State Activities (
Uttar Pradesh )
The Hidden Factory – Child Labour in Footwear Industry
We all desire to buy skillfully made attractive shoes and sandals. But, do we ever stop to think how these beautiful pairs of footwear reaches the fashionable stores?
More often than not, these are the produce of countless children hidden in their “home” factories. The children toil for tireless hours, under harsh, hazardous, exploitative, often life threatening conditions, for extremely low wages. While the products they make sell at amazingly high prices not just in India, but these eye-catching pieces also find a thriving export market.
India ranks second among the footwear producing countries next to China. This labour intensive industry employs as many as 25,000 children only in Agra in the age group 10-15 years old who are mainly employed in assembling shoes.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) decided to unearth the plight of the children working in exploitative conditions in the footwear industry. Agra is reported to have children working throughout the city be it road stalls, homes and in small factories. Around 80 percent of the children work for contractors at home. The other major production centers are based in Chennai, Ranipet, Ambur in Tamil Nadu, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Jalandhar in Punjab and Delhi.
The child workers in the footwear industry are forced to work in inhuman physical environment in cramped poorly lit rooms with no ventilation. They are in continuous contact of chemicals like leather dust, industrial adhesives and breathe vapours from glues like benzene (used as a solvent in glues). Most children suffer from respiratory problems, lung diseases and skin infections.
To understand the nature, magnitude and plight of child labour in shoe industry, BBA, organised seminars and informal meetings with parents, employers and local authorities. These meetings helped to create a wide awareness about the problem of child labour, sensitize parents and employers to the problem and mobilise communities and local authorities to take action against child labour.
With the aim of motivating reflections on the child labour issue, fostering measures and establishing partnerships to prevent and eliminate child labour in the shoe industry of Agra, BBA held a workshop on 17 th January 2006 at Youth Hostel, Agra. The workshop brought together representatives from different stakeholders i.e., from government officials, shoe manufacturers, trade union and NGOs.
At the workshop, Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson of BBA said, “We are not against the shoe manufacturers, we only want that they should fulfill their moral responsibility and ensure that no child works in their factories. Children should be replaced by adult labour and they should be given the minimum living wages.” He further added that, the shoe manufacturers association should join hands to end child labour from footwear making.
BBA plans to run a consumer campaign both at the national and international level to promote use of child labour free shoes and reject the shoes made by children. In association with the labour department BBA will aim to establish a system to label shoes made by children and those that are not.
Mr. Virendra Yadav, Deputy Labour Commissiner, Agra provided the legal aspect of proceedings that can be held against the employers and the parents of child workers below 14 years of age. Under the Child Labour Prohibition & Regulation Act, 1986 the employers can be jailed and fined 10,000 rupees. Also, they may have to pay additional Rs.20,000 for the education and rehabilitation of the child labourers.
The important fact that emerged was that illiteracy of the parents is the main reason behind the large number of children working in the shoe factory. The President of Shoe Federation, Agra, Mr. Rajkumar Sama said that as the workers are not educated it also hinders the growth of the industry.
It was highlighted that only a mass movement to bring awareness on the issue and change the mindset of all stakeholders can eliminate child labour from the face of shoe industry in Agra. Seeing the eagerness and support from all stakeholders BBA will have a campaign in Agra with the following objectives:
- The entire shoe industry in Agra should enter into an agreement to make their workplaces free of child labour.
- Generate awareness and ensure the elimination of child labour in the production chain of Shoe Industry. This will be done by face to face discussions on the possibility of adopting an industry-wide "Code of Conduct"
- Children should be withdrawn Voluntarily from factories and placed in schools;
- Systems of internal and external monitoring and verification have to be developed.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan will soon have discussions and meetings with the footwear manufacturers to formulate a “Code of Conduct” and plan for its implementation and monitoring. |
