Chapter Four Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors...
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Chapter Four Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors Influencing Child Labour Engaged in Brick Kilns
Transcript of Chapter Four Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors...
Chapter Four
Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors Influencing Child Labour
Engaged in Brick Kilns
4.1 Introduction In the previous chapter brick-making process has been discussed. The final shape of a
brick passes through many processes in brick kiln. It has been observed that child
labourers were employed even in hazardous and dangerous situations. The children
involved in brick making processes are deprived of their basic right to education, health
and development (mental and physical). An attempt has been made to summarize the
profiles of child labourers in brick kilns through 20 case-studies. '.
In this chapter, factors responsible for the incidence of child labour will be
discussed. An emphasis will be given on how socio-economic and demographic factors
are influencing child labourers to work in brick kiln.
A number of Socio-economic and demographic factors determine/influence the
incidence of child labour in general as well as in the brick Kiln industry which is a
significant employer of Child labour in the country . The extensiveness of supply and
demand side factors makes eradication of child labour a very difficult task. Poor people
tend to send their children to work to augment their income. Therefore, the poverty
variable is one of the important determinants of the supply of child labour. It is not,
however, clear, which is the cause and which is effect between poverty and child labour.
It is possible that child labour can perpetuate poverty. In case of brick kilns, it's
especially true where working in the brick kilns has become inte:r- generational
occupation. The' deprivation of education and negligent accumulation of social and
economic capital even after working in the brick kilns over long period of time has
resulted in to the perpetuation of the child labour in the family. It was observed from the
field that majority of labourers started as child labouer along with their parents some 20-
25 years ago and now their children are working with them.
Socio-economic factors like female literacy, fertility rates, family size, adult wage
rates, diversification of the rural economy and female work participation rates, etc, are
also important determinants of chid labour. Economic development is another variable
which is supposed to reduce child labour with better opportunities for adult labour and
increasing education for children. It is possible that economic development may, in fact,
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also increase child labour for the same reason of better opportunities. In other words,
demand for labour may increase with economic development. In previous chapter it was
pointed that in recent years due to high economic growth rate, rapid urbanization and
increased domestic and foreign investment has led to high growth of the construction
sector, thus increasing the demand for Bricks. To meet this demand new brick kilns have
been established, the capacity of old one has been expanded which in turn results more
demand of labour including child labour. Demand for schooling may increase depending
on the infrastructure and quality of education in schools. On opposite side, the lack of
schooling facility exacerbates the problem of child labour, brick kilns are one of the best
example of this phenomenon. Generally,. the brick kilns are located in the outskirts of
cities in the agricultural land away from residential areas (city or villages) therefore
schools are far away for the young children.
There are several key issues - economic, social and environmental - linked with
brick production. Workers in the brick kilns constitute one of the poorest and weakest
sections of the society. The brick kilns are significant employer of women and children as
well. Of the total of 51 brick kiln workers interviewed in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 60.8 per
cent were landless although they depended on the agricultural sector for six months a
year and 37.3 per cent did own land but would fall in the category of small farmers who
combine self-cultivation with income from wage labour. Both the categories are net
buyers of food and dependent on wage labour for the major share of their yearly income.
This chapter aims at identifying the socio-economic factors responsible for the
incidence of child labour. Existing relevant literature on various factors and determinants
of child labour has been also reviewed in order to compare the various findings with the
observations made about the socio-economic factors responsible for the incidence of
child labour in the selected brick kilns in Kanpur Nagar. Its important to compare the
incidence and factors responsible in a specific sector ( in this case brick kilns) with Child
Labour in general in order to find out commonalties as well as aspects which are specific
to the Child labour in the brick kilns. This kind of study could also be useful in
formulating the more targeted (so more effective) child labourer eradication policy and
programme.
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This chapter presents the socio-economic profile of the surveyed child labour
population and their families in the ten brick klins in Kanpur Nagar. A detailed household
questionnaire was filled to understand the socio-economic conditions of child labourers
and their families. A total of 121 household questionnaires were filled and 167 children
living in the brick kilns were covered. In addition, 20 in depth case studies were done.
The chapter also highlights the critical role of migration in livelihoods of the
surveyed population. Migration is one of the key characteristics of child labour in the
brick kilns. Many of the problems like unavailability of school or inadequate stay at site
(i.e. brick kilns) to complete whole educational year are peculiar to children of brick kilns
labourers and mainly responsible for perpetuation of child labour among them.
4.2 Poverty: cause anfi consequence Poverty is cited frequently as a primary reason for child work. It is true that poor families
have a greater need for survival or supplementary income from their children's work,
although this contribution may be over-estimated in light of what is now known about the.
role of the range of factors, including poor or inaccessible education, that contribute to
making work a more attractive option than school for children.
Poverty that keeps children working also serves to keep them out of school. On
. the most obvious plane; a child cannot be working and in school at the same time;
"survival", it is argued, must take precedence over "development," and the best interests
of the child are weighed by the contribution slhe makes to the family and therefore
herlhis own survival, illustrated by the direct and indirect costs of school. It has been
calculated that "free" compulsory education covers only 20 per cent of the total cost of
schooling. Other costs for books, uniforms, writing materials, transportation to school,
need to be borne by families (King, 1990, Ennew, 1995; Munyakho, 1992). There is also
the indirect "opportunity cost" of schooling, the loss of income incurred by a family
whose child is in school rather than working. The higher the opportunity cost of school
attendance in relation to a household's income, the greater the perceived need for the
child to work.
Understanding poverty as a cause of child labour must include understanding that
it is also a consequence and that it is the exploitation of poverty that perpetuates child
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labour and prevents children from attending or learning in school. Children are desired as
workers for their malleability and compliance; their young age is justification for low or
no wages. While children's work may increase family income, it also helps to keep adult
wages low and increase unemployment As millions of poor children maintain the labour
force at barely-survival wages, their families are kept under- and unemployed; another
generation of unskilled, illiterate, powerless adults is in the making, and the structure of
poverty and power disparities remains in place. Like poverty itself, the prohibitive cost of
education that keeps children out of school and increases the likelihood of their
remaining in hazardous work, must also be seen not as natural or even unavoidable, but
as a consequence of faulty policies and priorities.
4.3 Societal value and the perception of children The complex role of culture and tradition plays an equally important role in the interplay
between child labour and education. This includes the struggle and confusion between
new and old values and beliefs -- the view of children, the value of work, and the role of
money and material goods as symbols of social status. The unconvincing explanation of
poverty as a sole cause of child work and its link to other underlying issues are illustrated
by the millions of families who, in spite of poverty, manage to find the resources to send
their children to school (Salazar and Glasnovich, 1996).
In India most of the poor parents believe that children should work to support the
family instead of going to school. Present schools fail to teach skills that make children
suitable in acquiring jobs; Job market is also limited and confined to the limited urban
areas.
