| Child Labour Act- Summary
The Act was enacted in 1986 and it repealed the earlier Act of 1938. The main aim of the Act was to abolish child labour from certain industries completely and in others where child labour would be allowed, to regulate the child labour. The Act is divided in four parts and the most important sections are Section 3 which is to be read with the schedule, (which gives the list of undertakings in which child labour is prohibited) and the entire Part III comprising of Sections 7 to 13 which list down the conditions of the work of children. As per the Act, “child” means a person who has not completed is 14th year of age. (It should be remembered that the age at which a person is considered a child differs in different context, for instance in child marriage restrain Act, the child is any individual who is below the age of 18 years if he is a male and below the age of 16 years in case of a female) The Act prohibits employment of children in 13 occupations and 57 processes contained in Part A & B of the Schedule to the Act (Section 3). The Central government has the power to amend this schedule. (Zari making, is entry no.51 in the Part B of the schedule, the rescue operations for which were carried out in Mumbai, in the past). A child labour technical advisory committee may be constituted under the Act, which is to suggest further additions to the schedule. The current status of the committee can be viewed at the site of the labour ministry at the link http://labour.nic.in/cwl/tac.htm. The Act regulates the condition of employment’s in all occupations and processes not prohibited under the Act (Part III). It prescribes detailed procedures like specifying the hours and period of work for the child; a mandatory weekly holiday for the child, a mandatory notice from the employer to the inspector of his area which contains the details of his establishment, the address and the nature of occupation etc. etc. ; maintenance of the register by the employer. Further the Rules to be prescribed by the state government are to prescribe safety and health norms for the children working in permitted establishments. Any person who employs any child in contravention of the provisions of section 3 of the Act is liable for punishment with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to one year or with fine which shall not be less than Rs 10,000 but which may extend to Rs 20,000 or both. (Section 14). Further, employers who may own establishments wherein child labour is permitted ( of course under regulated conditions) and who fail to give notice to the local inspector, or maintain their register or violate any of the conditions mentioned above are liable to punishment of simple imprisonment upto one month or with fine upto the limit of ten thousand rupees or both. The cognizance of the offence may be taken by virtue of complaint filed by any person or police officer or an inspector. Apart from this legislation, the constitution of India itself contains Article 24 (which is a fundamental right) the prohibition employment of children in factories and mines including engaging in hazardous employment. Article 39 A (which is a directive principle of state policy) reads
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