Breanna Pianka

International Labor Issue

Research Paper: Child Labor in
India
March 10, 2017
International HRM-481-01W
Introduction
International Labour Organization defines child labor as work that

deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that

is harmful to physical and mental development. (Organization, n.d.). There

are a number of things that define work which include mentally, physically,

or socially dangerous and harmful to children, prevents children from going

to school, making children leave school too soon, or requires the children to

go to school while working long hours. (Organization, n.d.). The country with

the largest number of child laborers in the world is India. (Foundation, n.d.)

India has started growing its economy very quickly. It is known for

producing cheap goods. It has become a diverse area with many different

languages and religions. In 2014, the population was estimated at about 1.3

billion. This is an estimation because there are many villages that did not get

accurate data. There are about 29 states within India and many are villages.

Since Indias economy has grown rapidly over the last 25 years, so has

awareness of child labor issues within the country. In India, there are around

10 million child laborers. Of these, 14.7% are from Andhra Pradesh and

Telangana. These states together have the sixth highest concentration of

child labor in India, stated Suma Ravi, regional director of Child Rights and

You. (TNN, 2014). Child labor has been a problem in India for decades. There

are laws in place to try to stop child labor, but the laws arent as affective as

they should be. Employers are not following the laws that are laid out in

Indias constitution. Child labor is not completely illegal in India. Children

over the age of 14 are allowed to work, but it must be in non-hazardous

conditions. (Kale, 2017). Children normally work because they come from a

poor family. Their parents may not make enough income to support the

entire family. If children dont start working, their families go hungry.

The International Labor Organization estimates that about 215 million

children work under hazardous and illegal conditions. Most children work in

agriculture, manufacturing, fishing, mining, and domestic service. (Iowa,

2011). Mining is usually a field that children are not permitted to work in. To

be considered child labor, one of these five rules must be broken: 1. Violates

a nations minimum age law, 2. Threatens childrens mental, emotional, or

physical well-being, 3. Involves abuse, child trafficking, unbeatable debt, or

forced labor, 4. Prevents child from attending school, or 5. Uses children to

avoid following labor standards. (Iowa, 2011). Usually, more than one of

these rules are being broken when dealing with child labor. Companies do it

because it is cheaper and more effective for them. They are not looking at

the social responsibly that they hold for these children.

There is one main reason why children work before they turn 14 years

old. They are trying to feed themselves or their families. Some children,

would rather go to school and receive an education so they are forced to

participate in labor. Families need the extra income and, to parents, the

schooling does not teach the skills that their children are going to need in the

future. That is part of the reason why parents justify sending their kids to

work. To survive within these countries, parents dont feel that school is
going to benefit their children. In India, agricultural jobs are paid based on

how much you produce you pick so families bring their children to help pick

on the farms. (Child Labour, n.d.). Many villages within India dont realize

there are laws prohibiting child labor because they are disconnected from the

world. Its tradition for children to start working and contributing to the

family as soon as they can.

Ethical Problem
Child labor has been an ongoing issue for decades. Children deserve to

go to school and gain an education before having to work. They are not old

enough to make the decision to start working. Most of the jobs that the

children are working are hazardous for them. As previously stated, India law

allows children over the age of 14 to work, but it must be in non-hazardous

conditions. Employers have a social responsibility to make sure the children

working for them are 14 years of age or older. It may be cheaper for

employers to break the law, but it is not socially responsible. Investopedia

defines social responsibility as the idea that businesses should balance

profit-making activities with activities that benefit society. (Investopedia,

n.d.). Employers in India can make a profit while still benefitting society. The

best way they can benefit society is letting children get an education.

Ethically, some people may think child labor is acceptable. However, it

is prohibited in most countries, including India. Even if someone feels,

ethically, child labor is acceptable legally, in India, it is not. Employers dont

have a choice to follow the laws or not. Penalties are in place for people who
use child labor, however, this has not deterred employers from using children

illegally.

It is extremely important to explore this topic because it has been an

ongoing issue in the world with no resolutions.

