PTI
NEW DELHI
‘’The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill’’ makes employment of children below 14 years cognizable offence for employers and provides for penalty for parents.
The Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday, defines children between 14-18 years as adolescents and lays down that they should not be employed in any hazardous occupations and processes. This bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on July 19.
It provides for enhanced punishment for violators. The penalty for employing a child has been increased to imprisonment between 6 months and two years (from 3 months to one year) or a fine of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 (from Rs 10,000-20,000) or both.
The second time offence will attract imprisonment of one to three years from the earlier 6 months and 2 years.
According to provisions of the Bill, no child should be employed in any occupation or process except where he or she helps his family after school hours or helps his family in fields, home based work, forest gathering or attends technical institutions during vacations for the purpose of learning.
Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the bill is a “historic” and “landmark” legislation which seeks to totally prohibit children below 14 years to indulge in all occupation and processes except where the child helps his family after school hours.
The Bill has proposed stricter punishment and higher monetary penalty, he said, adding it is going to be deterrent and violation would be made a cognisable offence.
In the bill, the number of ‘’occupations’’ and ‘’processes’’ where child labour is banned has been reduced from 83 to 31.
Underlining that the Act will be applicable for both organised and unorganised sectors, Dattatreya said, “Awareness (about the law) is more important. Participation of NGOs and trade unions are also necessary.” Defending exemptions provided in the legislation for the entertainment industry, the minister said they have been put in place to ensure that the law can be more practical.
“We have also linked the provisions with the RTI Act...
The Bill also aims to ensure that children go to school,” he added.
Responding to members’’ concern about the definition of ‘’family’’ in the Bill, the Minister said it has been done to ensure that no child is exploited.
