IMPHAL, Feb 12 : In a drive to eliminate child labour, the All India Trade Union Congress, Manipur organized a one-day `Campaign against child labour` at Khurai Lamlong bazar at Lainingthou Puthiba Sanglen in Imphal east. This drive or campaign is going to be held in all the districts of Manipur.
Sotinkumar, general secretary of the AITUC in his speech said that children were compelled or forced to be child labourers due to poverty. Instead of going to school they were made to stay at home and do the household chores and look after their younger siblings in the absence of their daily wage earning parents. They were also made to earn to supplement the meagre family incomes in hotels, factories, restaurants and so on.
He further said that adult labourers were given low wages and not given their due as a result of which they couldn`t send their children to school. To eradicate child labour we should try to remove poverty first and adult labourers should be given their dues, he said adding that there should be price for commodities like rice and kerosene.
If there are 100 or more labourers in a factory or workplace then there should be facility for a creche so that children of the labourers could be brought there to be well looked after in terms of their education and nutrition. He also appealed to the people to send their children to schools to receive education and not force them to be child labourers.
E Tomba, program officer, department of labour, government of Manipur also apprised the gathering of the various Acts formed against child labour and also about different beneficiary schemes.
Campaigns against child labour are done in areas where employment of children may be continuing and awareness programs are being conducted to raise public awareness about the evil of child labour and how they can contribute to the prevention of this social problem.