Now it is widely believed that child labour and education is intimately correlated.
In fact education is key to child labour eradication. A serious lack of educational
opportunities is becoming well understood as a major contributor to children's
involvement in harmful work. Conversely, educators and others concerned with access to
education have noted that work and a number of related factors contribute significantly to
the difficulty of millions of children exercising their right to education or benefiting from
it fully when they gain access. These include quality and relevance of the education
system itself, cost, inflexible schedules, long work hours and· other hazardous working
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conditions. Childhood is a critical stage of life that must be respected and honoured for
itself as well as a transition to productive and fulfilling adulthood. Children deserve,
need, and have the right to a nurturing and stimulating environment that fosters growth
and development in all areas of their lives. Key among these is education, which includes
not only access to school, but quality basic learning that is fundamental to developing
critical life and learning skills. Education is also an enabling right that contributes to
opening the space for the fulfillment of all other rights - to health, nutrition, leisure,
participation in society, and assists children in becoming self-sufficient, contributing
members of society. Because deficiencies in education systems can in themselves also
facilitate the perpetuation of child labour, these need to be addressed and schools made a
more viable, valuable, and interesting option for children. Although this paper focuses on
mostly children of primary school age, it attributes equal importance to adolescents who
may be of legal working age but have been denied or did not finish primary school
because of work.
Any work activity, which interferes with a child's right to education, is intolerable
and must be eliminated. All best efforts must focus on preventing children from entering
work that will impede or prevent their education as well as removing those who are
currently working under harmful conditions and ensuring that they are provided with an
enabling educational environment. The linkage between child labour and education must
also be understood in the larger context of powerful social, economic, political, and
cultural forces which play a major role in determining the level of child participation in
both activities.
In this chapter the analysis of working children and the proportion of attending and
not attending school and also the proportion of those children who were neither working
nor attending school has been attempted. This chapter deals with education influencing
the incidence of child labour. A number of studies have classified the causes of child
work in different categories. Dis-equilibrium in the demand and supply of educational
facilities for children in the age group of 5 - 14 years is another major cause of child
work. 1 Primary schools are either not available in sufficient numbers of the distance is
IChaudhari, D.P., (1997), "A Policy perspective on Child_Labour in India with pervasive Gender and Urban bias in School Education", The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 14, no.4, pp.85-98.
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long, discouraging the children to avail this facility. Due to this children stay at home
and become prone to child work.
Countries like Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China have made primary education
compulsory after Second World War, in spite of low per capita income and acute poverty.
But within twenty years they improved a lot and secured a good position? China invested
a lot in primary education to reduce illiteracy and made primary education compulsory.3
Unfortunately India failed to provide major thrust to education especially primary
education in past. Now Government of India is also giving more emphasis on primary
education. On November 28, 2001 the Lok Sabha unanimously passed the Constitution
(93rd Amendment) bill~ which made education for the children in the age group of 5 - 14
years a fundamental right. The Act makes it a fundamental duty of every parent /
guardian to provide opportunities for education to all children in the 6 - 14 age group.4
This new legislation will hopefully will have far reaching implications.
Myron Weiner 5 highlighted three major reasons regarding child labour and education in
India.
(1) Child labour was not simply an unfortunate consequence of India's low
per capital income but was in fact sustained by government policies.
(2) The establishment of compulsory primary education was not in the interest
of middle class who were primarly concerned with the expansion of
government expenditure on higher education.
(3) Child labour was part of the Indian government's industrial strategy to
promote the small scale sector and to expand exports. Policy makers
never perceived education as essential to India's modernization and
development.
2 Weiner, Myron, (1994), "India's case against compulsory education", Seminar 413, January, New Delhi. Pp.84-85. 3 Weiner Myron, (1991), "The Child and the State in India", Oxford University Press, New Delhi, p. 114. 4 Times ofIndia, (2001), 29 November, New Delhi. 5 Weiner Myron, (1991), op.cit., p.162.
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The reasons sighted by Weiner may not be totally correct but there is no denying in
the fact Government policies and education setup in the country failed to contain or
mitigate the problem.
4.4 Interrelated factors that determine children's participation in work and school
The relationship between children's work and their education exists on several levels.
Whether they are in or out of school, work may absorb time, energy, and resources at the
expense of their basic education. On a deeper level, work and school are linked by the
complex, entrenched, and powerful political, social, economic, and cultural forces which
require for their maintenance: a population that is uneducated, cheap or free labour, and
powerless workers. It is not only about children today, but also the adults they become.
Moreover, it should be pointed out that the perp~tuation of child labour is neither in the
best interests of children and their families; nor is it in the best interests of the social and
economic health and wealth of nations.
4.5 Socio-Economic and Demographic factors influencing Child Labour in Brick
Kilns
Child labourers in the brick kilns are predominately from migrants and low caste family
background. The poverty of household in which children need to earn to sustain the
family, large family size, low literacy level of parents, lack of schooling facility near
work and residence site and adverse social and community environment are the major
factors which lead to incidence of child labour. The other indirect contributing factors
are:
high fertility, mortality, child women ratio etc. As stated before in the chapter the high
growth rate of population; high birth rate and declining morality rate can lead to
unemployment, low wages and low per capita income. This in turn can result in more and
more children being engaged in work for the sustenance of a family. In this section, the
socio-economic and demographic factors which are specifically significant to the
incidence of child labour have been stated.
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4.6 Migration Trends
The seasonal migration of labourers to brick kilns is from villages, small towns within
and across districts and also from other states. The brick kiln industry is the second
largest sector after the construction sector, which absorbs such a floating labour
population and a reserve surplus of the land.
A primary concept in migration studies is 'pull' versus 'push' factors. The
primary driving force in the case of pull factors is the drive to improve economic status.
In contrast, extreme deprivation in native areas along with a lack of employment
opportunities locally, causes push migration. The brick kilns in the Kanpur district offers
clear instances of both. The migrant labourers come from both areas. The labourers from
poor areas like East UP, Bihar and Orissa migrate mainly due to "push" factors where as
labourers migrating from within district or from nearby districts are motivated by pull.
factors. These seasonal migrants spend between 6 to 8 months (depending upon Monsoon
condition as brick kilns get closed during rainy season) in the brick kilns. Both categories·
(i.e. depending upon motives/reasons for push or pull factors) of migrant families have
different profiles, not only in terms of their ways of living, spending habits etc but
significantly in terms of children also. The later category is more likely to send their
children to school and often leave their grown up children behind so that they can study.
It was observed that those households which are relatively well off or have some Hmd or
any other source of income such as animal rearing etc leave some of their children (
generally of school going age) back home with their grand parents or uncles.
