Left-Trade Unions for rehab for working children

New Delhi, Aug 3: A day after the government banned child labour in homes and hospitality sector, Left parties and their affliated trade unions today demanded a wholesome economic package for working children below 14 year of age and their parents who are unable to send them to schools due to poverty.

Reminding the government of its ''dismal record'' in implementing such laws, leaders of CPI(M), CPI and Forward Bloc said it would need more initiatives by the State to rehabilitate millions of working children.

They, however, welcomed the ban on children under 14 working as doemstic servants or at hotels, dhabas, tea shops, restuarants, health spas and resorts.

The Labour Ministry has said the ban would come into effect from October 10 and voilators could face jail term of two years and a maximum fine of Rs 20,000.

According to the government, over 11 million children under 14 years of age work in several sectors, including hazardous occupations.

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said while banning child labour the government should also make provisions to put the children in schools, not merely on the basis of a mid-day meal scheme but compensatry foodgrain allottment as had been done in Maharashtra.

''The chidren going to schools in Maharashtra were given foodgrain for their families on a weekly basis. Therefore, the government has to work for proper rehabilitation. If that is not done, it will breed corruption like extortion by police, officials and middlemen in the name of implementing the law,'' said CPI National Secetary Shamim Faizi.

CPI (M) deputy floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Mohammad Salim, said while he welcomed the initiative, the step would not be able to resolve the whole issue. ''Rehabilitation of these children and their families is a must, because as long as there is widespread poverty, the children will continue to take up such jobs.'' The senior CPI (M) leader held that whereas the income earned by these children helped their families run their households, the employers got low cost labour.

''The government will have to evolve some sort of economic package while the law enforcing agencies would have to put in all sincere efforts to implement the law,'' Mr Salim said.

AITUC National Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said the new law covered two sectors under Schedule A and B in the productive and services sectors. ''Even this initial step must be welcomed,'' she said.

Ms Kaur said the government track record on implementation of such laws was ''dismal''. It throws a big challenge to the government, the legislature and bureaucracy to translate the law into reality on the ground, she said.

''Charity begins at home,'' said the AITUC leader, who is also Vice-President of the National Federation of Indian Women. ''A beginning had to be made by the MPs and the MLAs.'' Forward Bloc National Secretary G Devarajan said the issue pertained to the unorganised sector, which employs over 370 million people. ''That is why we have long been emphasising on bringing the Unorganised Workers' Bill in Parliament to provide social security to all those working in this sector.'' Mr Devarajan made a strong case for extending the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to all those families who have their children working in hazardous occupations.

Mr Devarajan, who is also Secretary of the party's trade union wing, Trade Union Coordination Centre, advocated strict implementation of the law. ''We have to be careful as the laws relating to dowry and smoking in public have not been able to get implemented,'' he added.

UNI