Rajya Sabha Passes Bill Banning Employment of Children Below 14

The Bill makes employment of children below 14 years a cognizable offence for employers.

Children are often employed at construction sites. Image used for representational purpose. (Photo: iStockphotos)

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill which prohibits employment of children below 14 years of age in all occupations except where the child helps his family, with the provision for imprisonment up to two years for any violation.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill makes employment of children below 14 years a cognizable offence for employers and provides for penalty for parents.

The Bill, which was almost unanimously passed by a voice vote, defines children between 14 to 18 years as adolescents and lays down that they should not be employed in any hazardous occupations.

The penalty for employing a child has been increased to imprisonment between 6 months and two years (from 3 months to one year) or a fine of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 (from Rs 10,000 to 20,000) or both.

According to provisions of the Bill, no child should be employed in any occupation or process except where he or she helps his family after school hours or helps his family in fields, home based work, forest gathering or attends technical institutions during vacations for the purpose of learning.

Hailing the development as a “historic” step, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said it is aimed at “total abolition of child labour”.