The table 4.1 shows the distribution of workers according to their source of
migration (their native place). This has been categorized as per their work and nature of
migration i.e. intra-district, inter-district, inter-state, rural, urban, etc.
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Table-4.1
Distribution of Workers according to their source of Migration (their native place)
(Figures in Percentage)
Category Nature of Migration
of worker Within InterDistricts * * Interstate$ Rural Urban# Seasonal/
district* Total Permanent
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Pathnewale 49 58% 31 36% 5 6% 85 100% 0 0% 85 Seasonal
Dhoaiwala 8 100% 0 0% 0 0% 6 75% 2 25% 8 Seasonal
Beldar 2 50% 1 25% 1 25% 4 100% 0 0% 4 Seasonal
Rabishaha 3 50% 2 33% 1 17% 6 100% 0 0% 6 Seasonal
Jhokwa 0 0% 4 67% 2 33% 5 83% 1 17% 6 Seasonal
Nikasi 5 56% 3 33% 1 11% 9 100% 0 0% 9 Seasonal
Munshi 1 100% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 100% 1 Permanent
Drivers 1 100% 0 0% 0 0% 1 100% 0 0% 1 Seasonal
Chowkidar 1 100% 0 0% 0 0% 1 100% 0 0% 1 Permanent
Total 70 58% 41 34% 10 8% 117 97% 4 3% 121
*MaJonty from wlthm 15 km radIUs and from about 30 vIllages**Kanpur Dehat, Fatehpur, HamlITpur and Banda districts, rest from eastern UP (Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, and Basti)
$ Mainly from Bihar and larkhand
# From nearby small town.
Fig.4.1
Distribution of Workers according to their source of Migration
Within district Inter District Interstate Rural Urban ~--------------------------------------------------------
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The majority of migrant labourers in the study area come from within the district
(mostly from within 15 km radius). This category of workers constituted 58 percent of
the total labourers followed by the inter-district migrants constituting another 34 percent
of total labourers. The majority of workers in later category come from adjacent districts·
i.e. Hamirpur, Kanpur Dehat, Fatehpur and Banda districts. The rest are from Gorakhpur,
Allahabad, Pratapgarh and Basti. The inter-state migration is much less prevalent mainly
because of the availability of local labourers. Eight percent of labourers come from the
other states mainly from Bihar and Jarkhand. The all migration is seasonal in nature
except few staff member i.e. accountant (Munshi) and gaurds who may remain in the
kilns even after the kilns get closed. They, along with brick kilns owners sell the bricks
stock rest of the year. The migrants are predominately (97%) from rural areas. The rest 3
percent come from mostly small towns. (Table-4.1)
Essentially agricultural labourers, or marginal and small farmers, combining
agricultural wage workers, migrate from one place to another in search of employment in
brick kilns during the lean period in agriculture between October and the middle of June.
This is the lean period for single paddy-cropped areas and perhaps explains the presence
of large number of workers from the rice growing areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
and Jarkhand.
The major urban centers may also offer pull factors which acts directly or
indirectly as in case of brick kilns which come up in the vicinity of urban centers to meet
the increasing demands from the construction sector of the city. They attract the
improvised and unemployed or underemployed rural population especially belonging to
low economic and social status who are also pushed by adverse conditions at the native
places. For instance a study found out that Thane and Nashik districts of Maharashtra are
close to urban Mumbai which generates the demand for bricks in tum providing seasonal
employment to tribal families in the brick kiln season. These being hilly regions with
moderate rainfall and humid climate, the crop grown here is paddy which is cultivated in
the monsoons. Thus, in the summer and winter months, when there is dearth of water,
families migrate to other nearby areas in search of employment. The main motive of such
migration is obviously employment but it entails the loss of rights and basic facilities like
access to education, health, food distribution system, etc.
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A TERI study of brick kilns in north India found that the majority of firemen
belong to the districts of Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, and neighbouring districts in
eastern Uttar Pradesh-a region that also has the highest density of brick kilns in the
country. There are about 150 000 families of firemen in these three districts. They
migrate long distances of up to 1000 km to work in brick kilns.6
One main characteristic of this migration to brick kilns is that the whole family,
even extended ones move to brick kilns. The individual male labour migration which is
dominant trend of the seasonal migration is less visible in the brick kilns. This factor is
very significant as the children who live on the brick kiln sites are more likely to help the
family in work due to lack of schooling facility or in order to fulfill the work obligation
taken by the family head who already has accepted the advance for the work and often
spent it fully or substantial part of it. It Was found that the families which own some land
back home or are relatively economically better off leave few of their children back home
with grand parents or uncles.
Broadly, one can distinguish two categories. The first one concerns families for
whom migration to the brickyards is the only option: one or several events (illness, death,
failed agricultural investment) diminish their productive capacities while leading to a
situation of chronic over-indebtedness; they systematically migrate with the entire family.
In the second category, migration to the brickyards is one option among others: families
take recourse to it in an irregular manner, according to their financial needs and! or local
job opportunities, which vary every year according to climatic conditions. The number of
family members involved also varies according to the needs of the moment. It should be
noted that some families have succeeded in saving and have achieved a certain social
advancement through their job in the brickyard and through the system of advances.
Similarly, one visit to the place of origin of few labourers ( Dhoaiwala ) revealed that
they own relatively good Pakka house (though small for a big family of 17 members) III
6 Sunil Sahasrabudhey, CoSmiLE, (Competence Network for Small and Micro Learning Enterprises), Energy-Environment Technology Division TERl, New Delhi, India VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 March 2007 pgl
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the small town and apparently their economic condition was better than a typical landless
casual labour, the economic category to which they themselves belonged.
4.7 Household Characteristics of Child Labour Analysis of the incidence of child labour in brick kilns is determined to a large extent by
their social and economic background, which includes composition of the household, its
SIze, caste and religion, type of household, status of females, size of
landholding/cultivated by the household, poverty, educational and occupational
background. The examination of household characteristics of child labour in the brick
kilns supports that the findings of various studies mentioned in the first section of the
chapter. The major socio-economic and demographic determinants of occurance of child
labour in the brick kilns are as following:
·4.8 Caste A look at the caste background of child labourers' households show that child labour
mainly comes from socially backward classes of SC and OBC. As evident from the
Table-4.2, while 87 per cent belonged to SC, another 12 per cent are from OBC classes.
Only 1 percent belonged to upper caste. This minute number of upper caste workers too
work as staff member i.e. provide service and doesn't do the manual work of brick
making.
In case of Pathnewalas it is as high as 92 percent and all Dhoaiwalas belong to SC
caste. It is evident that the caste still remains a major determinant of the chosen
occupation and the social mobility through better jobs in terms of social and economic
parameter attainable only to very few among the lower caste. The Dhoaiwala who keeps
pack animals (Khachhar (mules) and are called as Kachharwala have been traditionally
doing this job and still continue to do it. Keeping of Kachhars is considered as low status
by most of the middle or upper castes in the area which may explain their absence in this
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category of work. In contrast, the job of supervising, contract labour agents and security
(not necessarily better paid) is done by OBes and in very few cases by the Upper caste.
