It
is only recently that India in a process
of liberalisation, evolves a policy of
promoting more export and import of consumer
products. One of the main reasons is money,
as it brings much foreign exchange and
maximises the profit by the government
and industrialists.
Among
the many lucrative export products,
one is the carpet. The carpet industry
is spinning an annual foreign exchange
of Rs. 1500 crores (approx. U.S. $ 500
million) which is coming from the main
carpet importing countries as the United
States of America, Germany, England
and other European countries. The harsh
truth why this is a profitable industry,
however is because of its cheap labour
force spinning the patterns; namely
children under the age of 14 years being
severely exploited in this industry.
Instead
of having a healthy joyous childhood
with the basics of primary education,
these children are lured into the darkness
of the carpet loom units. Chained to
the laws of the employer the bonded
child labour is too young and mute to
raise his voice and just obeys his master.
Separated from their parents, without
nutritious food and breaks these children
work for 14-16 hours in poorly ventilated
workspaces, regularly beaten up because
they work not hard enough or ask for
their parents. The nimble fingers spin
the carpets without seeing daylight
without seeing any payment.
As
these carpets are exported, the South
Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS)
launched a big Consumers Awareness Campaign
in European countries and United States
about the inhuman malpratices in the
carpet industry. Consumers in these
countries were ignorant of how the carpets
actually are made. As the consumers
and others got deeply concerned about
child labour in carpet making, h result
was big drop in the import of these
carpets. Public pressure of Germany
and other European countries on the
issue of child labour in India and other
Asian countries is rapidly increasing.
The U.S. Senators even moved a bill
to ban all the products made by children
entering into the U.S.
SACCS
has the determination to eradicate this
form of modern slavery i.e. debt bondage
and child labour in the carpet industry
but is not against the export of carpets
of carpet industry. It wants child labour
to be replaced with adult labour and
advocates affixing labels after scientific
and independent inspection & monitoring.
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For
the last three years SACCS worked out
the idea of labeling carpets which are
not made by children. This label called
the RUGMARK guarantees the buyer/ consumer
that the carpet is manufactured without
child labour. Together with representatives
of carpet industry, Indo-German Export
Promotion Programme (IGEP – a
trade promotion organisation), UNICEF,
Carpet manufacturers (who do not employ
children), NGOs etc. a system was developed
and named RUGMARK (RMF).This foundation
acts as an international, independent,
legal. Professional and non –commercial
certification and monitoring system
to guarantee after random checks at
carpet looms by professional experts
that not a single child is working in
these units. If all the certification
criteria officials are fulfilled by
the carpet manufacturers/ exporters
and loom owners and the inspections
carried out by the RUGMARK officials
indicate absence of child labour, then
the carpet manufacturer/ exporter is
licensed by the RMF to use the RUGMARK
logo for his carpets.
Let
the RUGMARK be a model and trend –
setter for other products also where
child labour constituent exists. Because
compared to carpet industry in which
more than 300,000 children are employed
there are other industries also which
totally account for about 67 million
child labour.
THE
LONG ROAD TO THE “RUG MARK FOUNDATION”
Confusion
exists around the initiative of RUGMARK.
Was it imposed on India by western countries
or was it an initiative of India itself?
What is the exact of SACCS in this initiative?
Many more questions and nerve –
racking apprehensions can only be answered
by presenting candid information covering
all aspects. The RUGMARK initiatives
was under immense stress and attracted
both positive & negative criticism
from carpet manufactures / exporters
and main carpet importers. The reason
could be lack of right knowledge of
aims and objectives of the RUGMARK Foundation
and the circumstances that compelled
to conceive on a labelling system.
Crusade
against Child Servitude
The crusade against Bonded Labour
and Child servitude in carpet industry
was launched in 1983 and Mr. Kailash
Satyarthi has been the spirit and nerve
center of this movement. During the
struggle it was felt that children were
the worst victims of this scourge because
the burden of slavery fell on them right
from birth for no fault of theirs. They
are the most vulnerable physically and
mentally. They can be intimidated easily.
Moreover in servitude the relationship
equation of employer and the employed
is reduced to that of master and slave.
The master has complete control over
the physical, mental and intellectual
attributes of the slave. The slave has
to implicitly carry out the orders of
the master without question. The master
can abuse, insult, rape, torture and
physically liquidate the slave. There
is no union to raise the voice against
exploitation, injustice and crushing
of human rights.
The
phenomenon of child servitude is almost
similar in the South Asian countries.
