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Woeful and worn-out
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The problems of child labourers and of those in the unorganised sector seem to continue despite efforts by several organisations to address them. PRINCE FREDERICK writes on the occasion of May Day.
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AT AN age when they should be sweating it out on the playground, some children are sweating it out in fireworks, stone quarrying, mosquito net-making, salt panning, cashew processing, silk weaving and various other production units.
Employing adults (in such labour-intensive units) will cost the employer an arm and a leg; and, for that reason, he goes for cheap labour, which is abundantly available in the form of children. Poverty and exploitation are cheek by jowl; when the choice is between sending their children to work and living on the breadline, a good number of parents choose the first option. Early this year, the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers' Association said the Campaign Against Child Labour's (CACL) argument that match and fireworks factories in Sivakasi employed children, had no legs to stand on; they said CACL had not presented any "conclusive evidence" to support its claim.
Evidence came to light only a few weeks later - in Sivakasi itself. A flying squad, under the Sivakasi Revenue District Officer, swooped in on a fireworks factory at Paraipatti where they found nine children, aged between 7 and 15, in employment. Gauging the situation, the children took to their heels and were caught after a chase. Three of them, aged between 14 and 15, could not produce certificates to support their age.
There have been many more distressing revelations in recent times. Not long ago, 11 "employees" of a sweetmeat factory in Delhi fled to Chennai. Eight of them were children. Residents of Sathani Panangadu in Sivaganga district, they had been "sold" by their families for Rs. 1,000 each to the owner of the sweetmeat factory. Literally held captive, they were made to work under appalling conditions; they were not paid a salary and survived on a-meal-a-day.
Then in February this year, four children from Madurai and Dindigul were found working as bonded labourers at sweatmeat units in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. Volunteers of SOCCO Trust launched a successful campaign to rescue them.
Such reports about child labour suggest that our society, which often buries its head in the sand, is in for a rude awakening. Recently, a report by Human Rights Watch came down on this complacency.
"The Indian Government claims there are no bonded child labourers in the country. In fact, they are everywhere. They are easy to find," said Zama Coursen-Neff, counsel to Human Rights Watch's children's rights division.
Its report - "Small Change: Bonded Child Labour in India's Silk Industry - blew the lid off some unwholesome facts about the industry. The report said that at an age when they should be playing, these children were working their fingers to the bone. They were being used as "cannon fodder" as they had to handle hazardous chemicals; the long working hours made education out of bounds. The report said that these children also had to come to terms with the ill-treatment meted out by their employers.
It is not just the children who constitute the "sweated labour" force; exploitation of labour cuts across age. In fact, exploitation is the defining word of the unorganised sector where long hours, less pay and appalling working conditions are "unwritten norms".
Trade unions are striking blows for the unorganised sector by empowering them with knowledge (of their rights) so that they wake up.
"People have a tendency to overlook the really difficult areas; and the unorganised sector is one such," says A.K. Padmanabhan, national secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). "Mobilising members of the unorganised sector into a fighting unit is difficult. Getting them to attend programmes such as those held on May Day, is, as we all know, not enough; the movement has to be sustained. That is a challenge. Most important, the members themselves need to feel strongly about getting their rights."
Among the few success stories is the "beedi workers' movement". "From the British era when beedi-rolling work was a male bastion (in those days, beedis used to be rolled in what were called `work sheds') to this day when it has become a home-based industry (where women hold sway), the beedi industry has been witness to spirited struggles by its members for better pay and benefits," says Padmanabhan.
The constitution of the Construction Workers' Welfare Board in the State in 1994 was a shot in the arm for the construction workers' movement. Benefits such as marriage, education assistance and compensation could be availed of by those construction workers who have registered with recognised trade unions. In a country where people are ignorant (about avenues of help), it is no surprise that the majority of construction workers is oblivious to the succour the Board provides.
"Even today, in many parts of the State, women construction workers are not getting the minimum wage (Rs. 105 per day). They are given a paltry sum of Rs. 40 or 50; and they do not assert their right to higher wages," says R. Singaravelu, president, Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI).
Domestic workers too face the same plight. "It is difficult to bring succour to domestic servants, as they are scattered all over. In Chennai, we have been able to mobilise them in only a few pockets such as Avadi and Ambatur," says Malathy Chittibabu, secretary, CITU, Tamil Nadu.
That most of them serve many masters does not help their cause either.
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