The table 4.2 shows the caste wise distribution of the workers in brick kilns in
category of works.
Table-4.2
Caste wise distribution of the Workers in brick kilns
Caste
Category of worker SC OBC Upper Caste
No. % No. % No. %
Pathnewala
78 92% 7 8% 0 0%
Dhoaiwala
8 100% 0 0% 0 0%
Beldar
3 75% 1 25% 0 0%
Rabishaha
5 83% 1 17% 0 0%
Jhokwa
4 67% 2 33% 0 0%
Nikasi
7 78% 2 22% 0 0%
Munshi
0 0% 0 0% 1 100%
Drivers
0 0% 1 100% 0 0%
Chowkidar
0 0% 1 100% 0 0%
Total
105 87% 15 12% 1 1%
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Fig. 4.2
Caste wise distribution of the Workers in Percentage
12% 1%
87%
oSC
.OBC
o Upper Caste
Workers in all categories predominantly came from SC caste. The categories
which had substantial representation ofOBCs workers were Beldar (25%), lhokwa (33%)
and Nikasi (22%). The first two categories usually paid the monthly wages and require
relatively better skills and experience.
Concern for Children and Environment-Nepal (CONCERN-Nepal) in one of its
survey on the child labourers working in brick kilns in Nepal found that majority of the
parents were uneducated and belonged to SC caste.7
A study of Brick kilns in Chennai reported the same findings- according to rough
estimates, 60 to 70 per cent of the labour force comes from the low castes (mainly
paraiyars) and this proportion probably reaches 90 per cent in the case of moulders.
Social advancement might be thought to be more frequent among the upper castes (for
example, vanniars) who are generally better provided with land. Nevertheless, the case
studies carried out also show situations of social advancement among the paraiyars. 8
7 Poor state of child labour in brick kilns, Himalayan News SerVIce, Kathmandu, January 142004.
8 Isabelle Guerin, Bhukuth Augendra, Parthasarthy, Venkatasubramanian G Labour in Brick Kilns: A Case Study in Chennai Economic and Political Weekly February 17,2007, pg 601.
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4.9 Size of Household:
The size of household may have positive as well as negative relation with incidence of
child labour depending upon economic status of the household. If households are poor
and small in size, then they tend to supply more child labour so as to compensate for the
otherwise lesser number of earning members.
On the other hand, large households have more available supply of child labour,
as well as the need to send children to work. The larger households tend to employ some
children whereas rest may attend school; generally these comprise girls and other
children who are considered not worth investment (Girls because anyway they have to be
married off and other children who are considered by parents as snot bright to do well in
studies and get a job.
The table 4.3 shows the percentage of workers according to their type of family (nuclear,
joint, extended) living on the site,
Table-4.3
Percentage of workers according to their Family Type living on the site
Category of worker Family Type Total
Nuclear Joint Extended
Pathnewale 68 81% 14 16% 2 2% 85
Dhoaiwala 5 63% 3 38% 0 0% 8
Beldar 3 75% 1 25% 0 0% 4
Rabishaha 5 83% 1 17% 0 0% 6
Ihokwa 6 100% 0 0% 0 0% 6
Nikasi 7 78% 2 22% 0 0% 9
Munshi 1 100% 0 0% 0 0% 1
Drivers I 100% 0 0% 0 0% 1
Chowkidar 1 100% 0 0% 0 0% 1
Total 94 81% 21 17% 0 2% 121
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Fig. 4.3
Percentage of workers according to their Family Type living on the site
o Nuclear
• Joint
o Extended
4.10 Type of households
A household has been defined as all family members eating from the same kitchen.
Generally, when children grow up and marry they start living separately from their
parents and brothers thus form a separate household. However, the nature of work i.e.
piece rate contract which is generally for at least 100,000 bricks reqmre them to pool
their labour and resources together.
On examining the type of households working in the brick kilns, it is learnt that
majority of households are nuclear in nature. Eighty one percent of the households are
nuclear type followed by Joint family type constituting 17 percent of totat households.
The extended households form only 2 percent of the total. The Jhokwa (Fireman) and
often Beldar( Stacker) are only male workers living without their family in the site.
Although, they live in separate household, they work together and take contract in group.
These groups are formed between the other family members (like their brother, cousins
living separately as a household or fellow community member generally belonging to
same village).
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4.11 Poverty:
There is a lot of evidence on the link between poverty and incidence of child labour. Poor
parents are compelled to send their children to work instead of school because of two
main reasons. Firstly, they tend to send children to work in order to supplement family
income. Secondly, they can't afford the cost of education. The case of brick kilns is
unique in the sense that the seasonal migration of labourers hamp~rs the education of
children, thus being one of the measure factors of child labour apart from poor economic
condition. On a rough estimate, about 28 percent of the households belonged to BPL
status. However, it was also observed that they were just sustaining on the earnings from
the work in brick kilns and there was no surplus left to undertake any investment in the
education of their children. Most of them consider sending children to school is a waste
as they will not get any job and also a costly affair as they wi11loose a helping hand.
Isabelle Guerin (2007) observed that, most of the workers bring their children
(because nobody can take care of them at home) and 75 per cent of them work. The
parents are very clear on that point: it is a way to get more advance and to produce more
(a child can start working when he/she is five-six years old. The workers opine that the
productivity of children at 15 years is equivalent to that of an adult, and that from eight to
15 years it is equivalent to half that of an adult. According to our observations, a child
makes it possible to obtain on average Rs 1,000 additional advance. 9.
4.12 Religion:
The religion-based distribution of child labourers shows that all child labourers belonged
to the Hindu community. The other communities like Muslim, Christian and Sikhs were
absent in the brick kilns in the study area.
9 Isabelle Guerin, Bhukuth Augendra, Parthasarthy, Venkatasubramanian G Labour in Brick Kilns: A Case Study in Chennai Economic and Political Weekly February 17,2007, pg 601.
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4.13 Occupation:
The workers primarily belong to the class of agricultural labourers or agricultural
labourers cum small and marginal farmers. Several of them also worked as casual
labourers. Some of the small and marginal farmers also carry out share cropping (Batai).
In the brick kilns, the nature of work done by labour has a bearing on the
incidence of the child labour. The family based work (paid on piece-rate) is the highest
among the moulders, where children too assist the adults and constitute the majority of
child labour in the brick kilns. Among other categories where children will not be able to
contribute, the family size varies. Wives accompany all categories of workers who are
paid on piece-rate. The firers and the beldars (those who arrange the bricks in the kiln for
firing) are the only category of workers who are not accompanied by their family
members. The living condition of the firers also does not permit the presence of their
family members. Except for the principal worker, the male head, none of the other
workers, be it the women or the children below 18 are registered as workers in the muster
rolls. All the women work along with their husbands and children work too both male
and female.
