Labour dept yet to recover penalties to fund rehabilitation of rescued child labourers

  • | Monday | 13th August, 2018

In this regard, notices are being issued to owners of factories and commercial setups from where 118 child labourers were rescued during the campaign. In Firozabad, checks were carried out at 20 places, from where 36 child labourers were rescued. A total of 118 child labourers were rescued. In Mainpuri, three child labourers were rescued. Out of the 59 children rescued, 14 were found being made to do hazardous works.

Agra: The enforcement wing of the labour department, during its special drive from June 20 to July 5, had rescued 118 child labourers from four districts - Agra, Mathhura, Mainpuri and Firozabad - under Agra division. More than a month on, the department is yet to recover the Rs 23 lakh penalty from owners of firms that employed these children. According to department officials, notices are being issued for the recovery of penalties.According to Supreme Court orders, the amount collected as penalties should be used for providing education and rehabilitation of the rescued child labourers.The labour department ran the 15-day drive following orders of the state government. Besides enforcement wing officials of the labor department, the drive also saw participation of district administration, police, anti-human trafficking unit and the basic education department. Raids were conducted throughout the region. A total of 118 child labourers were rescued. However, once the drive concluded, the labour department seemed to have lost interest in penalizing those who had made the children work.The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, prohibits employment of children below 14 years of age. As per the latest amendment made to the act in 2016, someone employing a child of that age is liable to a fine of Rs 50,000, apart from two years in jail.In Agra district, raids were made in 90 factories and 50 other commercial setups. Out of the 59 children rescued, 14 were found being made to do hazardous works. In Mathura, raids were conducted at 17 places and six children were found doing hazardous work. In Firozabad, checks were carried out at 20 places, from where 36 child labourers were rescued. Two of them were found to be doing hazardous work. In Mainpuri, three child labourers were rescued. The penalties on all the business firms from where the children were rescued sum up to Rs 23.6 lakh.Assistant labour commissioner Pratibha Tiwari said, “We are working towards the recovery of penalties from business firms for making children work. In this regard, notices are being issued to owners of factories and commercial setups from where 118 child labourers were rescued during the campaign. Appropriate action will be taken as per the rules and regulations”.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Agra Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles