INDO-USDOL Child Labour project for Preventing and Eliminating Child Labour in Identified Hazardous Sector

Background

In India, the problem of child labour is well recognized. There are varying estimates of the number of working children in the country due to differing concepts and methods of estimation. The 1991 census estimates the number of working children as 11.2 million. The Indian Government, its social partners including international organizations such as the ILO and others has undertaken significant efforts to combat the problem. However, the problem remains large and complex. ILO experience in India shows that integrated and comprehensive projects, which simultaneously address several key aspects of the child labour problem, such as educational and training opportunities, reliable and decent incomes for adults and adolescents in the family, and awareness creation, have the best chances of success. The INDUS Child Labour Project is a Technical Cooperation Project of the Government of India (GOI), Ministry of Labour and Employment and Directorate of Education, and the United States Department of Labour (USDOL), within the framework of a Joint Statement of Enhanced Indo-US Co-operation on Elimination of Child Labour.

Objectives

The objective of the project is to contribute to the prevention and elimination of hazardous child labour by enhancing the capacity of target communities and stakeholders and improving compliance with child labour policy and legislation in the target districts.

Strategy

The project is being implemented with partners in selected sectors in selected districts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharahstra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi with the following approaches:

• Children working in selected hazardous occupations in the target districts are identified, in collaboration with communities and other partners;
• Children withdrawn from hazardous work are provided transitional and pre-vocational education, and social support to prevent relapse;
• Adolescents withdrawn from hazardous work are provided vocational training and alternatives for income generation;
• Increased economic security of families who withdraw their children from hazardous work by encouraging savings and development of alternative livelihoods;
• Children are provided access to quality education to prevent them from entering or re-entering hazardous work;
• Monitoring and tracking of children released from hazardous work to ensure that their situation has improved;
• Public support and momentum created against child labour in the target districts and in favour of educational opportunities;
• Strengthen capacity of national, stat, district, and local institutions so they can function as ongoing support for eliminating hazardous child labour;
• Develop interest in other areas in adopting measures to prevent, remove and provide alternatives for children in hazardous sectors.

Further reading

• Training Module for Village Education Committees (VEC) - Trainers Handbook (pdf - 1.13 mb)
• Training Module for Teachers on Child Labour - Trainee Reference Material (pdf - 836 kb)
• Training Module for Teachers on Child Labour - Trainers Handbook (pdf - 2.03 mb)
• Child Labour Facts and Figures: an Analysis of Census 2001 (pdf - 1.92 mb)
• Handbook on Child Labour for Trade Unions (pdf - 11 mb)
• Good Practices & Lessons Learnt (pdf - 4.80 mb)
• Communication in Action - English (pdf - 22.9 mb)
• Communication in Action - Hindi (pdf - 13.8 mb)
• Give them back their childhood - English (pdf - 1.88 mb)
• Give them back their childhood - Hindi (pdf - 1.86 mb)
• Community Volunteers Handbook - Hindi (pdf - 2.75 mb)
• Operational Guidelines - English (pdf - 1.56 mb)
• Operational Guidelines - Hindi (pdf - 1.13 mb)
• Survey Training Manual - Hindi (pdf - 3 mb)
• Brochure giving details of the project (pdf - 147 kb)