The Workhouse Legacy – Child rag pickers during COVID 19
- -Vaishnavi
K N
COVID – 19 has plunged the world into a crisis of
unprecedented magnitude and scope. Health crisis occupies the forefront, but we
cannot ignore the massive impact on the economy and society on the whole. These
impacts will not be spread uniformly across the world. Vulnerable communities
across the world will be the worst affected by the immediate and secondary
repercussions of the pandemic. Now more than ever we need to ensure our children
are safe
On June 12th every year, we observe Anti Child
Labor Day. The theme of World Against Child Labor 2020 is "Protect children from child labour, now
more than ever". This year saw ILO, UNICEF and many other
organizations move their campaigns online. The virtual campaign drew attention
to the need to generate an environment for children to grow and live a
dignified life and also to fight against child labor throughout the world.According
to ILO, 152 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 were in child labour,
almost half of them, 73 million, in hazardous child labour.
The statistics are staggering. Our reaction and response are
inadequate.
This brings us to the question of ‘what is child labor?’ According
to the International Labour Organisation, child labour is "work that
deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity and
that is harmful to physical and mental health". ILO also says that child
labour is any type of work that has physical, mental and social consequences on
the children and damages them in any way. It can be:
·
Work
that deprives the children of the opportunity to attend school
·
Work
that forced a child to leave school at an early age
·
Work
that requires children to attend school but with the heavy workload.
Let us get to know this better by looking into the informal
waste management sector in India, you may know them better as ‘rag
pickers’.Waste picking is a labour-intensive informal sector, severely lacking
in health facilities, safety and legal cover. Waste pickers collect garbage in
search of recyclable items that can be sold to scrap dealers. And this often
“employs” the most vulnerable sections of society. Women and children from
marginalized communities make up large sections of the informal sector. An
ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry) of India study in 2014
estimated that over 4.5 Lakh child labourers are involved in ragpicking. These
numbers have steadily risen over the years.
Household and municipal waste has evolved to contain highly
toxic and hazardous materials. In India, waste segregation at source in
non-existent, and all of the waste finds its way into landfills, which are not
scientifically engineered (there are material recovery facilities and refuse
driven fuel plants but not enough to cater to the needs of all Indian
metropolises). These dismal mountains of waste cause infectious diseases
attract flies and other vectors apart from being prone to fire hazard. An added
risk is the exposure to and incorrect handling of electronic waste. Waste
pickers provide services that benefit the environment yet face harrowing
occupational hazards and are exposed to toxins in the absence of protective
gear. This risk becomes more pronounced during the pandemic. This is where
these 4.5 lakh children are employed. Child waste pickers face added threat
from abusers, traffickers and lower wages than their adult counterparts.
Child labour (prohibition and regulation) act 1986, and the
amendment of 2016 is the legal framework that exists in India to check child
labour. The law has faced criticism on grounds of allowing children above 14
years to be employed (not 18), and the 2016 amendment allows children to be
employed in family business, which can prove to be counterproductive. The law becomes
futile here as there are no ‘visible employers’ in the informal sector who can
be held accountable and penalized for violation of the 1986 act. An effective and efficient solid waste
management system is required to deal with the problems faced by child waste
pickers. This is why community at large has an important role in mobilising
public opinion against waste picking. Also perhaps it is time to redefine the
existing framework.
A two pronged approach is required to tackle child labour
effectively – on the demand side and the supply side. Corporate initiatives can
deal with the demand side, but social policy intervention is required to deal
with the supply side. Consequently, corporations need to move beyond legal
obligations and adopt social responsibility measures to successfully prevent
children from entering the workforce.
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