India accords "ILO" Conventions 138 and 182

NewDelhi June 15: A good news for children. India has ratified two core Conventions of International Labour Organisation (ILO). These conventions belong to eliminating child labor from the country as a part of global commitment and also to give children a minimum basic education.

Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya at a ceremony held in Geneva has handed over the Instruments of Ratification to ILO. Mr. Dattatreya spoke at International Labour Conference 2017.He said that "it is a historic moment for India because we have taken another giant step to confirm our commitment to eradicate child labor in India."

India has ratified the ILO Convention NO 138 which deals with the admission of age to employment and Convention no 182 regarding of Child Labour. Minister said that the Central government had brought a new law by enacting "Child Labor (Prohibition and Prevention) Amendment Act, 2016".

The main objectives of the Act are

* It bans employment of children below 14 years of age in all
occupations and processes.
* Prohibits employment of adolescents aged between 14-18 years in
hazardous occupations.
* Children above 14 years can “help” families in running their
domestic enterprises only after school hours and during their
free time.
Currently, India has ratified 6 out of 8 core ILO conventions.

Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarth had praised the Indian government for ratifying the convention and it will help in the implementation of the new law. Finally, let's hope that government takes steps to prevent child labor and mere ratification of ILO conventions is a small drop in the ocean .