Examples of Wrongful Conduct

Mica is a mineral that is used in many makeup products. British

broadcasters recorded children working in mica mines in India. Most of the

worlds mica comes from India and 75% of that is illegal mining. The children

were as young as six and were recorded smashing large chunks of mica. This

can affect the children long term because inhaling too much of the dust can

develop lung disease in people. That risk is higher when youre a child. There

are about 20,000 children working in these mines. Five to ten of these

children die in the mines each month. (Kale, 2017). These issues has been

ongoing for a few years now. Fox News reported on a 16 year old boy named

Madan who died after a mine collapsed on him. His father, Pratap,

commented, I didnt know how dangerous the work in the mines is. Had I

know, I would have never let him go. They said it took almost a day to dig

out his body after the mine collapsed. They cremated him without telling me.

I didnt even see my boy before they set him alight. (Reuters, 2016). Mica

mining has brought India child labor issues to light again. This is the most

recent issue that has been reported on. The British broadcasters reported in

2017 in regards to children mining for mica in India. The story that was
reported on through Fox News in 2016 was on the same topic. This tells

people that issues have not been resolved in the mica mines. Children are

still being forced to work in these mines. Another issue occurred with a well-

known company 10 years ago.

Gap Inc. fell into issues back in 2007 after an undercover investigation

revealed children working in their sweatshops in New Delhi. The shop they

were using was called Amitosh. Children were bought from their families to

work for Amitosh. Once the children arrive, they are told they must work off

the money the shop spent on buying them. A boy named Jivaj, who was

about 12 years old, told the investigator that some boys are beaten if they

do not work enough. Our hours are hard and violence is used against us if

we dont work hard enough. This is a big order for abroad, they keep telling

us that. Last week, we spent four days working from dawn until around one

oclock in the morning the following day. I was so tired I felt sick. If any of us

cried we were hit with a rubber pipe. Some of the boys had oily clothes

stuffed in our mouths as punishment. (McDougall, 2007). Gap had to

publicly cut ties with this company and clear their products off the shelves. A

spokesmen stated, It is clear that one of our vendors violated this

agreement, and a full investigation is under way. After learning of this

situation, we immediately took steps to stop this work order and to prevent

the product from ever being sold in our stores. We are also convening a

meeting of our suppliers where we will reinforce our prohibition of child

labour. (McDougall, 2007). There are policies in place for Gap contractors to
follow, but it is not always easy to catch a contractor breaking the policy. Gap

had to publicly make statements apologizing for the child labor that was

occurring in one of their vendors. If child labor was not a big deal, why would

companies need to make a public apology? They know it is internationally

illegal for child labor to occur.

Another company that went through issues with child labor in 2007

was Roman Originals. The Observer sent reporters to New Delhi to see the

suppliers. They published that they, found dozens of children cramped

together producing clothes for the UK high street. In one sweatshop, children

were finishing a summer dress, now on sale for about $26 in 250 Select

clothing stores across Britain. (Logan, 2015). Roman Originals cut ties with

the supplier after learning about the child labor and made a public

statement. Business Insider reported on Roman Originals in 2015 because

one of their dresses became viral on social media. This shows that even

though the situation happened almost 10 years ago, it can still come back

negatively on the company again.

UN Global Compact of International Labor Standards

The United Nations has ten principles that go along with the Global

Compact of International Labor Standards. There are four areas that the

principles fall into. The first area is human rights. Principle one and two refer

to businesses that should support and respect the protection of

internationally proclaimed human rights; and make sure that they are not
complicit in human rights abuses. (Nations, 2017). The next area the Global

Compact refers to is Labour. Principles three through six fall under this

category. The third and fourth principles states, businesses should uphold

the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to

collective bargaining; and the elimination of all forms of forced and

compulsory labour. (Nations, 2017). This tells businesses that they should

not take away someones freedom or force them into labor. Principles five

and six talk about the elimination of child labor and discrimination within

employment. The third area is environment. Principles seven through nine

refer to businesses needing to approach environmental issues cautiously,

promote environmental responsibility, and encourage environmentally

friendly technologies. (Nations, 2017). These ten principles are set for all

companies that decide to join the United Nations Global Compact.

The UN Global Compact goal is to create a better world through

sustainability and equality. The businesses that are a part of the UN Global

Compact want to do business the right way. This initiative is completely

voluntary. Companies who can join the Global Compact must want the ten

principles followed and want to influence positive change in their industry.

Companies must already be following national law within their country. The

UN Global Compact does not police companies or investigate. However,

companies must produce a sustainability report or something in their annual

report that describes how they are supporting this initiative and its ten
principles. They call this the Communication on Progress and it allows

transparency through all participants. (Compact, 2017).