4.14 Literacy Rates and schooling facility The educational level of SCs and OBCs is much lower than that of the upper castes in
India, though the situation is much worse in UP. In Uttar pradesh 85 per cent of SC
women were illiterate in 1998-89, while only 73 per cent in India were illiterate (UP
Human Development Report, 2002). On a rough estimate majority of workers who also
belongs to SC and OBCs are illiterate. The illiterate and poor parents tend to take
decision based on their immediate need and consider the investment in children
unaffordable. They have this fear that even after education their children may not get the
job. In addition to money costs, the opportunity costs of education -in the form of
foregone income from child labour or foregone utility of services from the child at home
may be an important factor determining education-related decisions. It was observed that
only 10 percent of the children living in brick kilns are going school. Rest either do the
work in brick kilns or help in household chores. Thirteen percet of the boys and only 7
percent of the girls are attending the school. Among the moulders which also constitute
the major chunk of child labour the percentage of school going children was just 9
percent. The low socio-economic status of the parents as well as lack of education facility
were the majorfactors. The duration of stay is also only 7-8 months which is less than an
academic year also one factor for the discontinuation of the education. In fact, the
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majority of children were enrolled in the school but 83 percent dropped out before
completing class 5 th and 9 percent dropped before completing 8th class. Only g percent of
the child labourers in brick kilns never attended the school. Therefore, there is need of
delineating those factors which force the children to leave school and start working.
The table 4.4 shows the percentage of children attending school to the total
children of 5 years and above. This has been categorized in work. In table 4.5, according
to category of work, education level of child labour has been shown of those, who are not
attending school at present.
Table-4.4 Percentage of children attending school to the total children of 5 years and ahove
Category of Total School Total Total Total
F';;'·"" ! worker Boys going Percentage Girls School Percentage surveyed Boys surveyed going
Pathnewala 59 Dhoaiwala 7 Beldar 0 Rabishaha 2 lhokwa 0 Nikasi 9 Munshi 0 Drivers 0 Chowkidar 0 Total 77
Fig. 4.4
14
121
girl
8 14% 75 4 5%
2 29% 8 1 13%
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11% 7 1 14%
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
10 13% 90 6 7%
Percentage of children attending school 5 years and above
School going girl Total school going Children
132
Children school surveyed going
Chit d re n -t--. _________ 134 12 ! 9% --15 3 ! 20%) --0 0 0 --2 0 0 --0 0 0 16 2 13()/o
0 0 G --0 0 0 --0 0 0 --
167 17 10% --
I I I
I
J
Table-4.5
Educational level of Child Labourers (not attending School at present)
Category of Never went to school Dropped out before Dropped out worker 5th Class Between 5-8 Class
Boys Girls Total Boy Girls Total Boys
Pathnewala 4% 8% 7% 82% 86% 84% 14% Dhoaiwala 20% 14% 17% 60% 71% 67% 20% Beldar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rabishaha 0% 0 0% 100% 0 100% 0% lhokwa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nikasi 0% 33% 14% 88% 67% 79% 13% Munshi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Drivers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chowkidar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 5% 11% 8% 82% 83% 83% 14%
Fig.4.5
Educational level of Child Labourers (not attending School at present)
100%
80%
60% Percentage
Never went to Dropped out before Dropped out school 5th Class Between 5-8 Class
4.15 Status of Women:
Girls Total
6% 9% 14% 17%
0 0 0 0% 0 0
0% 7% 0 0 0 0 0 0
6% 9%
It was observed from the field that all households with family in the brick kilns were
predominantly headed by male members. In fact although whole family works, but only
name of head of family is on muster rolls and only he gets the payment. Some female
respondents told that their husbands waste lots of money in drinking and eating meat and
fish (something which is too expensive for the poor workers and considered as delicacy).
133
Generally, on the day of payment, male members indulge themselves in this perceived
pleasure.
Santosh Mehrotra in his paper mentioned that one aspect of the lack of autonomy
that women suffer from in northern India is the age at first marriage. In the late 1990s,
median age at first marriage was 14.7 years in UP, while in India it was 16.4. It is true
that median age at first marriage has risen in UP over the past three decades. In rural
areas, it is two years higher for women age 20-24 than for women age 45-49. Yet, three
quarters of women age 20-49 in UP married before attaining the legal minimum age of 18
years for women, as set by the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1978. What is particularly
worrying is that median age at first cohabitation is still only 16 - i e, at first cohabitation
the girls are still children, and still below the legal age of marriage. The median age at
first cohabitation is higher only because the formal marriage in rural areas particularly,
will precede the time when a wife starts living with her husband, which typically takes
place after the 'gauna' ceremony.lO It was observed that the most of the male members
generally married in young age and separated from the rest of family after the marriage.
This also explains the predominance of nuclear families among the brick kilns.
4.16 Debt bondage
A kiln generally has a dozen or so workers employed on monthly wages. These consist of
the Accountant (munshi), Gaurds (chowkidars), four to five Firer Galai walas) three to
four Stacker (Beldar) and a couple of Rabishaha who put ash on raw bricks and give coal
to firer. A driver for the tractor and trolley can be seen at the larger kilns that have to
bring in clay and sand from, or take baked bricks to, some distance. Another driver and
guard with gun .could be employed by the owner for his own personal safety and travel.
(Table-4.6)
10 Santosh Mehrotra, Well-being and Caste in Uttar Pradesh Why UP Is Not Like Tamil Nadu, Economic and Political Weekly October 7,2006. Pg 4263.
134
The table 4.6 shows category wise remuneration and payment system.
Table-4.6
Workers' Category wise Remunerations and Payment System
Category of worker No. of Households Payment* Surveyed
Pathnewala (Moulder) 85 Rs. 150/1000 bricks
Dhoaiwala (who tansports raw 8 Min. Rs50 per 1000 bricks to the kilns) bricks** .
Beldar (Stacker) 4 Rs.2700 per month
Rabishaha (who putsash on raw 6 Rs.2700 per month bricks and gives coal to firer
Jhokwa (Firer) 6 Rs.2700 per month
Nikasi (who takes out baked bricks 9 Rs.40 per 1000 bricks )
Munshi (Accountant) 1 Rs 2500 per month + food & other expenses
Drivers 1 Rs 2200 per month+ food & other expenses
Chowkidars (Guards) 1 Rs 2200 per month + food & other expenses
* Payment is done on contract system i.e. per thousand bricks on monthly basis
** depend upon the distance between the site of moulders and kiln
Much more numerous are piece-rate workers: Pathnewala (Moulders), Dhoiwala
(who tansports the raw bricks to the kilns) and Nikasi (who takes out the baked bricks)
are paid at piece rate basis.
