Indian Government Urged to Crack down on Child Traffickers
Following the recent release of 94 trafficked bonded child labourers in India, the Global Union representing workers in the garment industry has called on the government to bring the traffickers to justice and to sentence them to long prison terms for perpetuating slavery.
Says Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the Brussels-based International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation: “The children, aged between 7 and 14 years old, were trafficked from Bihar, India’s poorest state, with a promise of a better future.
“Some future! The children were pressed into labour doing zari embroidery work and making decorative forehead bindis. At the time of their release they had been working sixteen hours a day for months on end without receiving any wages.
“The children were found to be working, eating and sleeping in cramped, poorly-lit and poorly-ventilated rooms in the scorching heat. Most of them were covered in blisters and allergic rashes as a result of their appalling living and working conditions.
“They were released in August in a raid carried out by the anti-child labour network Bachpan Bachao Andolan, in collaboration with the police and government officials. The raid was the first rescue operation following a landmark judgment of the Delhi High Court making it easier for the authorities to pursue such cases and making employers accountable under the Penal Code.
“The children will now be entitled to a rehabilitation package amounting to 400 US$ as well as enrolment in special schools for former child workers”.
In his letter Neil Kearney urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to renew government efforts to eliminate child labour and in particular to take every step to eradicate trafficking.
