How UP top brass exploits children

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Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh): Two decades ago, the Government had banned child labour in the brassware industry of Moradabad.

However, manufacturers managed to find loopholes in the law and began to outsource their work to families and so today, children of the families to which work is being outsourced can still be found working at brass furnaces.

Take for example 12-year old Rahil who spends nine hours a day at a brass furnace in Moradabad. He is one of the thousands of child workers in the famous brassware industry of Moradabad.

"The smoke stings my eyes and makes them ache," says he.

Locals say that almost every casting unit uses children to turn the wheel. As the wheel turns, the furnace temperature is maintained, but the child is subjected to fumes and smoke which causes respiratory diseases and tuberculosis.

Says ASK SANKALP Programme Officer, Arif Ahmed Khan, "There are more than around 18,000 children working for these furnaces and another 20,000 - 25,000 who are involved in casting and scrapping processes."

And what do these children get for this kind of exposure?

"I get Rs 15 per day," says Rahil.

However, Rahil is experienced and so gets Rs 15. Newly recruited child workers earn much less.

Says another child worker Sayeed, "I earn around Rs 7 per day - nearly Rs 50 per week."

The brassware industry in Moradabad was declared hazardous for child workers two decades ago, but it continues to exploit children, making a turnover of about Rs 3,000 crore every year.

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And sadly most of these children are forced into the labour by their own parents.

Says nine-year-old Bilaal, "My father forced me to come here and work. He just said go and work."

However, parents of these children say they are helpless. They say that they need the extra money as they themselves don't manage to earn the minimum wages that have been enforced by the Government.

Says one such parent, "Itna bura lagta hai. Aur bachchon ko dekhte hain, apne bachchon ke baare mein sochte hain. Kya karein, hamari aamdani kam hai. (I feel really bad sending my child to do such work. I look at other people's children who don't have to work and I feel worse about pushing my child into this, but what can I do? Our income is so less that we need the extra money.)"

And the employers don't mind taking advantage of this situation.

Says brass furnace owner, Shamshad Hussain, "We get two small boys for approximately Rs 30 to Rs 40 per day, whereas a fully grown boy will cost us around Rs 100 a day. This way we make more profits."

Unfortunately, manufacturers know they have outwitted the law and take advantage of the situation. Some even go as far as admitting that their products are not child labour-free.

"There is no strict checking and honestly, we cannot give a 100 per cent guarantee on the fact that child labour is not being used," says brass manufacturer and exporter Ashok Oberoi.

Meanwhile, children like Bilaal still aspire to go to school. "I want to study and become a doctor." However, these aspirations may be a very distant dream for the time being.

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