants, construction sites or even the domestic help, children from underprivileged sections have always been the soft target to engege in such work.
In recent years, reports have emerged that several consumer brands of global prominence were caught employing children in their manufacturing units to save up on additional costs. Activists and non-governmental organisations (NGO) have raised their voices against such practices and have also urged people to not buy products from such brands. Government should also have strong vigil and surveillance machineries to find out such company and organization who indulge in Child Labour, and they should punished for violation of law.