Gap and the vendor for mica mining were wrong in how they

conducted business. They broke a number of principles that the UN Global

Compact is striving to change. Joining the UN Global Compact would reflect

positively on both groups. This initiative guides companies to change the

way they do business and work towards being better. If a company fails to

show they are following UN Global Compact rules and is removed from the

initiative, the companies name is publicly announced. This reflects negatively

on the company. Gap could have avoided public embarrassment if they had

joined the UN Global Compact because they would have been more on top of

their vendors to avoid removal from the group.

Resolution of Child Labor in India

There are a number of laws that have gone into place to try to

prevent child labor in India. The first law to go into effect was in 1986, the

Child Labor Act. In 2009, the law was changed to the Right of Children to Free

and Compulsory Education Act. This guaranteed free education for children

under 14 years of age (Muscato, n.d.). The act prohibits children from

working in certain occupations upon turning 14, a child cannot work over a

certain number of hours, the conditions must be a healthy environment, and

this act outlines penalties for failing to comply. The penalty for a first time

offender allowing a child to work in violation of the act is a minimum of 3

months in prison and/or a minimum of $10,000 in fines. If youre caught a

second time, the minimum jail time is six months. (Foundation, Child

Proection & Child Rights>>Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act

1986, n.d.). This act has been in effect since 1986 and there is still child

labor issues in India. The United States penalties for child labor is at least a

$11,000 fine per worker, a possible $50,000 fine for an injury or death of a

minor employee, and these fines increase each time the employer is caught.

The employer may also receive six months of prison time on top of the fines.

(Act, 2009). The penalties for each country look similar because they are.

However, the difference is the United States enforces their labor laws. Cases

do not fall through the cracks or are ignored. Employers in the United States

know they will receive penalties for child labor while in India, employers

know they will not receive anything.

India has a constitution that prohibits child labor in dangerous

environments, guarantees a right to an education, and requires each state to

provide a healthy facility for children. (Muscato, n.d.). Sadly, the constitution

also gives state governments the most responsibility to enforce labor laws.

Most states do not enforce labor laws as effectively as they should. The

government as implemented education programs to try to help children still

receive an education and work at the same time. This is called a non-formal

education program. Classes happen after hours so that children can attend

after theyve worked all day. The government also uses this to keep an eye

on the childrens health and give them medical check ups. (Poverty, 2015).
This is a way for the government to try and help children receive an

education while understanding that children are going to continue to work.

With all of these laws and regulations, why is there still child labor? The

problem is its difficult to enforce especially in the villages. Children are not

coming forward and telling the officials that they are working under the age

of 14 because most of them want to be working to make money for their

family. The judicial system is overwhelmed with cases, and child labor is one

that often fails to make it to court. (Muscato, n.d.). This means people are

getting away with it, so they continue to do it. When cases are brought in

front of the judicial system, penalties are not as high as they should be. It

saves companies a ton of money to use children over adults. To put it into

prospective, in 2014, the number of violations that were found was 1,737.

However, only 37 of those violations were convicted of any crime. (Affairs,

2015). Compared to 2013, the numbers have gone up dramatically, but it is

still not enough.

Conclusion

With all the technological advances and growth the world has seen,

one would think we would no longer need children to work before they turn

14. Children deserve an education to advance their knowledge. Sadly,

companies are more focused on profits than they are following the laws.

Work is done in India because it is cheaper to produce and the legal age for

someone to start working is 14. The International Labour Organization

reported that the average monthly income in India, was $295 U.S. dollars.

(Davidson, 2012). That is not nearly enough to make ends meet which is why

children start working as soon as they can. The traditions in India are that

children start contributing to the household as soon as they are able to. The

employers have a social responsibility to follow the laws of India which do

not allow underage workers.

Companies and groups have begun joining together to stop labor

issues internationally. For example, in 2000 the Olympics were held in

Sydney, Australia. The Olympics committee and Australian labor federations

came together and required all sponsors and licensees to follow the

minimum of Australias labor standards as well as international laws on child

labor. (Iowa, 2011). The United Nations Global Compact is something

companies join to show that they want to positively change the labor issues

in the world.

In time, child labor will demolish. There are many groups advocating

for labor laws to be more enforced in the countries that need it. India already

has the policies and laws in place to effectively enforce labor laws. The next

step is increasing penalties and having a system to track employers and

their employees. Cases need to heard.

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