Shunning restaurants that employ children is one of several steps Indian Catholic bishops suggest to combat child labor.
"Make a firm decision not to avail of child labor," and report to authorities cases of children forced to work, says a message from the Labor Commission of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of India
The message circulated among India´s 158 dioceses for "No Child Labor Day" on June 12, the day that the International Labor Organization has designated to campaign against child labor. The message highlights that despite symposiums and seminars, a remedy to child labor continues to elude India.
The country has always opposed child labor, but it "conveniently" ignores the social evil in its pursuit of economic and industrial advancement, the commission regrets. As a result, India now has the largest number of working children in the world, 100 million, says the message signed by labor commission chairperson Auxiliary Bishop Joshua Ignathios of Trivandrum.
The commission, therefore, wants Catholics to boycott products and services that employ child labor. "Even if you see one of your very own relatives, local parish priests, Church institutions employing any children, speak out against this. We have to clean our own house first," its message says.
"Many educated families employ children supplied by agents for babysitting and domestic work while watching their own children go to school to build a career," the message notes, as it urges Catholics to "awake, arise and stop child labor."
Bishop Ignathios asks Catholics not to patronize restaurants where children are employed. He also urged them to confront the employers of such establishments and "be prepared to defend your conviction."
The message also suggests ways to help families that send their children to work because of poverty. Observing that the Indian government and private organizations have several schemes to educate children of such families, the commission urges Catholics to study those schemes and "help at least three families" to benefit from them.
Though people are aware that the "evil practice" of child labor exists in their midst, they lack the "will to eradicate it for obvious reasons, and that makes a solution distant," the bishops´ commission emphasizes.
It wants Catholics to help school dropouts get back to school and avail of the "special classes" many Catholic institutions have started for them.
Another suggestion is to collaborate with nongovernmental organizations to force businesses and other organizations to put up notices declaring they do not employ children.
The message lists restaurants, shops, workshops, prawn-peeling sheds, construction sites, street vending agencies, brick kilns and textile-making units as places that employ children.
The Indian Constitution prohibits employing anyone under the age of 14. In addition, the federal government passed the Child Labor Act in 1986 that outlawed child labor. In 1994 the government announced a program to end child labor by the year 2000, but the problem continues.
Poverty is the main reason for child labor in India. Studies have also found that poor parents consider work a better alternative to education for finding a better job in the future.
Other reasons for children taking up jobs are family problems such as parents suffering from alcoholism. "Losing the sanctity of family life is another reason why child labor is so rampant among poor families," the CBCI message says.
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