Against such a backdrop, a coalition
of like minded NGOs of South Asian countries
came into being to wipe out this menace
thro’ concerted efforts pooling
and sharing their resources, experience
and expertise.
Mirzapur-Varanasi-Bhadohi
areas of Uttar Pradesh have already
acquired the dubious distinction of
the biggest child labour belt accounting
for about 300,000 children in carpet
manufacture. Though the Government and
the industry were unanimous in declaring
that there are no child labour in the
industry, SACCS and its associates had
been freeing thousands of child slaves
thro’ direct interventions, raids
and seeking help of High Courts and
Supreme Court. Till date more than 50,000
have been got freed from various economic
sectors of which over 15,000 alone is
from carpet industry. Only recently,
the Government and the industry have
acknowledged the presence of Child labour
in the carpet sector as a result of
the campaigns initiated by SACCS and
like-minded NGOs.
Lack
of Political & Administrative will
One
of the paramount causes for the perpetuation
of child labour is the total absence
of political will to change this menace.
There are many legal instruments i.e.
Child Labour Acts, Factory Act etc.
that categorically prohibit employment
of children in any factory and / or
hazardous industry. But the tragedy
is that the law enforcing agencies are
corrupt and apathetic, in turn, helping
and child employers to carry on with
their unlawful business. Though “Child
Labour (Prohibition & Regulation)
Act 1986”, specifies carpet weaving
as a hazardous industry, many employers
engage children under the garb of family
trade, posing as relatives of the children.
The Child Labour Act has anomalies of
this kind, which allow the child employers
to circumvent the law. It is reality
that till date no child employer has
been punished for the violation this
law, though, SACCS itself has liberated
hundreds of children.
Child
Labour still exists in the carpet industry
, because the local bureaucracy is hand
in glove with the carpet trade and on
several occasions, have virtually placed
hurdles in the rescue operation initiated
by NGOs. The government even attempts
to justify child labour on the grounds
of poverty, family labour and learning
a trade.
Consumers
Awareness Campaign
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Having
received no support from the Government
at the national level, ACCS launched
a carpet consumer awareness campaign
in Germany – major importer of
Indian carpets – in 1990 with
the help of trade unions, human rights
organisations and consumer groups. Soon
the campaign spread out to Holland,
Sweden, England etc. in Europe besides
United States of America. The impact
was terrific and the carpet exports
to these countries dropped considerably
sending waves of panic among the manufacturers
and exporters. This also played a catalyst
role in expanding the network of organisations
supporting the consumer movement. Special
mention needs to be made here about
organisations like, Bread for the World,
Terre Des Hommes, Miserior, German Trade
Unions etc. who kept up the momentum
of the campaign and till date they are
vigorously pursuing the goals. Also
in U.S.A.: Asian American Free Labour
Institute, Child Labour Coalition, International
Labour Rights Education and Research
Fund, National Consumer League, in U.K.:
Christian Aid, Anti-Slavery International,
in the Netherlands: India Committee
of Netherlands, in Belgium: India Workgroup,
Brussles, International Confederation
of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Brussels,
in Sweden: Radda Barnen, BLLF Sweden,
in New Zealand: Asian Pacific Workers
Solidarity Link (APWSL) etc. played
a very crucial role in spreading the
message across the masses.
The
German importers also applied pressure
of Indian carpet exporters to remove
child labour from their industry or
face boycott. Besides, the Government
of Germany also took up the issue of
child labour with the Indian counterpart.
Meanwhile, the Senate of U.S.A. witnessed
the introduction of a bill initiated
by Senator Tom Harkin and Congressman
George Brown an others seeking ban on
imports of all products made by children.
The European and German Parliaments
are also contemplating to legislate
on the same lines.
SACCS
never advocated for the total boycott
of goods. It suggested the buyers to
look for products made by adults. Its
contention was why children are made
to labour destroying their health, growth
the childhood when millions of adults
are jobless? Removing child labour means
opening up of millions of job opportunities
for adults. The children should be sent
to schools instead of workplaces, books
and toys should be in their hands and
not sharp and dangerous working tools.
