Child Labour Act- Prohibition, Amendments Of Child Labour Act 1986

What Is Meaning of Child Labour?

Child labour is a method where minors are compelled to get employed in economic practice on a full-time or part-time basis. Children introduced under this practice are deprived of fundamental rights like schooling, and the youth are mentally and physically traumatized.

Download Child Labour Act 1986 PDF

The fundamental causes referring to child labour can be outlined as follows:

• Lack of proper schooling and education
• Development of informal economy.
• Poverty.

The consequences of child labour are victimizing a juvenile and depriving them of nurturing and healthy surroundings to grow. The child becoming labour faces different types of abuse, which stops them from prospering into happy grown-ups.

Child Labour In India

As per the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act of 1986, children of or below 14 years are strictly forbidden from engaging in dangerous professions. The government has taken some initiatives, which include:

UNICEF's Move Toward Preventing Child Labour In India

UNICEF has taken major initiatives to prevent and mitigate child labour in India. They have extended their initiatives and programs to numerous places, where more cases of child labour are witnessed. The program catered to and aims on mitigating child labour in places where more cases of child labour are witnessed such as Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc.

Features of Child Labour Act 1986

The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986 was passed with its main features being as follows:

• Banning employment for children below the age of 14 years in specific occupations and processes
• Formulating the procedure to decide on modifications to the Schedule of banned occupations and processes
• Modulate the work conditions of children in employment where they are not prohibited from working
• Formulate the enhanced penalties for children's employment in violation of the guidelines of the Act
• To empower the Central Government to constitute a Child Labor Technical Advisory Committee to advise the Central Government to add occupation and processes to the Schedule appended to the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986.

Salient Features of Child Labour Act 1986

This Act has played an essential role in reducing the rate of child labour employment in India, reducing the hazardous risks to children's life and child exploitation. It played an instrumental role in making it clear that the rights of children are inalienable and indivisible.

After the mentioned guideline, if an employer is found contravening the rules and regulations, they will be liable to punishment, including a fine, imprisonment, or both.

• Although child labour has reduced after Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986, this evil practice still persists in society due to illiteracy and poverty.
• The community has to take a collective responsibility to build more awareness about this immoral practice to overcome this issue.

Amendments of Child Labour Prohibition And Regulation Act 1986

Listed are the amendments of the child labour prohibition and regulation act 1986 that took place in 2016 and 2017. Walk through the amendments of the Child Labour Prohibition Act. 

Child Labour Act 2016

The child and adolescent labour (prohibition and regulation) act 1986 (amended in 2016) stated as:

• As per this amendment, the country's government will provide more severe penalties for employers who disobey the Act.
• The Act also permits the Government to ban the hiring of children that are working in unsafe conditions.

Child Labour (Prohibition And Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017

Provisions under the child labour prohibition and regulation act Amendment are listed below:

• A particular framework was created to prevent, restrict, recover, and restorative juveniles and young workers.
• Protection against visionary employees regarding working hours and conditions under the Act.