NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has rescued around 800 child labourers since the outbreak of Covid-19 in comparison to the 202 children rescued in the three-year
period from 2017 to 2020. The DCPCR shared these figures on World Day against Child Labour on June 11, highlighting that as many as 778 children were rescued from across the national capital since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The DCPCR said the children belonged to different age groups and were rescued from factories, bakery units and auto centre units, as well as residential colonies where they were working as domestic helps. They were produced before the Child Welfare Committees the same day.
DCPCR officials stated that over the last few years, conflicts and crises, and since 2020, the pandemic have pushed more families into poverty and forced millions more children and adolescents into child labour. Citing a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the officials said as of date, 160 million children are engaged in child labour across the world. That’s almost 1 in 10 children worldwide and nearly half of these children are engaged in hazardous works.
“Rescuing children from hazardous workplaces acts as an immediate relief to them but does not guarantee long-term safety, and the chances of them falling back into the clutches of labour remains. Thus, the DCPCR ensures end-to-end rehabilitation of the rescued children. To rescue more children, it’s important that everyone gets involved and reports,” the commission tweeted.
Meanwhile the DCPCR has also introduced a cash incentive of up to Rs 10,000 to citizens, upon successful rescue. People can contact the DCPCR’s helpline — 91 9311551393. An official of the DCPCR said eradicating child labour is a moral imperative. “Change must begin within each of us and continue until all children are free to be children. Our demands are only two — Say NO to employing children and secondly, report instances of child labour,” the official said.
Common pattern
According to the child rights panel, non-payment of minimum wages, inordinately-long working hours and unhygienic working conditions have emerged as a common pattern in most of the cases they came across during the rescue missions