India runs drive on World Day Against Child Labour

| Updated: 13 June, 2024 8:24 pm IST
The World Day Against Child Labour prompted various drives against child labours across the country which was observed every year on June 12 (Feature image by: Abhishek Rajput)

NEW DELHI: The World Day Against Child Labour prompted various drives against child labours across the country. Observed every year on June 12, the day serves as a reminder to raise awareness about child labour and to protect millions of children worldwide who are forced into work.

In India, many such cases are seen in day-to-day life around us, to cure that many ongoing campaigns are running from June 11 to June 21 which are aimed to eliminate child labour statewide. District-level teams continue to conduct raids, ensuring strict action against violators.

In Maharashtra, a restaurant owner was arrested on Tuesday for employing two minor boys under Section 374 of the IPC. Officials from the deputy labour commissioner’s office discovered the boys, aged 16 and 17, working 12-hour shifts without leave during a routine inspection.

The Punjab Labour Department rescued 99 child laborers in a major crackdown as part of the Child Labour Eradication Week campaign, directed by Labour Minister Anmol Gagan Maan and Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. In Ludhiana, 95 child labourers were rescued from various industrial units and in Bathinda, 4 child labourers were rescued Raids in Ludhiana and Bathinda freed children from industrial units and eateries.

The Secunderabad Railway Protection Force (RPF), in collaboration with Bachpan Bachao Andolan and the Women Development and Child Welfare department, conducted an awareness program and rescued 124 children this year, arresting 15 traffickers.

In Noida, the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) and NGOs Sahyog (Care For You) and Young India rescued 15 children from eateries, furniture shops, and hotels.

India’s Constitution and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions protect children under 18 from hazardous work, emphasizing the need for collective action to eradicate child labour. 

The significance of World Day Against Child Labour lies in its ability to promote and amplify the global call to stop child labour. Since 1987, the Indian central government has implemented a National Policy on Child Employment, which focuses on rehabilitating children and adolescents exposed to employment.

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