Industry should refrain from engaging child labour:Delhi Labour Secy

New Delhi, June 12 (UNI) Delhi Labour Secretary S M Mazumdar today said the industry should refrain from engaging child labour and urged trade unions to replace a child workers with an adult.

Addressing a seminar on the occasion of International Day against Child Labour, Mr Mazumdar asked the NGOs working for child labour to ensure that childhood should not be taken away from a child.

Speaking at the seminar, organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly with the Central Board for Workers Education and the International Labour Organisation, Mr Vineet Virmani, former President of the PHDCCI and Vice President, Employers' Federation of India stated that the industry opposes the employment of child labour in hazardous work.

''The need of the hour is that we all must stand with the children working in exploitative conditions harmful to their physical, mental and moral development and in violation of national laws and international conventions and rescue them from such conditions,''he said.

He promised to add in the Chamber's Code of Ethics that Industry would not support any activities relating to child labour.

However, the chairman, Industrial Relations Committee of the PHDCCI was of the view that economic participation of children was acceptable as long as it was consistent with healthy development although he supported the elimination of child participation in hazardous work.

Central Board for Workers Education Zonal Director Dr P A Ambedkar gave a slogan 'Children need Education not work.

UNI AR YA GC2005