Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

Law to prohibit engagement of children in all occupations and to prohibit engagement of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes.

Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

[Act 61 of 1986]      [23rd December, 1986]

[i][An Act to prohibit the engagement of children in all occupations and to prohibit the engagement of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto]

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

Statement of Objects and Reasons.—There are a number of Acts which prohibit the employment of children below 14 years and 15 years in certain specified employments. However, there is no procedure laid down in any law for deciding in which employments, occupations or processes the employment of children should be banned. There is also no law to regulate the working conditions of children in most of the employments where they are not prohibited from working and are working under exploitative conditions.

2. This Bill intends to—

(i) ban the employment of children, i.e. those who have not completed their fourteenth year, in specified occupations and processes;

(ii) lay down a procedure to decide modifications to the Schedule of banned occupations or processes;

(iii) regulate the conditions of work of children in employments where they are not prohibited from working;

(iv) lay down enhanced penalties for employment of children in violation of the provisions of this Act, and other Acts which forbid the employment of children;

(v) to obtain uniformity in the definition of “child” in the related laws.

3. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.

Part I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement.

1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called [ii][the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986].

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

(3) The provisions of this Act, other than Part III, shall come into force at once, and Part III shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different States and for different classes of establishments.

Other Contents of Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986​
Sections 1 to 13 Sections 14 to 26 Schedule

2. Definitions.

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

[iii][(i) “adolescent” means a person who has completed his fourteenth year of age but has not completed his eighteenth year;]

[iv][(ia)] “appropriate Government” means, in relation to an establishment under the control of the Central Government or a railway administration or a major port or a mine or oilfield, the Central Government, and in all other cases, the State Government;

[v][(ii) “child” means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age or such age as may be specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (35 of 2009), whichever is more;]

(iii) “day” means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at midnight;

(iv) “establishment” includes a shop, commercial establishment, workshop, farm, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment;

(v) “family”, in relation to an occupier, means the individual, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of such individual, and their children, brother or sister of such individual;

(vi) “occupier”, in relation to an establishment or a workshop, means the person who has the ultimate control over the affairs of the establishment or workshop;

(vii) “port authority” means any authority administering a port;

(viii) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under Section 18;

(ix) “week” means a period of seven days beginning at midnight on Saturday night or such other night as may be approved in writing for a particular area by the Inspector;

(x) “workshop” means any premises (including the precincts thereof) wherein any industrial process is carried on, but does not include any premises to which the provisions of Section 67 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), for the time being, apply.

Part II

PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS AND PROCESSES

3. Prohibition of employment of children in any occupation and process.

[vi][3. Prohibition of employment of children in any occupation and process.—(1) No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process.

(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply where the child,—

(a) helps his family or family enterprise, which is other than any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations;

(b) works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities except the circus, subject to such conditions and safety measures, as may be prescribed:

Provided that no such work under this clause shall effect the school education of the child.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the expression,

(a) “family” in relation to a child, means his mother, father, brother, sister and father's sister and brother and mother's sister and brother;

(b) “family enterprise” means any work, profession, manufacture or business which is performed by the members of the family with the engagement of other persons;

(c) “artist” means a child who performs or practices any work as a hobby or profession directly involving him as an actor, singer, sports person or in such other activity as may be prescribed relating to the entertainment or sports activities falling under clause (b) of sub-section (2).]

3-A. Prohibition of employment of adolescents in certain hazardous occupations and processes.

[vii][3-A. Prohibition of employment of adolescents in certain hazardous occupations and processes.—No adolescent shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule:

Provided that the Central Government may, by notification, specify the nature of the non-hazardous work to which an adolescent may be permitted to work under this Act.]

4. Power to amend the Schedule.

4. Power to amend the Schedule.—The Central Government, after giving by notification in the Official Gazette, not less than three months' notice of its intention so to do, may, by like notification, [viii][add to, or, omit from, the Schedule any hazardous occupation or process] and thereupon the Schedule shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly.

5. Technical Advisory Committee].

[ix][5. Technical Advisory Committee].—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute an advisory committee to be called the [x][Technical Advisory Committee] (hereafter in this section referred to as the Committee) to advise the Central Government for the purpose of addition of occupations and processes to the Schedule.

(2) The Committee shall consist of a Chairman and such other members not exceeding ten, as may be appointed by the Central Government.

(3) The Committee shall meet as often as it may consider necessary and shall have power to regulate its own procedure.

(4) The Committee may, if it deems it necessary so to do, constitute one or more sub-committees and may appoint to any such sub-committee, whether generally or for the consideration of any particular matter, any person who is not a member of the Committee.

(5) The term of office of, the manner of filling casual vacancies in the office of, and the allowances, if any, payable to, the Chairman and other members of the Committee, and the conditions and restrictions subject to which the Committee may appoint any person who is not a member of the Committee as a member of any of its sub-committees shall be such as may be prescribed.

