Child Labour in Cottonseed Production by Ashok Khandelwal

Deodar taluka of district Banaskantha on Gujarat state. There were five other workers from his village
including his father. They were recruited by labor contractor Ganesh Lal Gameti of village Chhapi, block
Bichhiwada, District Dungarpur. Some days after starting work, they were shifted to another cotton seed
plot. According to Prakash, the contractor went back to Rajasthan after shifting workers and did not come
again to the plot. After some days, father of Prakash, Virama ji also went back. While working on the plot,
the workers were paid living expenses by the plot owner. The plot on which Prakash was working was
producing seed for the American MNC Monsanto.
The plot owner was Nagji bhai Vira bhai Chaudhry of village Paldi Taluka Deodar, District Banaskantha,
Gujarat. After the work was over, the plot owner refused to pay anything to Prakash. He said that the
contractor has already taken more advance than the accumulated wages and in fact he has to get his
money back. In such a situation, Prakash and his five co workers had to start walking back on foot. They
walked back to the town of Palanpur and then onwards to Amba ji, some 100 kms away. There they met a
truck driver from District Dungarpur. The truck driver Sohan Lal s/o Thavra ji r/o Paldeval District
Dungarpur fed them food and brought them back in his truck to District Dungarpur. Thus Prakash and his
five companions reached back home in first week of October, tired and without their wage being paid.
(d) Conditions of Work
Table 2.11 provides responses related to some of the important
aspects of work and living conditions. Toilet facility lacks
completely despite the fact that a large number of workers are
girls and women. Many of the workers (33.67percent) report that
even drinking water facility is not available on and off fields.
Table 2.11 :: Work and Living Conditions as reported by Workers
Item
Cook in Open
Girls & Boys Live Together
Live in Kachha Houses
No Toilet Facility
No Drinking Water
Fell Sick
Problem due to Pesticides
Work during sickness
Time lag in arrival and work
Source: Worker Questionnaire
Because of the time-bound nature of the work, many a times the
workers have to work even during rains and in muddle. For this
reason young workers develop some sort of problems in their feet.
For the same reason many times they inhale pesticides if their
work coincides with spray of pesticides.
38 :: Child Labour in Cottonseed Production
Valid
Response
22
19
27
23
30
30
31
3
31
Child Labour All Workers
Positive
Response
21
10
10
23
11
3
6
1
22
Percent
95.45
52.63
58.82
100
33.67
10
19.4
33.33
70.96
Valid
Response
67
64
79
51
89
92
97
20
99
Positive
Response
59
45
26
49
25
23
18
1
62
Percent
88.06
70.31
32.91
96
28.09
25
18.55
5
62.6