The
Concept of labeling system
The decline in carpet exports compelled
some of the major manufactures and exports
who are associates of the All India
Carpet Manufactures Association (AICMA)
and the Carpet Export Promotion Council
(CEPC) to seek a dialogue with SACCS
to settle the problem. A series of meetings
followed and finally on 17 December
91, the AICMA declared that by March
1992 all the child labourers would be
sent back to their homes and adults
would be employed in their place with
decent wages and facilities. Another
salient event was about 50 carpet manufacturers
broke away from AICMA and formed a separate
association called Carpet Manufacturers
Association without Child Labour (CMAWCL)
pledging not to use child labour in
their units. It is pertinent to mention
here that this group has been very co-operative
and helpful for the formulation of the
Label system whereas AICMA and some
of the big exporters backed out of the
deliberations mid –way under the
impression that the Tom Harkin Bill
will not become a law or it might get
delayed. They also did not take any
effective steps to remove children as
promised, on the contrary the influx
of children was ascending.
In
the meanwhile, SACCS continued its efforts
to develop further the labelling and
monitoring system of carpets made by
children. It kept on demanding before
the United Nations Human Rights Commission
(Sub Group on contemporary Form of Slavery),
Geneva that needful steps be taken to
ban trade on child made goods and also
adopt a labeling system to facilitate
the consumer to confirm that a particular
product is not child made. In 1991,
UNHRC welcomed the demand of SACCS and
recommended it in its report as under
:
1991/119. * Recommends that products
such as carpets whose manufacture is
liable to involve child labour should
bear a special mark guaranteeing that
they have not been produced by children.
In this context consumers should be
alerted so that they will demand products
bearing such a mark.
Working Committee on Rugmark Initiative
For SACCS the recommendations of the
UNHRC was one of the factors for a green
light of mooting the idea of formulation
of an independent international agency
comprising representatives of NGOs (engaged
in the area of child labour), carpet
manufactures, importers, exporters (pledged
to deal with carpets free of child labour),
international organisation like UNICEF
etc. which has the authority to certify
the carpets made free of child labour
and affix a label to that effect.
SACCS
emphasised that this monitoring &
labeling system as mentioned above should
be independent, non-commercial, professional
and international. Because the very
important question that arose among
the consumers with reference to carpet
labels was “Who could fix the
labels? To make it credible and reliable,
who would inspect the carpet loom units”?
The
consumers will have no faith if the
labels for the carpets are fixed by
manufacturers and exporters themselves.
Similarly, they cannot place faith on
a label issued by a govermnet agency.
NGOs too are not in position to carry
out extensive inspections and conduct
processing of labeling. Also, SACCS
disagreed with the clause in the Tom
Harkin bill that self certification
by importers that the carpets are free
of child labour, will make the carpets
eligible for import. When Mr. Kailash
Satyarthi pointed out this flaw, the
Senator complied and amended the bill.
As
reliability, credibility and international
authenticity of a monitoring an labeling
agency was such an important matter,
SACCS discussed on this thoroughly in
a working committee attended by many
an international organisation, legal
experts and professionals. In the succeeding
meetings of the working committee held
during 1991 – 1994, some concrete
steps were initiated in collaboration
with Indo- German Export Promotion Programme
(IGEP), other NGOs, carpet manufacturers/
exporters, CMACWCL and importers.
IGEP
not only agreed to participate in formulation
of such an agency but also took responsibility
to frame a professional system for inspection
and labeling consistent with international
standards and requirements. The system
was named “RUGMARK Foundation
(RMF) and the label RUGMARK”.
Some
major carpet exporters did not want
to participate in the RUGMARK Foundation
as they were afraid that the latter
would jeopardise their interests. IGEP
who took lead in the process of formulation
of RMF wanted the whole thing to be
completed before the end of 1993. One
of the reasons for this was that the
famous DOMOTEX fair held in Germany
where some of the finest carpets with
RUGMARK logo could be presented. According
to IGEP, the RUGMARK initiative would
loose its credibility among the traders
and the public if the introduction of
the logo were delayed any further.
The
RUGMARK FOUNDATION
Finally, after prolonged debates and
dialectic processes of working committee,
RUGMARK Foundation (RMF) was formally
got registered on 5 September 1994 as
a private limited company under Section
25 of the Indian Companies Act of 1956.
A
Board of Directors was constituted with
the representatives of carpet manufacturers
and exporters in India, representatives
of NGOs, Indo-German Export Promotion
Programme (IGEP) and UNICEF.
The
RMF is a non-commercial, independent,
international and professional body
with legal power to verify, inspect,
monitor and subsequently affix a trade
mark label, that is RUGMARK logo to
the carpets which are not made by children.
The RUGMARK label provides that importers
& consumers a visual guarantee that
these carpets are manufactured without
child labour.
The
certification system, inspection criteria
and labeling system are shaped and calculated
in a way that requirements can simply
by fulfilled by the carpet manufactures
exporters and loom owners. Cost for
the inspection of the loom units and
the certification has been minimised
to bearable level to the carpet trade.
