Child Labour

Child recruitment by gangs in Haiti rises by 70% in past year: Unicef

Gangs in Haiti are recruiting children at unprecedented levels, with the number of minors targeted soaring by 70 per cent in the past year, according to a report released Monday by UNICEF. Currently, between 30 per cent to 50 per cent of all gang members in the violence-wracked country are children, according to the UN. This is a very concerning trend, said Geeta Narayan, UNICEF's representative in Haiti. The increase comes as poverty deepens and violence increases amid political instability, with gangs that control 85 per cent of Port-au-Prince attacking once peaceful communities in a push to assume total control of the capital. Young boys are often used as informers because they're invisible and not seen as a threat, Narayan said in a phone interview from Haiti. Some are given weapons and forced to participate in attacks. Girls, meanwhile, are forced to cook, clean and even used as so-called wives for gang members. They're not doing this voluntarily, Narayan said. Even when the

Child labourers at India's Som liquor unit worked 11 hrs a day: Govt

In the Som inspection report, the state government said the children working there were not given training on how they could protect themselves from harmful chemicals

Liquor company Som challenges license suspension in child labour case

The agency also released photos of children's hands it said showed burns due to contact with chemicals, and said some of the children were transported to the factory in school buses

Boost enforcement mechanism to prevent child labour: Centre to states, UTs

The labour ministry asked states to make use of the online portal Platform For Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour for complaints

Govt impounds Som's distillery, suspends licences over child labour

Police launched an investigation into Som after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) last week found 39 boys and 20 girls working at the factory

Som Distilleries falls 16% on likely child labour at Madhya Pradesh factory

Som Distilleries child labour: Labour at the associate company is supplied by contractors. It may be the fault of the contractor, Som Distilleries has clarified

NCPCR rescues 58 child labourers from distillery in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen

As many as 39 boys and 19 girls were rescued from a distillery in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district, an official said on Sunday. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) with the Association of Voluntary Action, also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), led the crackdown at Som Distillery on Saturday, a release stated. A team led by NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanoongo rescued 58 children, 19 girls and 39 boys, from Som Distillery, the BBA stated. "Children bore burn wounds on their hands from exposure to harsh chemicals and alcohol. They were transported daily by their employer in a school bus and worked 12-14 hours daily," it said. In a post on 'X', Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the raid at the factory was a serious matter. "Received detailed information from the labour, excise and police departments, and direction has been given for taking appropriate action. Strict action will be taken against the guilty," Yadav wrote. Som Distilleries & Breweries is an ..

World Day Against Child Labour 2024: History, Theme, Importance and Quotes

The ILO and its partners observe the World Day Against Child Labour every year on 12 June. The goal is to bring attention to the issue of child labour and bring it to an end for the benefit of world

India's pledge to eliminate child labour by 2025 distant goal: House panel

The implementation of a policy to eliminate child labour has a long way to go before achieving its ultimate goal by 2025 and the country needs a uniform definition of 'child' under various laws, a parliamentary panel said in its report on Wednesday. According the 52nd report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles And Skill Development Committee tabled in the parliament, the panel found ambiguity in definition of child under various legislations. It stated, "The implementation of the Policy has to go a long way for achieving the objective of elimination of child labour as per commitments made by the county after ratification of ILO conventions and to achieve the target stipulated in Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 to end all forms of child labour by 2025." According to the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (CALPRA), the panel noted, 'child' means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age or such age as may be ...

'446,000 missing children found since 2015, most reunited with families'

Most of the 4.46 lakh missing children found since 2015 have been reunited with their families, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said on Saturday. Speaking at the inaugural session of the national annual stakeholders consultation on children in conflict with law, Irani said the children were found through the ministry's Khoya Paya portal, launched in 2015. "Today, we can proudly say that close to 4,46,000 missing children have been found, of which 3,97,530 children have been successfully matched and reunited with their families," she said. Irani said since the amendment of the Juvenile Justice Act in 2021, under which district magistrates instead of courts have been given the responsibility to issue adoption orders, as many as 2,600 children have been adopted. Irani warned stakeholders against profiteering from institutionalising children, saying, "If profit becomes the core of our efforts, then many children will not find the loving homes they deserve." During th