All categories of kiln labour can and do take advances at the time of joining a kiln
as well as subsequently. Those taking advances include both salaried workers such as
jalai walas and piece-rate labours. Since repayment is through labour, advances are based
largely upon the scale and quality of labour being offered by a household.
The advances may go from the owner to labour through a Thekedar (labour
recruiting agent). Usually, the owner firstly contacts a labour recruiting agent who then
135
recruits labourers through the promise of large advances or better rates, and arranges for
transportation. Recruitment is typically from persons well-known to the Thekedar - either
through past work in the same kilns or area, or as fellow caste member or village resident.
As an average for kiln labour across the country, the size of advance (peshgi) and
accumulated advances per family could be 50 percent of the contract in the study area.
Rest payment is made during the work on weekly or fortnightly bases and rest is cleared
at the end of brick making process, when Bhatta gets closed due to arrival of Monsoon.
The study confirms the common view that brick kilns remain a major sector where
debt bondage occurs: i.e. labour is generally in debt to the employer and must continue to
work at the kiln until debts are repaid. The study however differs from the common held
view about the nature of bonded labour in the brick kilns. The point which needs to be
emphasized is that advance payment in brick kilns is voluntarily accepted and labourers
prefer to take it as they find it better to work in brick kilns than alternatives available in
form of casual worker or agricultural labour where the earnings are even lower. Most of the
studies on wage system and debt bondage in brick kilns often take simplistic view of it and
ignore the relative situation and conditions of these labourers when they are not working in
brick kilns or their counterparts engaged in casual labour, construction labour, agricultural
labour etc
The .study found that most of labour,ers are not happy to work in brick kilns and
don't want that their children to continue the work there but they concede that the work
conditions back home are even worse. Therefore, before declaring the brick kiln's
advancement system as worst form of exploitation and inhuman, one should also consider
the working conditions and terms of payment prevailing in the country for unskilled, poor
labourers who also happen to belong to the weakest and lowest rung of the Indian society.
This is in no way to justify the advance pay system and current wage level prevailing in the
brick kilns but to make a point that systemic changes in our economy are needed to rectify
the conditions in the brick kilns. The brick kilns offer an escape from even harsher
conditions. A comparison with conditions in agriculture is unavoidable. The working and
living conditions of labourer in brick kilns are much less severe compared to the hardships
of landless farm labour and small sharecroppers. Ironically, in contrast to our expectations
and perceived harsh reality of inhuman living conditions in the brick kilns, few women
136
respondents listed the advantages (as perceived by them) of living in brick kilns in
comparison to the conditions back home as following: More spaces for living, drinking
water is available, facility for taking bath and washing cloths, no problem of toilet etc.
The advance payment system is not only effective in retaining the labourers in the
brick kilns years after years but also encourages child labour in the brick kilns. Generally,
the labourer employs his wife and other family members including children in order to
repay the monetary advances in kind. Once he has accepted and as in most cases also spent
substantial part of it, he feel bound to employing as many as hands to complete the
.undertaken obligated work. Unlike sectors such as agriculture and carpet-weaving, children
working in kilns do not work directly for an employer. Rather, advances are binding on the
entire family and effectively pledge the pool of family labour.
The kilns violate the Abolition of Bonded Labour Act. The basic characteristics of
bondage are: element of force; wages legal below minimum wages (a state that arises
from the worker being forced to work at such wages in the absence of an alternative
source of livelihood); long hours of work on an average 12-16 hours a day; immobility
etc. Consequences of bondage are: loss of freedom of movement; loss of right to sell
labour at prevailing market rates; loss of human dignity. The state of bondage varies, it is
partial or total, seasonal or all the year round, intergenerational or individual. 11
If debt bondage of a family is defined simply as the obligation to continue the
adequate and uninterrupted supply of labour until a debt is redeemed, then virtually all
kiln labourers are debt-bonded at some point or the other in their lives. Obligations rest
upon the entire family, including children. To be effective, bondage should be
accompanied by the threat of coercion, i.e., seen as enforceable. The kiln owner can insist
that some members of an indebted family stay behind as "surety" when others take leave.
In the extreme, Munshi cum manager and the chowkidar will keep a watch on suspect
labourers or even lock them up. However, no such case was noticed in the field area as
majority of labourers are from nearby areas where the political conditions (labour in the
area are aware of SC acts etc and are often connected with Bahujan Samaj Party, political
11 THE SMALL HANDS OF SLAVERY: Bonded Child Labor In India, Human Rights Watch Children's Rights Project Human Rights Watch/Asia Human Rights Watch
137
party workers) do not allow such coercion.
Debt bondage is effective when workers who flee can be tracked down and forced
to return. The tracking down of workers is not difficult as they are known to Thekedar or
many other workers. If labour is found working at another kiln, other owners usually
cooperate in "returning" them.
The following story published in Frontline shows that in some cases debt bondage
can be similar to slavery: "Samey Singh desperately needed time off from his job at a
brick kiln near Faridkot, southern Punjab. Back horne, in Megha Kheri, the family's horne
village near Muzaffamagar in Uttar Pradesh, his son Rahul had fallen seriously ill. But
Samey Singh had taken a Rs.SOOO advance from the kiln owners at the start of the season,
and they were willing to let him go only if he had left behind his wife and daughter. Pali
Singh and her daughter Pooja were forced to work without pay and on some days,
without food. Both were often beaten, and six-year-old Pooja was threatened with sexual
abuse. At sunset, mother and daughter were locked into a six foot by ten foot hovel." 12
Jodhan moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which sent an officer to
rescue Pooja Singh. On October 14, six months after ~he was made a slave, Jodhan found
Pooja locked in a cell, terrified, near-starving, and bruised from repeated beatings. "They
used to tell me they would get me married," Pooja Singh told Frontline, "so that they
could put my children to work as slaves too." Amazingly, police officials at Dhararnkot,
the Faridkot area where Pooja and Pali Singh were held captive, have taken no action.
"When I was thrown out of the kiln, I went to the Dharamkot police station, but they
threw me out. No one would even let me into the building, let alone register a complaint,"
Pali Singh said. 13
According to the U.S. Department of Labour, a large number of children and
families in the brick kiln industry of Pakistan work under conditions of debt bondage.
Bonded families are often held as virtual prisoners, requiring special permission to leave
the· work site until the debt is repaid. Children are often psychologically traumatized.