The
RUGMARK will go a long way in helping
the carpet industry from facing any
import ban. The close and trusting co-operation
of NGOs, international development agencies,
carpet importers and IGEP with the Indian
carpet manufacturers reduces child abuse
in this industry to a large extent.
RM,
hopefully, will contribute towards rise
in the exports of carpets made free
of child labour and assure a regular
inflow of the badly needed foreign exchange
into India. Also it will be instrumental
in eradicating child labour in the carpet
industry, provided employment to adults,
reverse the negative image that is presently
projected on Indian carpets abroad.
In
Short
In short the RUGMARK label will bear
a computerised code number indicating
the details about exporter, manufacturer,
loom owner, registration number of the
loom, the weavers etc. Any carpet manufacturer/exporter
who voluntarily agrees to produce carpets
free of child labour can apply for critical
inspections and issues of license from
RMF.
Finally
RMF decides on the right to use the
RUGMARK logo. It examines all applicants
for membership in detail according to
all the RMF requirements and inspection
modalities.
The
brief history of RMF will hopefully
give a better understanding as to how
the RMF was development and why it was
so important that it is legally formalised.
Export of carpets can continue but not
on the heavy cost of running future
generations as adults can now enter
the vacant jobs in the carpet industry.
Main
concern of SACCS is the rehabilitation
of the freed children as more carpet
manufacturers to let their carpets be
manufactured by adults and not children.
The RM will involve itself narrowly
in programmes for rehabilitation.
MAIN
OBJECTIVES OF RUGMARK FOUNDATION
The
Foundation has been established with
the following salient objectives in
view:
• To provide a non-commercial,
independent, professional and internationally
credible monitoring and certification
mechanism for carpets made free of child
labour.
•
To initiate conducive steps that would
child labour employed by individuals,
firms and companies engaged in carpet
manufacture. Also to encourage adult
employment with reasonable wages &
facilities.
•
To help promote trade prospects (thro’
consumer education) to firms and establishments
who are genuine in their commitment
to use only adult labour and abide by
the RUGMARK criteria.
2.
Follow-up of Rehabilitation & Education
Now the most often repeated question
that has cropped up is “what will
be the fate of freed children numbering
in thousands and how will they be rehabilitated?”
Though the onus of rehabilitation of
freed children is of the Governments,
yet the problem, has been envisaged
to be tackled as under:
•
Campaign partners in Germany viz. :
BFW, TDH and MISERIOR have jointly pooled
a fund on a modest scale to facilitate
the local NGOs to open up rehabilitation
and educational programmes for freed
carpet children.
•
RUGMARK Foundation has setup a sub-committee
to carry out follow-up of rehabilitation
thro’ local NGOs.
•
Follow-up of rehabilitation of about
300,000 children (thro’ NGOs)
who would be freed from the carpet industries.
The primary responsibility of rehabilitation
is of the Government.
•
Massive awareness campaigns thro NGOs
for the admission of children in local
schools, pressurising the Government
to open up new schools.
•
According to necessity opening up of
non-formal education centres and health
centres in acute backward areas.
•
To draw up projects for the improvement
of social conditions in Indian carpet
industry in close co-operation with
international NGOs, international developmental
agencies like UNICEF, ILO in collaboration
with carpet trade.
3.
Result Envisaged
• Total elimination of child labour
from carpet industry and employment
to unemployed adults.
•
Uninterrupted pace of trade and export
of carpets.
•
Education and proper rehabilitation
of freed children.
•
With the induction of adults the productivity
of carpet industry will improve.
•
By ensuring full time employment to
parents and adult family members the
economic conditions of the family will
improve.
6.
CERTIFICATION CRITERIA
RUGMARK
Foundation has laid down norms and rules
for the issue of license and labels
to manufactures and exporters of carpets.
A licensee is a person or a firm authorised
by the foundation to use its logo and
labels on the carpets produced free
of child labour.
The
cardinal criterion is that the manufacturer/
exporters should employ only adult labour
for the manufacture of his product.
His workplace will be liable for inspections
at any time. He/ the firm will apply
to RUGMARK Foundation along with the
fees for issue of license. Once the
foundation is satisfied that the applicant
has fulfilled all the required conditions
after inspections and scrutiny, a license
agreement is made out and this would
hold legally. After obtaining the license
the manufacturer/ exporter is free to
use the RUGMARK label in his carpets.