World Day Against Child Labour 2023: Tracing its History, Importance, Theme

World Day Against Child Labor is a call to action that encourages individuals and governments to take decisive action against child labour and raises awareness of the negative effects of it

HC asks Delhi govt to respond to attack on team rescuing child labourers

The Delhi High Court sought the responses of the city government and police on Thursday on a plea moved by an NGO, alleging that its members were attacked while they were carrying out a raid to rescue child labourers from industrial units. The NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), said a team comprising its members, members of its partner NGO and government officials were carrying out a rescue operation for child labourers when they were brutally attacked by a mob, leading to injuries to many of them. It said all the rescued children, except one, were snatched by the mob allegedly at the behest of traffickers. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a notice on the application and asked the authorities concerned to respond to it within four weeks. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on August 4. The high court, which had earlier directed that minors found working in industrial units be rescued and rehabilitated, had observe

McDonald's franchises fined for child labour violations in the US

Two 10-year-olds are among the 300 children who worked at a McDonald's restaurants with no or little pay, a Labor Department investigation of franchisees in Louisville, Kentucky, found. Agency investigators found more than 300 minors, including the 10-year-olds, were working illegally, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The franchisees were fined $212,000 in total. Louisville's Bauer Food LLC, which operates 10 McDonald's locations, employed 24 minors under the age of 16 to work more hours than legally permitted, the agency said. Among those were two 10-year-old children. The agency said the children sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m., but were not paid. Below the minimum age for employment, they prepared and distributed food orders, cleaned the store, worked at the drive-thru window and operated a register, the Labor Department said, adding that one child also was allowed to operate a deep fryer, which is prohibited task for workers under 16. Franchise owner-operator Sean Bauer sa

More than 200 child labourers rescued, raids going on, says Delhi HC

Delhi High Court was informed on Monday that more than 200 children working as child labourers here have been rescued since January and further raids are underway. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad granted four weeks to the Delhi government counsel to file a further status report in the matter and listed it for hearing on May 4. The high court was hearing a plea by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which filed a petition in the aftermath of a fire that killed over 40 people, including several minors, at a factory in the Anaj Mandi area here in December 2019. The NGO had sought a direction to the authorities to inquire into the angle of trafficking and child labour. Advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, representing the NGO, said during the hearing that there had been "unprecedented success" in rescuing child labourers from various units here since January 11 when the last order was passed for constitution of committees in each district. She said the ...

White House promises crackdown on exploitation of migrant child labour

The Biden administration said Monday that it is creating a new task force to crack down on an explosion of the illegal exploitation of migrant children for labour in the U.S. Hundreds of companies that employed nearly 4,000 children last year were found in violation of federal labor laws, a dramatic increase in the last five years. The growing problem has put Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in the hot seat, with concerns mounting that migrant children have been discharged from shelters and out of federal custody too quickly, pushing them into vulnerable situations where they're more likely to become victims of child labor. In a new video that's been circulating, first reported by The New York Times, the secretary urged his staff to discharge children from the federal government's broken system of shelters faster. If Henry Ford had seen this in his plants, he would have never become famous and rich, Becerra told staff during a meeting last summer in a recording. T

Hyundai says it has 'no evidence' of child labour at Alabama unit

Smart Alabama LLC, a wholly owned unit of the Korean automaker, employed immigrant workers as young as 12, Reuters reported Friday, citing family members of three underage workers

160 million child labourers in the world; time for a change, says Satyarthi

Need bold leadership to end child labour, poverty, says Kailash Satyarthi

The Nobel laureate said that $52 bn can provide social protection for every child and every pregnant woman in low income countries

As authoritarian regimes rise, child labour problem is getting worse

This is the Year for the Elimination of Child Labor. What can democracies do to make this a reality?

'A sea of broken children', Covid gives rise to abuse, labour and marriage

While they may be less susceptible to the virus itself, children in South Asia are profoundly affected by the fallout, including the economic and social consequences of measures such as lockdowns