Parliament Enacts Comprehensive Law Prohibiting Child Labour and Regulating Adolescent Work

The Parliament of India enacted The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, an instrument designed to address the pervasive issue of child and adolescent labour across the nation. This legislation, which received presidential assent on December 23, 1986, came into force immediately for most of its provisions, with Part III, concerning the regulation of conditions of work for adolescents, becoming effective on May 26, 1993, through a notification in the Official Gazette. The Act's long title clearly articulated its purpose: “An Act to prohibit the engagement of children in all occupations and to prohibit the engagement of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

The Act defines a "child" as a person who has not completed their fourteenth year of age or such age as may be specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, whichever is greater. An "adolescent" is defined as a person who has completed their fourteenth year but has not completed their eighteenth year. A central provision of the Act is the absolute prohibition on the employment or permission for any child to work in any occupation or process. However, the legislation carves out specific exceptions, allowing a child to assist their family or family enterprise, provided it is not a hazardous occupation, after school hours or during vacations. Another exception permits children to work as artists in audio-visual entertainment industries, including films and television serials, or in sports activities, excluding circuses, subject to prescribed conditions and safety measures, ensuring that such work does not impede their school education. For adolescents, the Act prohibits their employment or permission to work in any of the hazardous occupations or processes listed in the Schedule. The Central Government retains the power to amend this Schedule by adding or omitting hazardous occupations or processes after due notice. To facilitate this, a Technical Advisory Committee, comprising a Chairman and up to ten members, was constituted to advise the Central Government on additions to the Schedule.

The legislation mandates the regulation of working conditions for adolescents in non-hazardous establishments. It stipulates limits on working hours, requiring that no adolescent works for more than three hours before a one-hour rest interval, and that the total spread-over of work, including rest, does not exceed six hours. Adolescents are prohibited from working between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m., and overtime work is strictly forbidden. The Act also ensures a weekly holiday for every adolescent worker. Employers are required to maintain registers detailing the name, date of birth, working hours, rest intervals, and nature of work for each adolescent employed, which are subject to inspection. Furthermore, the appropriate Government is empowered to make rules concerning the health and safety of adolescents in workplaces, covering aspects such as cleanliness, ventilation, lighting, drinking water, and machinery safety.

The Act introduces stringent penalties for contraventions. Employing a child in violation of the Act carries imprisonment for a term of not less than six months but extendable to two years, or a fine ranging from twenty thousand to fifty thousand rupees, or both. Similar penalties apply to employers of adolescents in hazardous occupations. Notably, parents or guardians are not to be punished for a first offence, unless they permit such child or adolescent for commercial purposes in contravention of the provisions. Subsequent offences by employers attract higher imprisonment terms. The Act declares offences committed by employers under the prohibition sections as cognizable, meaning police can arrest without a warrant. A significant addition is the establishment of the Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund in every district, to which fines collected from employers are credited. The appropriate Government also contributes fifteen thousand rupees to this fund for each child or adolescent for whom a fine is credited, with the accumulated amount and interest to be paid to the affected child or adolescent. The Act also provides for the rehabilitation of rescued children or adolescents in accordance with existing laws and allows for the compounding of certain first-time offences by the District Magistrate. Inspectors are appointed by the appropriate Government to ensure compliance, and District Magistrates are empowered to oversee the implementation of the Act's provisions, including periodic inspections of workplaces. The Act repealed the Employment of Children Act, 1938, while ensuring that actions taken under the repealed Act, if consistent with the new provisions, would be deemed to have been taken under this Act.

Keywords: Child Labour, Adolescent Labour, Prohibition, Regulation, India, Child Protection, Labour Law, Rehabilitation Fund, Hazardous Occupations, Child Rights

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