Child-and-adult-labour-in-the-export-oriented-garment-and-gem-polishing-industry-of-India

Child and adult labour in the gem polishing export industry of Jaipur
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industry is concerned, the Madhya Pradesh Slate Pencil Karmakar Kalyan Act of 1982 provides
that the slate pencil manufacturing units will be governed by the Factories Act of 1948, whether
or not they employ ten workers. In the same way the Andhra Pradesh Shops and Establishments
Act of 1966 prohibits child employment, and in the case of the slate industry in this state the
status of the enterprise, whether it is called a factory or a shop and establishment, is rendered
irrelevant regarding child work).
The Government of Rajasthan also suggested making the Factories Act applicable to the industry.
This, however, never came into force. A study on the problem of child labour in the gem industry
in Jaipur revealed the following: 'Informed sources said that the political plot of gem traders was
such that attempts to bring this industry under the Factories Act had been abandoned. Some said
that while the government was interested in the welfare of the workers at one level, the need for
earning foreign exchange was paramount and so production would therefore always have an edge
over labour welfare' 172 . The many verandas and small workplaces which are difficult of access,
make inspections impossible. It is also very difficult to establish the number of workers a
manufacturer or exporter employs inside his unit.
Next to the Factories Act of 1984, there exists the 'Rajasthan Shops and Commercial
Establishment Rules' of 1959, which prescribes that children under 12 years of age should not be
employed in shops and commercial establishments. This Act has never been enforced, as still
thousands of children younger than 12 years of age process gem stones in the gem polishing
establishments.
Thus, the National Child Labour Policy, which was launched in 1987, with the aim of eliminating
children from the industry through a more comprehensive approach and to step up the enforcement
of existing child labour related laws, has never attained the latter aim.
121
6.7 Proposed plan of action by the Rajasthan Government, 1995-96
In January 1995, an 11-point programme 173 was finalized by the Rajasthan Government 'to first
impose a complete ban, as a warning and threat to the employers, and then come into action 174
to subsequently 'eradicate' child labour in the State of Rajasthan'. At the same time the Government
had set up a State Authority for the Elimination of Child Labour which had to put the action
into effect. The 11-point programme involved the selection of the districts Jaipur and Udaipur
where a big survey was to be held to investigate the magnitude of the child labour problem in the
two districts. Another point was to increase the minimum age limit from 12 to 14 years for children
employed in all establishments. The Rajasthan Commercial Shops and Establishments Act
of 1958, which is in force, stipulates that only children above 12 years of age can be employed
statutorily in various concerns, and children younger than 12 years have to be banned. If the increase
in age intended in this Act should come into force, more employers could be prosecuted for
172 Neera Burra, 1995, Born to Work, Child Labour in India, op. cit., p. 109.
173 The Hindu, 2 June, 1995. Plan to eradicate child labour.
174 Emphasis is added by the author of the present report.