This article has been written by kumari sheetal , a 4th year BALLB student from SRMS college of law , bareilly mjp rohelkhand university .
RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION
INTRODUCTION
The right against exploitation is a fundamental right given in part III of the Indian constitution under article 23 and article 24 . in our society it was a natural law of exploitation of the weaker section by the powerful section as it was rightly stated by lord acton power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely so our constitution makers made provision to stop those exploitations which is discussed in this article
WHAT IS EXPLOITATION
Exploitation is the act of selfishly taking advantage of someone or a group of people in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself.
The following are considered as exploitation in the Indian constitution
- Beggar or forced labour
- Human trafficking
- Child labour
BEGAR OR FORCED LABOUR
The term begar means compulsory work without remuneration ,it was a peculiar Indian feudalism system under which the local zamindars sometimes used to force their tenants to work without payments . the labour without payment is begar .getting work done without payment and without free consent of the person
In the case of people’s union for democratic rights v. union of India , 1983 the supreme court interpreted the term “forced labour” as the concerned person being forced to work whether it s remunerated or not . despite of remuneration the labour done by the person will come under the purview of article 23
In sanjit roy v. the state of rajasthan 1983 the supreme court held that payment by the state of wages lower than minimum wages to a person employed on famine relief is invalid under article 13 , it comes under the purview of forced labour
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Human trafficking is buying and selling of a human being like goods for illegal or immoral activities and other purposes . trafficking in women for immoral purposes falls under this expression as well . parliament has enactied the IMMORAL TRAFFICKING(PREVENTION) ACT 1956 in order to suppress immoral traffic against women and children .
CHILD LABOUR
Child labour is a term you might have heard about in news or movies. It refers to a crime where children are forced to work from a very early age. It is like expecting kids to perform responsibilities like working and fending for themselves. There are certain policies which have put restrictions and limitations on children working
Parliament had made several laws to prohibit child labour the most important is THE CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION ) ACT ,1986 . this act prohibited the employment of children below 14 years in 18 occupations and 65 processes where children below 14 years of age can not work . after 10 years of this act in 1996 a fund was created as per the guidelines of supreme court that is child labour rehabilitation welfare fund . offending employer have to deposit a fine of 20000 rs for each child employed by them .
In 2006 , the government under prime minister manmohan singh banned the employment of children as domestic servants or workers in business establishments like hotels , dhabas , restaurants , shops , factories ,resorts, spas , tea shops and so on
In 2016 the act was amended and the act was renamed as child and adolescent labour (prohibition and regulation ) act , 1986 . which included the people from the age of 14 to 18 years of age in this also . the amendment act prohibits the employment of children below 14 years of age in all occupations and processes
OTHER ACTS –
- The employment of children act 1938
- The factories act 1948
- The plantation labour act 1951
- The motor transport worker act 1951
- The mines act 1952
- The merchant shipping act 1958
- Apprentices act 1961
COMMISSIONS OF PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS ACT 2005
Under this act the nation commission and state commission was established for the protection of child rights . also children’s courts for providing speedy trial of offences against children or violation of child rights .
ARTICLE 23 OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Article 23 is prohibition of traffic in human being and forced labour it prohibits human trafficking , begar which is a type of forced labour and other forced labour like begar
Article 23 recognizes 4 types of human trafficking and prohibits them including selling and buying of human beings like goods , immoral traffic in women and children, banned devdasis children , slavery
Other examples like the bonded labour . (the system under which one person can be bonded to provide labour to another until the debt on the person is wiped out ).the term forced labour means compelling a person to work against his will . that force can be of three types –
- Physical
- Legal
- Compulsion due to economic circumstances
Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
(1) Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law
(2) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public purpose, and in imposing such service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class or any of them
ARTICLE 24 OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
Article 24 of the Indian constitution provides for prohibition of employment of children in factories etc . to stop exploitation in our society our Indian constitution provides for right against exploitation which is fundamental right . article 24 is talking about children , the one who are of age less than 14 years . sometimes due to financial problems in the family , people employ small children in work and they start working in factories , hotels etc. sometimes even in hazardous conditions and article 24 prohibits this . through this article our constitution makers wanted the children to send schools instead of factories . the other places includes the mines , construction work , railways and other hazardous places .in other words article 24 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory , mine , or other hazardous activities like construction work or railway . but article 24 does not prohibit the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any harmless or innocent work .
Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment Provided that nothing in this sub clause shall authorize the detention of any person beyond the maximum period prescribed by any law made by Parliament under sub clause (b) of clause ( 7 ); or such person is detained in accordance with the provisions of any law made by Parliament under sub clauses (a) and (b) of clause ( 7 )
Conclusion
Hence it can be concluded with the above discussions that in our society since the civilization started strong and powerful peoples exploiting the weaker sections hence / the constitution makers had made laws to protect the underprivileged and deprived section of the society as to protect themselves being subject to exploitation from their fellow human being .
References
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/exploitation
https://www.toppr.com/guides/essays/essay-on-child-labour/
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1071750/
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1540780/
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