Concern over changes in child labour laws voiced

NEW DELHI: A UN body on Tuesday has expressed serious concern over the changes made in India’s child labour law which allows children to work in family enterprises and reduction of hazardous professions, saying it could lead to more children working in unregulated conditions.

Although UNICEF India welcomed the law which prohibits children under the age of 14 from working, it also expressed concern over the provision of children working in family enterprises as it could further “disadvantage” the most vulnerable children.

Referring to the 2011 census, which says that child labour rates in India are highest among Scheduled Tribes (ST) at 6.7 per cent and Scheduled Castes (SC) at 3.9 per cent, UNICEF India said that in both groups, children in rural areas are more likely to work than children from cities while many girls and boys working are forced to leave school. “The provision, ‘where the child helps his family or family enterprises, which is other than any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations’ raises serious concerns.”