India CSR Dialogue: Employing children in factories unethical and illegal, yet prevalent

Vested interests exploiting vulnerabilities of children to their advantage. Our Take: 

Rusen Kumar, Founder, India CSR

“The only place for a child is school as he/she deserves the opportunity to be educated and to grow. It is unethical, immoral and unprofessional to employ a child for cheap labour. Any individual or organization indulging in such behavior should be dealt with the sternest punishment under the law. Children are assets and the future of any country and it is the responsibility of the country and all its citizens to nurture them.”

“The root cause of child labour in India is poverty and lack of education which the vested interests have been utilising to their advantage. Anti-social elements are biggest threat for the future of innocent children. These children and their families are struggling for even the most fundamental human needs. Civil society has to play an important role in reporting such kind of issues. Reporting of child labour is not only fundamental duty but also a fundamental right of every citizen. We must remember that our children are real custodians of India.”

Apresh Mishra, Editor, India CSR

“If the allegations against Parle G have any truth in it, one can just wonder as to what extent are companies willing to go to earn some easy money. The companies must infuse ethics and compassion in their business practices. Child labour issue is a menace in India and has to be dealt with effectively by all the stakeholders. Today, there are 20 million children in the country who have lost their parents. These children need to be urgently taken care of, as they are vulnerable to physical, mental and sexual abuses. If left uncared, they will not get right education, proper healthcare, etc. There is a need for a very strong child protection system in place and a very strong monitoring process towards the same.”

Shivendra Kumar, Assistant Editor, India CSR

“The raid at Parley G’s Raipur factory is not just the one-off incident where children are employed. Children are often employed for various factory related works including hazardous ones and it is not difficult to understand why. The Indian law bars the companies from employing children below 15-years-of-age and deems it to be a cognizable criminal offence, yet we see blatant violation of the law. The execution of the law has been lackadaisical and the governments at the central and federal levels have failed the children.”