Things we can do to stop child labour in India

A known evil, an accepted evil, an evil that can churn the society and render it futile is child labour. A child at a tea stall, a child on the street selling flowers, a child at the general store helping you purchase items - we come across these incidents every single day, in every walk of our life, don't we? Then how is it that don't do anything about it? 

Has child labour become so acceptable to our society that we're fine with its existence? How does one take action to stop child labour ? It may seem like a daunting task, but to abolish it, is the need of the hour. We have to safeguard our future, the future of our nation – its children. First, we need to start by identifying child labour, which mostly gets hidden or unseen. Instead of extracting children out of these hazardous situations, we need to create some strict ground rules for employers all over the country to follow. This will ensure less indulgence on their part to employ children below a minimum employable age that too for a measly salary. 

There are a few things that we, as an employer/responsible citizen, can do to stop child labour: 

1) We need to analyze situations that involve the employment of child labourer.
2) A strict assessment needs to be conducted with regards to any job, its environment, requirements, risks involved, and, most importantly, the age of the employee being hired for the position. 
3) If an underage child is employed, then the child needs to be pulled out of the situation at the earliest. Children should not be exposed to hazardous working atmospheres. 
4) The application of safety and health management systems in working environments is critical and should be strictly followed to stop child labour. 
5) Children rescued as child labourers must be supported through welfare and education programs. 
6) One must ensure that their businesses do not cultivate an environment for child labour. Businesses should be setting and following strict guidelines set by the Occupational Safety and Health Committee. 
7) Setting up monitoring systems also help to stop child labour from breeding in society. 

It is necessary to stop child labour from growing in our economy, where 152 million children are reportedly engaged in jobs that are detrimental to their growth, both mental and physical. 
Save the Children works towards making a difference by running programs that help stop child labour. Would you like to volunteer?

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