Child Labour

G. Agricultural Operation

Some of the chemicals can be extremely dangerous. In agriculture work, contact with pesticides and fertilizers leads to skin problems and poisoning. Agricultural work is, in any case, strenuous and puts a great strain on the young body of a child. In villages children operate tractors, thrashers, choppers, crushers and other dangerous machines and they often meet with an accident and become permanently disabled. Almost same is the case in towns and cities where children operate, or work near sophisticated machines. Accidents often occur at the worksites and there are usually no first aid facilities available. The employer does not even bother to take them to a doctor. Even if the children could afford the treatment, many doctors are not trained in occupational health and blithely ascribe illness to poverty.

H. Domestic and Hotel Servants

Young girls working as domestics in houses are often subject to assault and rape by their male employers. Bell-boys in hotels and young children in dhabas and inns are victims of sexual abuse which leaves a traumatic trace on their future psychological development.

I. Self Employment

Self employed children working in streets trades have no health security at all. They are exposed to extreme weather conditions, traffic hazards, besides becoming victims of unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, etc.

Here, in this work, we have dealt with only some of the sectors of economy which are more hazardous and vulnerable to children. Other units of occupation are left. However, the above occupations give a blue-print to what happens to children in different sectors of the economy.

1.5 CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR

Child labour is deeply rooted in poverty. In India, where nearly half of the population lives below the poverty line the choice before the impoverished families is limited, either to send their children to work for supplementing the family income or starve. Besides the economic compulsions, certain social traditions and attitudes also influence the practices of child labour. For example, a popular belief generally held by the poor is that 'the larger the number of children in the bigger family, bigger would be the family income' because every child means two extra hands to work, which means income for the family.

Thus, the reason for employing children has been two-fold, that is, economic and socio-cultural as well.

1.5.1 Economic Factors

Stronger than socio-cultural factors, are the economic reasons responsible for the prevalence and perpetuation of child labour, because child labour is essentially a problem of poor and destitute families, who have no option but to send the child for work in order to keep the wolf away