Recently, the 52nd report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles And Skill Development was tabled in the Parliament.
Key points
- The report says that the implementation of a policy to eliminate child labour has to go a long way for achieving the objective of elimination of child labour as per commitments made by the county after ratification of ILO conventions and to achieve the target stipulated in Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 to end all forms of child labour by 2025.
- It further says that the country needs a uniform definition of ‘child’ under various laws.
- According to the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (CALPRA), ‘child’ means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age or such age as may be specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, whichever is more.
- The amendment made to the Act in 2016 defines the child falling in the age group of (14-18) years.
- Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, ‘Child’ means a male or female aged six to fourteen years.
- As per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 vide its amendment in 1986 a ‘child’ is defined as a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age.
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 defines ‘child’ as a person who has not completed eighteen years of age.
- The Committee further noted that the employment of children in contravention of the CALPRA Act is a cognizable offence, whereas under the JJ Act, 2015, it is a non-cognizable offence.