 

Part III

REGULATION OF CONDITIONS OF WORK OF [xi][ADOLESCENTS]

6. Application of Part.

6. Application of Part.—The provisions of this Part shall apply to an establishment or a class of establishments in which none of the occupations or processes referred to in [xii][Section 3-A] is carried on.

7. Hours and period of work.

7. Hours and period of work.—(1) No [xiii][adolescent] shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of such number of hours as may be prescribed for such establishment or class of establishments.

(2) The period of work on each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed three hours and that no [xiv][adolescent] shall work for more than three hours before he has had an interval for rest for at least one hour.

(3) The period of work of a [xv][adolescent] shall be so arranged that inclusive of his interval for rest, under sub-section (2), it shall not be spread over more than six hours, including the time spent in waiting for work on any day.

(4) No [xvi][adolescent] shall be permitted or required to work between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.

(5) No [xvii][adolescent] shall be required or permitted to work overtime.

(6) No [xviii][adolescent] shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment on any day on which he has already been working in another establishment.

8. Weekly holidays.

8. Weekly holidays.—Every [xix][adolescent] employed in an establishment shall be allowed in each week, a holiday of one whole day, which day shall be specified by the occupier in a notice permanently exhibited in a conspicuous place in the establishment and the day so specified shall not be altered by the occupier more than once in three months.

9. Notice to Inspector.

9. Notice to Inspector.—(1) Every occupier in relation to an establishment in which a [xx][adolescent] was employed or permitted to work immediately before the date of commencement of this Act in relation to such establishment shall, within a period of thirty days from such commencement, send to the Inspector within whose local limits the establishment is situated, a written notice containing the following particulars, namely:—

(a) the name and situation of the establishment;

(b) the name of the person in actual management of the establishment;

(c) the address to which communications relating to the establishment should be sent; and

(d) the nature of the occupation or process carried on in the establishment.

(2) Every occupier, in relation to an establishment, who employs, or permits to work, any [xxi][adolescent] after the date of commencement of this Act in relation to such establishment, shall, within a period of thirty days from the date of such employment, send to the Inspector within whose local limits the establishment is situated, a written notice containing the particulars as are mentioned in sub-section (1).

Explanation.—For the purposes of sub-sections (1) and (2), “date of commencement of this Act, in relation to an establishment” means the date of bringing into force of this Act in relation to such establishment.

(3) Nothing in Sections 7, 8 and 9 shall apply to any establishment wherein any process is carried on by the occupier with the aid of his family or to any school established by, or receiving assistance or recognition from, Government.

10. Disputes as to age.

10. Disputes as to age.—If any question arises between an Inspector and an occupier as to the age of any [xxii][adolescent] who is employed or is permitted to work by him in an establishment, the question shall, in the absence of a certificate as to the age of such [xxiii][adolescent] granted by the prescribed medical authority, be referred by the Inspector for decision to the prescribed medical authority.

11. Maintenance of register.

11. Maintenance of register.—There shall be maintained by every occupier in respect of [xxiv][adolescent] employed or permitted to work in any establishment, a register to be available for inspection by an Inspector at all times during working hours or when work is being carried on in any such establishment, showing—

(a) the name and date of birth of every [xxv][adolescent] so employed or permitted to work;

(b) hours and periods of work of any such [xxvi][adolescent] and the intervals of rest to which he is entitled;

(c) the nature of work of any such [xxvii][adolescent]; and

(d) such other particulars as may be prescribed.

12. Display of notice containing abstract of Sections 3-A and 14.

12. Display of notice containing abstract of [xxviii][Sections 3-A and 14].—Every railway administration, every port authority and every occupier shall cause to be displayed in a conspicuous and accessible place at every station on its railway or within the limits of a port or at the place of work, as the case may be, a notice in the local language and in the English language containing an abstract of [xxix][Sections 3-A and 14].

13. Health and safety.

13. Health and safety.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for the health and safety of the [xxx][adolescent] employed or permitted to work in any establishment or class of establishments.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the said rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—

(a) cleanliness in the place of work and its freedom from nuisance;

(b) disposal of wastes and effluents;

(c) ventilation and temperature;

(d) dust and fume;

(e) artificial humidification;

(f) lighting;

(g) drinking water;

(h) latrine and urinals;

(i) spittoons;

(j) fencing of machinery;

(k) work at or near machinery in motion;

(l) employment of [xxxi][adolescent] on dangerous machines;

(m) instructions, training and supervision in relation to employment of [xxxii][adolescent] on dangerous machines;

(n) device for cutting off power;

(o) self-acting machines;

(p) easing of new machinery;

(q) floor, stairs and means of access;

(r) pits, sumps, openings in floors, etc.;

(s) excessive weights;

(t) protection of eyes;

(u) explosive or inflammable dust, gas, etc.;

(v) precautions in case of fire;

(w) maintenance of buildings; and

(x) safety of buildings and machinery.

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