INTRODUCTION

The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 enacted to prohibit the engagement of children in all occupations and to prohibit the engagement of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

It extends to whole of India.

It prohibits employment of children in all occupations and processes to facilitate their enrolment in schools in view of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and to prohibits employment of adolescents (persons who have completed fourteenth year of age but have not completed eighteenth year) in hazardous occupations and processes and to regulate the conditions of service of adolescents in line with the ILO Convention 138 and Convention 182, respectively.

Definition

Appropriate Government:

Appropriate Government means, in relation to an establishment under the control of the Central Government or a railway administration or a major port or a mine or oilfield, the Central Government, and in all other cases, the State Government.

Adolescent

Adolescent means a person who has completed his fourteenth year of age but has not completed his eighteenth year.

Child

Child means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age or such age as may be specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, whichever is more.

Day means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at midnight.

Establishment includes a shop, commercial establishment, workshop, farm, residential hotel, restaurant, eating-house, theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment.

Occupier in relation to an establishment or a workshop, means the person who has the ultimate control over the affairs of the establishment or workshop.

Workshop means any premises (including the precincts thereof) wherein any industrial process is carried on, but does not include any premises to which the provisions of Sec. 67 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), for the time being, apply.

Prohibition of employment of children in any occupations and processes

Section 3 of the Act provides that no child shall be employed or permitted to work in any occupations or process except: -

(a) helps his family or family enterprise, which is other than any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations;

(b) works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities except the circus, subject to such conditions and safety measures, as may be prescribed. However, no such work shall affect the school education of the child.

‘‘Family’’ in relation to a child, means his mother, father, brother, sister and father’s sister and brother and mother’s sister and brother;

‘Family enterprise’’ means any work, profession, manufacture or business which is performed by the members of the family with the engagement of other persons;

‘Artist’’ means a child who performs or practices any work as a hobby or profession directly involving him as an actor, singer, sports person or in such other activity as may be prescribed relating to the entertainment or sports activities falling under clause (b) of sub-section (2).’’

Prohibition of employment of adolescents in certain hazardous occupations and processes

Section 3A provides that no adolescent shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule. The hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule are as under:

(1) Mines.

(2) Inflammable substances or explosives.

(3) Hazardous process.

“Hazardous Process” has the meaning assigned to it in Factories Act, 1948.

However, the Central Government may, by notification, specify the nature of the non-hazardous work to which an adolescent may be permitted to work under the Act.

Hours and Period of work

Section 7 provides that no adolescent shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of such number of hours, as may be prescribed for such establishment or class of establishments.

The period of work on each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed three hours and that no adolescent shall work for more than three hours before he has had an interval for rest for at least one hour.

The period of work of a child shall be so arranged that inclusive of his interval for rest, it shall not be spread over more than six hours, including the time spent in waiting for work on any day.

This section also stipulates that:

– No adolescent shall be permitted or required to work between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.

– No adolescent shall be required or permitted to work overtime.

– No adolescent shall be required or permitted to work in, any establishment on any day on which he has already been working in another establishment.

Weekly holidays

As per section 8 every adolescent employed in an establishment is entitled in each week, a holiday of one whole day, which day shall be specified by the occupier in a notice permanently exhibited in a conspicuous place in the establishment and the day so specified shall not be altered by the occupier more than once in three months.

Notice to Inspector

Section 9 provides that every occupier in relation to an establishment who employs, or permits to work, any adolescent shall, within a period of thirty days from the date of such employment, send to the Inspector within whose local limits the establishment is situated, a written notice containing the particulars namely:

– The name and situation of the establishment; – The name of the person in actual management of the establishment;

– The address to which communications relating to the establishment should be sent; and

– The nature of the occupation or process carried on in the establishment.

Maintenance of register

Every occupier in respect of adolescent employed or permitted to work in any establishment, maintained a register to be available for inspection by an Inspector at all times during working hours or when work is being carried on in any such establishment showing –

 – the name and date of birth of every adolescent so employed or permitted to work;

– hours and periods of work of any such adolescent and the intervals of rest to which he is entitled;

– the nature of work of any such adolescent; and – such other particulars as may be prescribed Display of notice containing abstract of sections 3A and 14

Every railway administration, every port authority and every occupier shall cause to be displayed in a conspicuous and accessible place at every station on its railway or within the limits of a port or at the place of work, as the case may be, a notice in the local language and in the English language containing an abstract of Sections 3A and 14.

Penalties

(1) Whoever employs any child or permits any child to work in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to one year or with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both.

(2) Whoever, having been convicted of an offence under Section 3, commits a like offence afterwards, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years.

(3) Whoever:

(a) fails to give notice as required by Section 9, or

(b) fails to maintain a register as required by Section 11 or makes any false entry in any such register ; or

(c) fails to display a notice containing an abstract of Section 3 and this section as required by Section 12 ; or

(d) fails to comply with or contravenes any other provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder,

shall be punishable with simple imprisonment which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both.

District Magistrate to implement the provisions Section 17A of the Act provides that the appropriate Government may confer such powers and impose such duties on a District Magistrate as may be necessary, to ensure that the provisions of this Act are properly carried out and the District Magistrate may specify the officer, subordinate to him, who shall exercise all or any of the powers, and perform all or any of the duties, so conferred or imposed and the local limits within which such powers or duties shall be carried out by the officer as may be prescribed.