12Swami, Praveen "Down and out in Punjab: Punjab's Dalits get a raw deal; and this is deepening caste fissures in the State" Frontline, Volume 16 - Issue 26, Dec. 11 - 24, 1999
13 Swami, Praveen "Down and out in Punjab: Punjab's Dalits get a raw deal; and this is deepening caste fissures in the State" Frontline, Volume 16 - Issue 26, Dec. 11 - 24, 1999
138
Sexual and physical abuse is often used by employers to punish workers. Several cases
were reported in 1994 where the wives and children of bonded workers were kept in
captivity or in chains by brick-kiln owners wanting to intimidate or punish the employee.
"The children ... grow up in a climate of insecurity and fear, being daily witnesses to of
their parents being humiliated, insulted or worse." 14
A study of the brick kiln sector in Chennai showed that workers were in a" mild"
situation of debt bondage, have to work for long hours, and very often put their children
to work as well. However, they Were paid wages that were very close to the rates fixed by
the government and the system of advance payment was endorsed by both workers and
kiln owners and the former saw it as a means to social mobilityl5.
The other aspect of the exploitative nature of labour relationship amounting to
terms and conditions similar to that of a bonded labour in the agrarian sector is that while
the men enter into a contract against an advance taken from the contractor, women and
children are exploited as a result of that relationship, purely on the basis of dependency.
The working unit on the kilns is usually the nuclear family, in addition to widowed
mothers, unmarried sisters or brothers and close relatives children (sometimes). What
begins as a nominally free dependent labouer for the worker slowly loses its nominal
freedom over the years and the worker declines into servitude by continuing to either
work for the same contractor or for the' same kiln - unable to change to another
occupation - and having to continue to combine agricultural work and work in the brick
kilns. All the workers interviewed pointed out that that they did not want their children to
work in the brick kilns, but the presence of large number of children, and workers present
who had started their life at the kiln sites, is an indication that the prevailing socio-
14 Bureau of International Labour Affairs, u.s. Department of' Labour, Washington, DC,
www.dol.gov/ilab as on July 1,2007.
15 Isabelle Guerin, Bhukuth Augendra, Parthasarthy, Venkatasubramanian G Labour in Brick Kilns: A Case Study in Chennai Economic and Political Weekly February 17,2007, pg 600.
139
economic conditions in the country ensure that they remain in such debt system, whether
we call it as debt bondage or voluntary acceptance of the advance.
The debt bondage system in the brick kilns should not be simplified as it can
range from totally voluntary and beneficial to worst form of bondage. There is varying
degree of bondage depending upon various socio-economic factors. There is difference in
the advance given to the Upper Imiddle caste munshi than a lower caste pathnewala . The
economic and social conditions playa major deciding factor in terms of conditions and
implementation of debt bondage.
4.17 Vocational education - an important part of education for all Skill training has proved to be a necessary component in many IPEC projects to
rehabilitate former child workers. It is impossible to discuss skills training in education
for "excluded groups" without strongly underlining that technical education should not be
regarded as "second class". Vocational training should be given a higher status than is
often the case today. The academic nature of learning in many school systems today
creates an army of young people who are trained to seek employment in white collar jobs
which are few and usually out of their reach. They are educated to unemployment, not to
decent work. The incorporation of vocational education, especially in secondary schools,
is not there only to "right the balance" of an educational system which it is tailor-made to
the well-to-do urban elite. It must be there because it is the only way that education can
meet the requirements of the labour market. Education For All in the true sense can only
be a reality if it also leads to decent employment for all. Everybody must be made to
understand that skills are also best developed in the education system - not by joining the
. workforce at a young age. In his study on India, Weiner comments: "Some further
maintain that the children of the lower classes should learn to work with their hands
rather than their heads - skills, they say, that are more readily acquired by early entry into
the labour force than by attending school" .
Many parents prefer their children to learn a trade and favour vocational training
above more academic education. However, it has been found that it is not possible to give
meaningful vocational training to children who do not have the basic literacy, numeracy
and psycho-motoric skills. Moreover, many children work under the guise of vocational
140
training but they do not learn much from simple repetitive work which may even stunt
the child's ability to grow.
It is not appropriate to think of practical skills training and basic education in
"either-or" terms because they are actually closely related. Functional literacy and
numeracy skills are pre-requisites to any form of education or vocational training in later
childhood. In turn, practical skills training which requires the concrete manipulation of
materials and objects in the environment are pre-requisites to reading, writing and
mathematics. "Learning by doing" is often applied in the most progressive schools in
developing as well as industrialized countries.
Vocational skills training which aims at preparing children to enter skilled jobs at
an appropriate age needs to take into account the following issues: A distinction must be
made between formal trades training for older children, which is usually longer-term and
systematically linked to apprenticeship programmes, and non-formal pre-vocational
training of a shorter duration. Most of the formal vocational training programmes require
close adult supervision, a proper workshop with tools and machinery. However, the
available slots for students are limited because this type of training, if properly given,
tends to be expensive.
Very often, some type of non-formal (pre-) vocational training is given to former
working children in combination with or after functional literacy training. These courses
usually have a short duration and provide specific skills such as silk-screen printing,
handicraft production, poultry-raising or growing vegetables. This type of practical skills
training can successfully teach children skills that can provide immediate economic
alternatives and the necessary incentive to make education more attractive. But this
should not be the ultimate goal of these programmes. They should be viewed as
transitional programmes to facilitate the child's entry into further education or vocational
training.
In addition, (pre-) vocational training is sometimes combined with providing
opportunities to child workers to "learn and earn", in particular when their families rely
on the children's income for survival. In such cases, it is important to ensure that they are
managed as learning centres for children rather than as disguised employment and.
recruitment centres. When these learning centres function as "sheltered workshops" for
141
children, it must be clear at all times that children's rights and their best interests must
prevail.
4.18 School as part of the solution By and large, school is considered a key deterrent or preventive intervention to eliminate
hazardous child work. The importance of education in advancing a country's economic
and social well-being, advancing knowledge in pure and applied sciences, facilitating
better use of human resources, improving options, creating higher standards ofliving, and
reducing infant mortality· is broadly recognized (Boyden, 1993). At its best, education
transmits society's lasting values and can be a force for social transformation. Education
has the potential to equip and empower children, not only with literacy, reasoning, and
numeracy skills but also with critical social skills, a sense of responsibility, self-respect
and respect for others, knowledge of their rights, and the capacity to actively resist
exploitation. Access to quality primary education guarantees children the possibility to
build a foundation for lifelong learning -- to the knowledge, skills, competencies, and
values that facilitate their being able to cope with, adapt to, and participate in "fulfilling a
productive life" (Carnoy, 1985 in Ennew, 1995)
Education systems have the potential to contribute to the elimination of harmful
child work in several ways. They can teach children about children's rights and
responsibilities with regard to work, as well as rights in general. Furthermore, teachers
and others connected to the learning environment can monitor how both work and
education affect children and take action to ensure that educational and any work
experiences have a positive effect on children's growth and development.
