4 days ago
Maharashtra to amend child labour rules, allow hiring child artistes with riders
MUMBAI: The state government has decided to amend the Maharashtra Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Rules, 1997, and set up a taskforce in 36 districts to draw up a comprehensive action plan to rescue children employed illegally. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) (Amended) Act, 2016 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in all occupations.
The draft of the revised rules was issued on August 7, and suggestions and objections have been sought from citizens within the next 30 days, which will be presented to the labour department. The new rules are being framed after a gap of nearly 30 years.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) (Amended) Act, 2016 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in all occupations. It also regulates the work of adolescents between 14-18 years in hazardous occupations and processes. The labour department also issued amended rules for children hired or employed illegally.
'A child may be allowed to work as an artiste subject to the certain conditions,' states the draft rules. While there are stipulated hours of work mandated in the draft, it underscores that production houses must obtain permission from the district collector before hiring the child. While screening films and programmes on television, a disclaimer must be added saying all measures were taken to protect the child during shooting.
'There is also a mandate to make proper arrangements to ensure there is no discontinuity in the child's academic lessons in school. Additionally, no child will be allowed to work consecutively for over 27 days,' said a senior officer from the state labour department.
It is also the responsibility of the parents to set aside at least 20% of the child's earnings in a fixed deposit account in a nationalised bank in his/ her name, which will be credited to the child on attaining majority. 'This provision will ensure that the entire income of the child as an artiste will not be spent by their parents and guardians, and a portion of it will be saved for his future,' the official explained. The rule book also underscores that no child will be made to participate 'in any audio visual and sports activity including informal entertainment against his or her will and consent'.
In a separate clause, the government has permitted only those children to work who need to support their families. However, to avoid their exploitation, they will be allowed to work only in family enterprises. In such cases, if a child remains absent from school consecutively for 30 days, the school's principal must report the matter to the nodal officer appointed by the district collector'.
The government has also decided to set up a Child and Adolescent Rehabilitation Fund, where the amount from fines and penalties in cases of offences will be transferred to the victim once he/ she turns 18. 'Against each case the state government will also deposit ₹15,000, the interest on the total amount will be transferred to the victim's bank account after six months,' informed another official. The accused will be charged between ₹20,000 to ₹50,000 apart from imprisonment between six months to two years.
Child rights activist Santosh Shinde termed the amended rules as 'insufficient'. 'The state government missed the opportunity to streamline the process of hiring children, especially those related to child artistes. The rules formulated are patchy, considering the need of the children employed in the film and TV industry. For instance, the government should have looked into the kind of language being used by children in the content shown on web series,' Shinde said.
He added that the government 'has tried to emulate the model rules and didn't try to formulate rules according to our need as most of the content is made in Mumbai'.
