“It is the duty of the civic society to ensure that the new generation is not subjected to child labour of any kind. A collective nurturing of this civic responsibility is the need of the hour,” said District Panchayat President Babu Parasseri.
Inaugurating a discussion organised by the Labour Studies and Research Centre in the city on Monday on the occasion of Anti-Child Labour Day, he pointed out that even though Kerala was far better in terms of child labour when compared to other States, there were lone incidents reported every now and then.
The discussion centred around the role of poverty in nurturing child labour and the seemingly less wages of children that tempt many an employer to employ children for work. It also condemned sexual exploitation of children across the country.
Kerala was declared a ‘child labour-free State’ in 2012. But the flow of migrant labourers into the State has resulted in the issue cropping up again.
The discussion noted that child labour was a raging issue in the Third World and cited social backwardness, lack of awareness about the rights of children and laws against child labour, disrupted family environment, and alcoholism of parents as some reasons that led to various forms of child labour in the country.
It appreciated the role played by the media in bringing out the issue to public notice and encouraging the authorities to take appropriate action.
Labour Studies and Research Centre chairman M. Rajan presided over the discussion in which Touring Book Stall founder N.E. Balakrishna Marar, INTUC State secretary M.P. Padmanabhan, and National Hospitals chairman K. Moidu took part.
