An end to child labour

The decision taken by the National Child Protection Authority to raise the child labour recruitment age from 14 to 18 years is a welcome move. According to NCPA Chairman Jagath Wellawatte, the decision was prompted by the incidents of abuse suffered by minors employed as domestics. Increasing the legal age for hiring domestic labour it is hoped would arrest this trend.

Moves are also under way to seek the release of domestic help presently under the legal age limit once the legislation has been passed.

The question of domestic or child labour had cropped up time and again and has been the subject of much debate. This is because domestic labour left room for abuse and exploitation stripping the victims of all dignity leaving behind permanent psycological scars. Newspapers were recently full of reports of instances of brutality and even sadism practised against minors employed as domestics.

There was a time when it was common for affluent homes to employ young helpers brought from the villages. They hailed from impoverished homes and had no option but to submit themselves to the various indignities associated with their chores.

Today though this tribe of domestic helpers had diminished considerably chiefly due to opportunities that presented themselves with the liberalisation of the economy. The middle East job boom too increased the demand for domestic helpers. Yet there is still a large segment of poor parents particularly with large families who take the easy way out and dispatch their young offspring to serve as domestic helpers. They are sent to affluent homes irrespective of age or fitness of the children to undertake household chores. For the larger part the children have no choice in the matter being underaged and unable to comprehend their future.

Now, with the raising of the legal age limit to 18 years they will be in a position to make independent decisions on their future -if they are going to consign the rest of their lives into slavery or set upon a path that would give them a place in society.

This is why this new law should be commended. However at the same time the necessary background too should be created to make their choice easier. What is important is to provide them with the opportunities to make an alternative decision. One way is to ensure all children receive a basic education.

Today there is a law that makes it compulsory for children to attend school at least until the age of 14. But are the education or Social Service Ministry authorities inquiring if this rule is being followed? Leave aside domestic helpers today one sees armies of underaged youth being employed for menial tasks in bakeries, eating houses, way side hotels etc. Are checks being conducted to ensure their rights are protected or are those seminars and workshops conducted on behalf of the Child only confined to the posh Five Star Hotels and the reams of paper produced?

There is also the phenomenon of street children who are not only at a loose end but are used by underworld elements to peddle drugs, and employed in other activities of vice. It goes without saying that the corollary to this is galloping crime and a burgeoning underworld. If only a program is launched to take these children off the streets before they turn juvenile delinquents it would not only bring down the crime rate but also help the young to turn their energies to productive purposes thus averting a major social problem on our hands.

It has been the constant refrain of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that our youth should be mobilised for productive purposes. He has initiated an islandwide program to impart a knowledge of English and IT to the country's youth population. But how many of the country's youth avail themselves of this opportunity?.

Youth in poverty stricken homes drop out from school at an early age. Steps should be taken to draw them into these programs designed to secure for themselves a better future. We often hear of youth programs designed to get optimum youth participation in national development. Have the authorities any long term plan to draw in the youth population who are languishing on the fringes of society or the law.

It is time that the Social Service Ministry draw up a blueprint not only to save minors from abuse by their employers but also direct them into a path that would help mobilize their talents and turn themselves into productive citizens of the country.

Also very soon the Social Service Ministry will have its hands full trying to deal with underaged children who will emerge out of the war in the North. Special measures ought to be taken to address their welfare and ensure they are not consigned to a fate of more abuse once they enter the mainstream of life. A census should be taken of all underaged youth in the North and the necessary training and direction given to ensure they are set on the right path. They should not be left at the mercy of unscrupulous elements to be abused and exploited.