There be provisions for the Child Domestic Workers in The Child Labour Act

“Although there are laws to protect other forms of child labour, the Child Domestic Workers have not been included in the legal provisions till date. Unless the common man wakes up to the needs of these children and changes the attitudes, the efforts made for these children will not be fruitful. All of us will have to make it a habit to do our work ourselves.”

The above thoughts were shared by Justice N.K. Jain, Chairman of State Human Rights Commission and Retired Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, as the Chief Guest during the State Level Advocacy Seminar on May 26th, 2006 at Hotel Maharani Plaza for the Child Domestic Workers under the project called ‘Hum Bhi Bachche Hain’ run by CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research and Training (CUTS-CART) for the last one year in partnership with Save The Children (UK). He further said that the laws will have to ensure that the parents of these children fulfill their responsibilities and that they don’t send their children for meager benefits. Along with this there will have to be a check on the greediness of the employers. Justice Jain further stated that although many laws exist in order to ensure the Right to Equality but the implementation is very weak. To achieve the aforesaid, political will, public and parents’ support will have to be ensured.

On the occasion special guest Mr. Jivraj Singh, Project Director, National Child Labour Project (NCLP), addressed the participants by saying that there is a dire need to develop and follow a common code of conduct to get rid of the issue. Media plays a vital role in propagating such issues. There has to be a focused approach towards these problems along with a positive outlook, only then can some concrete outputs will be seen.

Ms. Neetu Sahi, Programme Coordinator, Save the Children (UK), emphasized over the fact that there needs to be a lot of awareness in order to deal with the Child Domestic Workers. She appreciated the work done by CUTS-CART during the year long project. She said that it is essential to locate child domestic workers and sensitise each and every person for which all the likeminded organizations will have to join hands and work for it.

Mr. Dharmendre Chaturvedi, Project Coordinator, CUTS-CART briefed the people about all the activities undertaken during the project implementation. Mr. George Cheriyan, Associate Director, CUTS-CART, threw light on the objectives of the project, emphasized upon the legal provisions and sustainability of the goals of the project.

On the basis of the suggestions that came during the seminar, CUTS-CART will formulate strategies for future and also forward the recommendations to the State Government. On this occasion the chief guest also distributed prizes to the children who participated in various year long competitions under the project activities.

Approximately 100 participants like representatives of various NGOs, teachers and students of the selected schools of Jaipur who participated in the project, Government Officials gave their valuable suggestions. The programme was anchored by Ms. Priyanka Gupta and Mr. K.C. Sharma gave the Vote of Thanks.