There would be regular and frequent
inspection to ensure that he does not
use child labour.
The
certification criteria covers:
• That the applicant is a bonafide
dealer, manufacturer or exporter of
carpets.
• That the applicant agrees to
remove child labour if any from his
production unit from the date of application.
• That the applicant has furnished
an updated list of all the looms, loom
owners, and other allied workplaces
related carpet manufacturing. The loom
units should have been registered with
Carpet Export Promotion Council.
• That the applicant shall certify
about the correctness of the list and
intimate.
• The Foundation in the event
of any change. Updating should be done
every 6 months to facilitate the inspection
team.
• That the applicant shall certify
that the carpets submitted for inspection
are not produced by children (under
14 years of age). In case of dispute
on the age of the employee the decision
of the Chief Medical Officer of the
area will prevail.
Apart
from the above, the applicant desirous
of RUGMARK licence shall fulfill the
following conditions :
• Submit a signed declaration
that he will not pay less than the official
minimum wages to the loom owners. In
turn, the loom owner will submit an
affidavit to the applicant indicating
:
a) No child labour is employed in his
workplace
b) All the employees are being paid
as per minimum wages declared by the
government.
When
the above mentioned criteria have been
fulfilled and after receiving satisfactory
inspection reports from the Foundation
inspection, RUGMARK will enter into
a licence agreement with the applicant,
granting the right to use the logo of
the Foundation.
7.
INSPECTION MODALITIES
The credibility of the whole exercise
of the labeling system very much depends
on the clarity and precision of inspection
and hence the Inspectors should not
only be professionals but committed
to ensure the production of child labour
free carpets. This calls for integrity
and character of high order.
In
addition, the NGOs attached to the Foundation
also carry out random inspections to
plug any plausible loopholes. The lists
of looms furnished by the carpet manufacturer/
exporter should be accorded due confidentiality
and the lists should be used only for
inspections. The Foundation along with
the inspection report within a stipulated
period.
The
parameters governing the loom inspections
cover :
• Name of loom owner
• Location of the loom/ unit.
• Evidence such as Registration
of the loom with CEPC
• No of looms
• Name (s), age, sex of the person
(s) working in the unit
• In case of family child labour
evidence of attendance record
• Order and other references &
description of carpet (s) produced
• Name (s) of the agent (s), firm
(s), exporters (s) to which the carpets
are supplied
• Weaving charges per sq. mtre
/ yard received by the loom owner for
his carpets
• Every loom unit will be marked
by a number with RUGMARK code number
for clear identification.
The
inspection parameters at the exporter’s
place govern :
• Details of the source of the
carpet(s) with serial number of RUGMARK
• Packing list the RUGMARK serial
number for each carpet
• Weaving charges paid per sq.
mtre/ yard by the exporter
• Detail of the importer, if identifiable
• Checks to ensure the RUGMARK
labeled carpets are not mixed with carpets
of other sources.
• Checks to ensure that same serial
numbers are not used again.
?
The inspections would be carried out
as per the methodology laid down by
RUGMARK Foundation from time to time
? The findings of the inspections will
be recorded and documented in a database
which is constantly updated and cane
be verified at any time.
? The documentation of the inspection
finding must be clear and categorical
to facilitate easy tracing back of any
loom unit of a particular carpet at
any given time.
? The inspection will continue even
after the issue of licence to a manufacturer
/ exporter and violation of the terms
and conditions of the agreement would
tantamount to cancellation of licence
and termination of using RUGMARK labels.
? Every carpet will be assigned an internal
RUGMARK code number in the date base
to identify the following sources.
?
The actual exporter
? The loom owner/ loom unit
? Actual loom thro’ which produced
? Description of the carpet
For
example :- 1234 – 5678 –
9123 – 45 will indicate :
1234
– Exporter, 5678 Loom owner /
unit, 9123 actual loom, 45 about carpet.
8.
CONCLUSION
RUGMARK
– the smiling carpet logo –serves
as a model and forerunner and would
certainly expand its ambit from carpets
of other child made goods like matches
& fireworks, glass & bangles,
brassware, precious gems/ stones, handlooms,
beedis and various items. It is a model
for other South Asian countries like
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
etc. where millions of children are
languishing in servitude in different
economic sectors. This is a humble beginning
and RUGMARK has miles to go to achieve
its aims and objectives. It is certainly
a Herculean task but not impossible
is socially committed souls support
and stand by for the noble cause of
eradication of child servitude and restoration
of the rights of the child.
For
more details visit: http://www.rugmark.org
