SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2260The NHRC, continuing its own child labor agenda, organized NGO programs toprovide special schooling, rehabilitation, and family income supplements for childrenin the glass industry in Firozabad. The NHRC also intervened in individual cases.Primary school education is not compulsory, free, and universal (see Section 5).e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.—The directive principles of the Constitution declarethat ‘‘the State shall endeavor to secure . . . to all workers . . . a living wage,conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisureand social and cultural opportunities.’’ Laws set minimum wages, hours of work,and safety and health standards. Laws governing minimum wages and hours ofwork generally are observed in industries subject to the Factories Act but largelyare unenforced elsewhere and do not ensure acceptable conditions of work for the90 percent of the work force not subject to the Factories Act.Minimum wages vary according to the state and to the sector of industry. Suchwages provide only a minimal standard of living for a worker and are inadequateto provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most workers employedin units subject to the Factories Act receive much more than the minimumwage, including mandated bonuses and other benefits. The state governments seta separate minimum wage for agricultural workers but do not enforce it effectively.Some industries, such as the apparel and footwear industries, do not have a prescribedminimum wage in any of the states in which such industries operate.The Factories Act establishes an 8-hour workday, a 48-hour workweek, and variousstandards for working conditions. These standards generally are enforced andaccepted in the modern industrial sector, but tend not to be observed in older andless economically robust industries. State governments are responsible for enforcementof the Factories Act. However, the large number of industries covered by asmall number of factory inspectors and the inspectors’ limited training and susceptibilityto bribery result in lax enforcement.The enforcement of safety and health standards also is poor. Although occupationalsafety and health measures vary widely, in general state and central governmentresources for inspection and enforcement of standards are adequate. However,as awareness grows, the courts have begun to take work-related illnesses more seriously.Industrial accidents continued to occur frequently due to improper enforcement.Chemical industries are the most prone to accidents. According to the Director Generalof Mines’ safety rules, mining companies must seal the entrances to abandonedunderground mines and opencast mines are to be bulldozed and reforested. Theserules are obeyed seldom, if ever. According to the Coal Ministry, between 1995 to1999, 1,201 persons were killed in registered mines and oil fields, 822 (68 percent)of whom died in coal mines, mostly underground; approximately 3,000 persons wereinjured in mining accidents. Illegal mining is rampant. For example, Oswal FertilizerLtd.’s (OFL) new Diamonium Phosphate fertilizer plant at Paradip, Orissa,began operations in May. Eleven workers died during the plant’s construction; anadditional 6 persons were killed and 51 others were injured in a series of accidentsat the plant from May to September. None of the workers was using safety equipment.Seven criminal cases have been brought against OFL in connection with theaccidents.Safety conditions tend to be better in the EPZ’s.The law does not provide workers with the right to remove themselves from worksituations that endanger health and safety without jeopardizing their continued employment.f. Trafficking in Persons.—The country is a significant source, transit point, anddestination for numerous trafficked persons, primarily for the purpose of forcedprostitution and forced labor.The country’s legal code generally is technically adequate for dealing with theproblems of trafficking, violence against women, and prostitution. The Prevention ofImmoral Trafficking Act (PITA) of 1986 superseded and strengthened the All-IndiaSuppression of Immoral Traffic Act (SITA). The PITA sought to toughen penaltiesfor trafficking in children, particularly by focusing on traffickers, pimps, landlords,and brothel operators, while protecting underage girls as victims. The PITA requirespolice to use only female police officers to interrogate girls rescued from brothels.The PITA also requires the State to provide protection and rehabilitation for theserescued girls. In addition the PITA grants a form of quasi-toleration of prostitution,as prostitution, per se, is not a crime under the PITA, which criminalizes only solicitationor practice in or near a public place. Some NGO’s note that this ambiguity,which is intended to protect trafficking victims, has been exploited to protect thesex industry. Due to the selective implementation of the PITA, the ‘‘rescue’’ of sexworkers from brothels often leads to their revictimization. On June 25, 14 underagerescued sex workers fled the government shelter in Mumbai, citing poor conditionsVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1