Child labor in the Indian state of Rajasthan

India has one of the world's highest rates of child labor - with more than 12 million children under the age of 14 working in what can often be hazardous occupations. Despite awareness of the problem, adults continue to send young children into workplaces where hours are long and pay is low.  FSRN's Jasvinder Sehgal traveled to the western state of Rajasthan to get a close up look at child labor in India. He files this report:

TRANSCRIPT:

In a gem and jewelry manufacturing unit in Jaipur, 10 of the 14 employees are children below the age of 14, and three of them are just eight years old. In this work environment, the children handle poisonous chemicals and inhale noxious fumes. The young work force is also overworked, underfed, and underpaid.

Kalam is a 12-year-old boy who's worked at the gem factory since he was nine:

KALAM: I am working here in the semi-precious jewelry production unit. I know the complete technique of polishing emerald stones. I work with chemicals and do fine polishing so as to bring shine on the stone.

Although Indian law prohibits child labor, and those found violating the law face penalties, the ban has little impact. And, as India's exports increase, so do the factories that use child labor.

Apart from jewelry, the garment and embroidery industries also employ children. Many garment-business owners say the small fingers of a child can stitch the fabric better than adults.

Pappu is the owner of an embroidery unit where children are employed:

PAPPU: The children work here so as to support their families. As they come from very poor families, work is more important to them than school. The money earned by them is used to meet their family expenditures. They are living in rented houses, and in case of unemployment, they don't have anything to eat.

Poverty in many Indian states leads families to make their children work.

Rani Lubna is a local social worker.

RANI LUBNA: The children are working so that their families are able to survive. Their economic condition is not such that they can stay back home and study. The government should arrange jobs for their families.

The Indian government has created a number of programs to fight the problem of child labor.

Jeevraj Singh works with the National Child Labor Project in Jaipur.

JEEVRAJ SINGH: The problem arises when the child doesn't go to school and he ultimately becomes a laborer. So we have to check it there, that we should stop him from doing child labor work. That's why programs like the National Child Labor Project- the government is doing to rehabilitate them, to withdraw them from their work. They should not work there.

In 1996, India's highest court issued an order that all children should be removed from hazardous occupations and guaranteed an occupation. But some experts say that nearly 15 years later there are still not enough schools to fill the need.

Mohammed Sharif runs an NGO which provides education to child laborers.

MOHAMMED SHARIF: The number of special schools for child laborers are very few. These schools provide primary education only and not secondary education. The government should increase the status of these schools, offering complete care to the students.

Some observers say schools for child laborers can bring positive results, provided a sincere and honest effort is made to keep them in school.

Tasleem is a child laborer who studied in such a school.

TASLEEM: I was working as a child laborer when an NGO helped to get admission in a child labor school. My interest in studies helped me to complete my schooling, and then college. Now I have registered for a doctorate in Urdu.

Last May, some 450 delegates from 80 countries met in the Hague for a two-day conference on child labor organized by the International Labor Organization. Participants adopted a road map calling for an end to the worst forms of child labor by 2016. The signatories called on governments to take primary responsibility for the problem by enacting and enforcing laws, ensuring access to educational and social protections, and establishing a decent and productive labor market for adults.

Jasvinder Sehgal, FSRN, Jaipur, India.

Photo: National Labor Committee