4.19 School as part of the problem As various economic, social and cultural forces "pull" children from school, factors in the
education system itself playa role in "pushing" children away. Schools may be too far
away or too crowded, discouraging families from sending their children, especially girls,
where safety is a critical factoL Inflexible school calendars cause large numbers of
children in rural agricultural areas to drop out because they are forced to be out of school
to harvest or plant. Girls drop out at an even higher rate than boys because they are
142
required to work at home. In many schools, resources go largely to infrastructure and·
packaged educational curricula, which often ignore the cultural content of learning and its
impact on children. (Boyden,1993).
Learning environments vary enormously from those in which children enJoy
learning and leave with useful knowledge and skills to schools where their developmental
needs are rarely met. School curricula are often rigid, dull, and narrow; overly academic;
and fail to address the needs of a large section of the student population, especially
working children (Boyden, 1993).
One of the keys to both the prevention and cure of exploitative child labour is
education. Education alone is not enough to end the abuse of children. But, as part of a
broader programme aimed at reducing poverty and the other pressures that drive children
into work, it is imperative.
Education, to be effective in combating child labour, must be-
• Compulsory
• Allow equal access for boys and girls
• Of high quality
• Relevant
• Free
• Realistically flexible to allow for farming seasons and its associated demands
• Involve minimal out-of-pocket costs
• Equip children with the skills for future employment
4.20 Conclusion The major socio-economic factors like female literacy, fertility rates, family size, adult
wage rates, diversification of the rural economy and female work participation rates, etc,
are important determinants of chid labour. The poverty is one of the important
determinants of the supply of child labour. From last one decade the high economic
growth rate, rapid urbanization and increased domestic and foreign investment has led to
high growth of the construction sector, thus increasing the demand for Bricks and cheap
labour (in form of child labour). And, to meet the demand many new brick kilns have
143
been established which generated more employment of child labour. On the other side,
the lack of schooling facility also exacerbates the problem of child labour, brick kilns can
be considered as best example of this phenomenon. While, Countries like Japan, Taiwan,
Korea, and China have made primary education compulsory after Second World War in
spite of low per capita income and acute poverty. But, within twenty years they
improved a lot and secured a good position. Unfortunately India failed to provide major
thrUst to education especially primary education in past. But very recently the
Government of India is also giving more emphasis on primary education. In this
direction, on November 28, 2001 the Lok Sabha unanimously passed the Constitution
(93rd Amendment) bill, which made education for the children in the age group of 5 - 14
years a fundamental right with hope that it will have far reaching implications.
Myron Weiner finding says that child labour is outcome of unfortunate
consequence of Indian government policies. Indian Policy makers never perceived
education as essential to India's modernization and development while, planning
industrial strategy to promote the small scale sector and to expand exports. The Myron's
argument is' justified to some extend. Because, the perpetuation of child labour is neither
in the best interests of children and their families; nor is it in the best interests of the .-~
social and economic health and wealth of nations.
The majority of workers are landless labourers who depend on the agricultural
sector for six months and another six months, they work in brick kilns. A very few of
them own small piece of land who combine self-cultivation with income from wage
labour for living. The incidence of child labourers in the brick kilns are predominately
from migrants and low caste (from· socially backward classes of SC and OBC) family
background. Among, Pathnewalas, it is as high as 92 percent and all Dhoaiwalas belong
to SC caste. It is evident that the caste still remains a major determinant of the chosen
occupation and the social mobility through better jobs in terms of social and economic
parameter attainable only to very few among the lower caste. The major factors which
lead to incidence of child labour are the poverty of household in which children need to
earn to sustain the family, large family size, low literacy level of parents, lack of
schooling facility near work and residence site and adverse social and community
environment. The size of household may have positive as well as negative relation with
144
incidence of child labour depending upon economIC status of the household. If
households are poor and small in size, then they tend to supply more child labour so as to
compensate for the otherwise lesser number of earning members. The larger households
tend to employ some children whereas rest may attend school; generally these comprise
girls.
It was observed from the field that all households with family in the brick kilns
were predominantly headed by male members. In fact although whole family works, but
only name of head of family is on muster rolls and only he gets the payment. While, the
study confirms the common view that brick kilns remain a major sector where debt
bondage occurs: i.e. labour is generally in debt to the employer and must continue to
work at the kiln until debts are repaid and that leads to generational labour including
child labour.
The education could be considered as one of the keys to both the prevention and
cure of exploitative child labour. Even though, education alone is not enough to end the
abuse of children. But, it is imperative as part of a broader programme aimed at reducing
poverty and the other pressures that drive children into work.
Education is linked to child labour in many different ways. The education
system can contribute to the recruitment of children into the labour market by not
providing enough school places for the children in school-going age, by not providing
schools where the children live, by providing education where the private costs exclude
some groups, or by providing education of insufficient quality or relevance.
On the other hand, education can playa key role in prevention. Provision of free,
accessible, universal education of quality for all will always be a very important
contribution to a sustainable solution to the child labour problem. In addition, if
education is made compulsory, the education system can provide a low cost monitoring
system to ensure that children continue to be in school and not at work.
Reducing the drop-out rate, creating school environments where children at risk
feel welcome, and taking into consideration the factors that keep girls away from school,
are all important contributions to ensuring that the education system also caters for the
children most at risk. Vocational, pre-vocational and skills training have also a crucial
role to play in rehabilitation of former child workers.
145
The renewed emphasis on the elimination of child labour should be seen by all
committed to children's rights as a real opportunity to guarantee quality Education For
All children. This emphasis opens the door for expanded partnerships, allowing for the
involvement of many new and non-conventional partners. It also provides for much
needed action in identifying and reaching the millions of children who are not
participating in education by refocusing efforts on the need for education systems to
expand and diversify so that they.include all children.
Partnerships must be created and sustained at all levels to change education
systems and structures so that education is part of the solution to child labour and not part
of the problem. For universal primary education to be compulsory it must be accessible to
all -- a responsibility of the nation through its government; the burden must not fall on
families. This means implementing policies through increased resources, awareness
raising campaigns, and programmes that demonstrate national commitment and send a
clear message. At the same time, while the State must playa lead role in promoting and
implementing quality and relevant education for all children, it cannot do so without the
social mobilization of all sectors of civil society: employers and workers organizations,
NGOs, community leaders, media, families, and children themselves. Properly supported
and motivated, the efforts of teachers can have a powerful ripple effect in creating a
desirable and empowering environmeIit for education among families and communities.
In the long run, combating child labour is very much a question of attitudes.
Awareness-raising activities, with the children themselves, parents, employers, and the
community in general, are essential if programmes to remove children from hazardous
work are to have lasting effect.
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