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Article on child labour
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Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. In villages, it is a common sight to see children of poor families working in fields or elsewhere to contribute to the family income. Such children are deprived of opportunities of education and are also prone to health risks.
In a sense, child labour is open exploitation as it deprives children of education and pushes them into exploitative situations. The side-effects of working at a young age are: risks of contracting occupational diseases like skin diseases, diseases of the lungs, weak eyesight, TB etc.; vulnerability to sexual exploitation at the workplace; deprived of education. They grow up unable to avail development opportunities and end up as unskilled workers for the rest of their lives.

It has been observed that in villages especially, representatives of various industries lure children with promises of jobs and wealth and bring them to the city where they are employed as bonded labour in factories. Many children are also employed as household help where they are paid minimum wages and are made to do maximum physical work.
What the law says about child labour
According to Article 23 of the Indian Constitution any type of forced labour is prohibited. Article 24 states that a child under 14 years cannot be employed to perform any hazardous work. Similarly, Article 39 states that “the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused”. In the same manner, Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation) 1986 prohibits children under the age of 14 years to be working in hazardous industries and processes.
Role of panchayat members in mitigating child labour
Generate awareness about the ill-effects of child labour,
Encourage parents to send their children to school
Create an environment where children stop working and get enrolled in schools instead
Ensure that children have sufficient facilities available in schools
Inform industry owners about the laws prohibiting child labour and the penalties for violating these laws
Activate Balwadis and Aanganwadis in the village so that working mothers do not leave the responsibility of younger children on their older siblings
Motivate Village Education Committees (VECs) to improve the conditions of schools.
Child labour (British English) or child labor (American English; see spelling differences) refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful.[3] Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation worldwide,[4][5] although these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties, supervised training, and some forms of child work practiced by Amish children, as well as by indigenous children in the Americas.[6][7][8]
A succession of laws on child labour, the so-called Factory Acts, were passed in the UK in the 19th century. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work, those aged 9–16 could work 12 hours per day per the Cotton Mills Act. In 1856, the law permitted child labour past age 9, for 60 hours per week, night or day. In 1901, the permissible child labour age was raised to 12.[1][2]
A Chinese child repairing shoes, late 19th century.
Child-labour
Child labour has existed to varying extents throughout history. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, many children aged 5–14 from poorer families worked in Western nations and their colonies alike. These children mainly worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories, mining, and services such as news boys—some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household income, availability of schools and passage of child labour laws, the incidence rates of child labour fell.[9][10][11]
In the world's poorest countries, around one in four children are engaged in child labour, the highest number of whom (29 percent) live in sub-saharan Africa.[12] In 2017, four African nations (Mali, Benin, Chad and Guinea-Bissau) witnessed over 50 percent of children aged 5–14 working.[12] Worldwide agriculture is the largest employer of child labour.[13] The vast majority of child labour is found in rural settings and informal urban economies; children are predominantly employed by their parents, rather than factories.[14] Poverty and lack of schools are considered the primary cause of child labour.[15]
Globally the incidence of child labour decreased from 25% to 10% between 1960 and 2003, according to the World Bank.[16] Nevertheless, the total number of child labourers remains high, with UNICEF and ILO acknowledging an estimated 168 million children aged 5–17 worldwide were involved in child labour in 2013.