No talks on Child Labour Act with US officials: Agnivesh

Social activist Swami Agnivesh on Thursday said his meeting with officials of the US Department of Labor was "normal" and "had nothing to do with the government's move to amend the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act.

"It was just a coincidence that they happened to come today (Thursday), a day after the government made changes in Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986," Agnivesh said, clarifying that the visit had nothing to do with developments here on the subject.

"They just came to meet me", he told IANS.

Agnivesh had on Wednesday condemned the government's move to allow employment of children below 14 years of age after school hours, saying that was denial of the child's fundamental right to childhood and was unacceptable.

Agnivesh said Rachel Phillips Rigby, deputy chief of the Bureau of International Labour Affairs, along with four-five other officials came to meet him and discussed issues of bonded and child labour in India.

"I told them about our organisation Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which I started in 1980-81 and how India, despite having all relevant laws in place, has failed to eradicate the problem," he said.

The social activist, who also urged the government to make available good education to all children in the country, said that getting 10,000 bonded labourers or more released in a year or so would not do.

"The problem requires change in the system and approach," he told IANS, adding that it should bring in a wage commission for the unorganised sector.