Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - India (Ratification: 1954)

The Committee has noted the Government’s reports received in September 2008 and August 2009. It has also noted the communication dated 29 August 2008 received from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), as well as the Government’s response to this communication. The Committee has also noted the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards during the 97th Session of the Conference in June 2008.

Articles 1 (paragraph 1), 2 (paragraph 1) and 25 of the Convention. Bonded labour; magnitude of the problem. In its 2008 report, the Government indicated that, since the enactment of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (BLSA), 287,555 bonded labourers had been identified, of whom 267,593 had been rehabilitated. The Government also stated that it would “reserve comment” about estimates of the total number of bonded labourers reported by other sources. However, the Committee notes, from the ITUC communication referred to above, the findings from survey research studies that bonded labour in agriculture and in industries like mining, brick kilns, silk and cotton production, and bidi making, was likely to be affecting millions of workers across the country. The Committee, in its previous observation, urged the Government to undertake a comprehensive national survey on bonded labour as a matter of priority, using appropriate statistical methods. The Government, in its report and through the statements by the Government representative during the discussion in the Conference Committee, reiterated its previous indications that statistical tools or methodologies used to collect macro or aggregated data were inappropriate for a survey of bonded labour. The Government also reiterated that it had provided grants to state governments for conducting district-level surveys of bonded labour, and that a large number of such surveys had been conducted by the state governments. Given the wide disparities in assessments of the overall prevalence of bonded labour in the national economy and the importance of this question to the process of supervision by the Committee of the application of the Convention in India, the Committee once again urges the Government to explore ways to undertake a national survey of bonded labour with the involvement of the social partners and stakeholder organizations, using any appropriate statistical methods and, as far as practicable, all existing data from the district-level surveys referred to above. The Committee hopes that the Government’s next report will contain information on the measures taken or envisaged in this regard. In the meantime, it asks the Government to provide copies of all available reports of the district-level surveys conducted by State governments.

Vigilance committees

With regard to the functioning and effectiveness of the vigilance committees established under the BLSA, inter alia, to assist the courts in monitoring and ensuring the proper implementation of the Act, the Government reiterates that all state governments have confirmed that vigilance committees have been constituted at the district and subdivisional levels and that the meetings are being held regularly. However, the Committee notes, from the ITUC communication referred to above, the research findings by the Centre for Education and Communication (CEC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which indicate that in many states the committees remain ineffective bodies; do not meet regularly; have not been functional; and are improperly constituted, and thereby the occurrence of bonded labour goes undetected. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to address the shortcomings in the vigilance committees, with a view to ensuring their proper functioning and effectiveness. It hopes the Government will provide, in its next report, information on the progress of such measures, including copies of any relevant reports, studies and enquiries.

Release and rehabilitation

With regard to the Government’s policies and programmes for the release and rehabilitation of identified bonded labourers, the Committee notes, from the Government’s reports, the indications that a special group chaired by the Union Labour and Employment Secretary has been monitoring implementation of the BLSA and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for the rehabilitation of bonded labourers, and had held a series of 15 region-level meetings with state government participation between 2004 and 2009; that the Ministry of Labour and Employment has taken concrete measures to improve the planning process and strengthen the monitoring mechanism; and that state governments have been issued detailed guidelines for implementing the CSS and advised to integrate the scheme into other ongoing poverty alleviation schemes.

While noting these positive developments, the Committee also notes, however, from the ITUC communication, the research findings of the NHRC, which has a court-ordered mandate to monitor the implementation of the BLSA, that some state governments are an obstacle to the eradication of bonded labour; that many continue to deny the existence of bonded labour; that state officials often have a poor understanding of how bonded labour is legally defined; that state governments are failing to compile data on the number of bonded labourers; and that consequently the identification and release of bonded labourers in recent years has been extremely low. The Committee also notes the research findings by the CEC that bonded labourers who are rehabilitated do not always receive the full rehabilitation amount; that corruption and delays in the issuing of rehabilitation packages are prevalent; that delays occur that can effectively force families back into debt bondage; and that rehabilitation assistance has not proved to be very effective.

The Committee hopes that the Government will ensure that the measures noted above to implement release and rehabilitation programmes at the state level have as their central focus the serious problems identified in the communication of the ITUC and are effectively implemented, and that the monitoring mechanisms it has put into place are fully functional and serving their intended purpose. It requests the Government to provide, in its next report, detailed information in this regard, as well as the most recent information the NHRC has called for on identification, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers.

Law enforcement

With regard to the issue of enforcement of the penalty provisions of the BLSA and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 (CLPRA), the Committee notes the statement of the Government representative during the discussion in the Conference Committee that the Government’s main priority was the identification, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers, but that nevertheless, 5,893 cases of prosecution and 1,289 convictions had been reported by the states so far under the BLSA, and that the NHRC had organized state-level sensitization workshops in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Employment. However, the Committee notes with concern the findings by the NHRC, referred to in the ITUC communication, that state governments were neglecting to prosecute offenders under the bonded labour system, and that it was clear from statistical evidence that the law was poorly enforced and employers were rarely prosecuted successfully.

The Committee urges the Government to take effective measures to further strengthen its law enforcement mechanisms, including measures recommended by the NHRC or other official bodies, and that such measures address the problems identified in the communication of the ITUC. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide, in its next report, detailed information in this regard and repeats its request for statistical data and other information that indicate, not only numbers of prosecutions and convictions, but the specific criminal penalties which have actually been imposed on employers of bonded labourers convicted under the BLSA, as well as copies of any relevant court judgements.

Child labour

With regard to implementation of the CLPRA, which was amended in October 2006 to encompass a series of additional occupations, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that it has carried out awareness-raising meetings and media campaigns and has also initiated and issued guidance to state governments on the effective implementation of this prohibition and on the preparation of state-level action plans. The Committee notes that, while the annex to the Government’s report includes state-level statistics on inspections, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and acquittals in relation to enforcement of the CLPRA, the information supplied does not include any statistics on the nature of the sanctions or sentences imposed in cases of convictions.

The Committee hopes that the Government will continue and further expand its efforts to raise public awareness about the CLPRA, and that the act will be fully implemented through the state-level action plans. It requests the Government to provide, in its next report, detailed information in this regard, as well as statistics and other information on the specific penalties and sentences imposed in cases of convictions under the CLPRA, including copies of any relevant court judgements. Please also provide information on the status of the Draft Offences against Children Bill, 2006.

With regard to the National Child Labour Project (NCLP), an action programme under which working children are withdrawn from employment in hazardous occupations and placed into special schools for a maximum period of three years, the Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government concerning the schools involved and the student enrolments. It hopes that the Government will expand and strengthen this programme under the Eleventh Plan (2007–12), and that it will provide information in this regard, including information from the monitoring committees set up to supervise, monitor and evaluate the NCLP.

Prostitution and commercial sexual exploitation

The Committee notes the indications of the Government that the Immoral Traffic Prevention Bill, 2006, amends the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA), by, inter alia, increasing the age of majority from 16 to 18; repealing section 8, which penalizes solicitation for purposes of prostitution, and section 20, which concerns removal of prostitutes from any public place; redefines the offence of “trafficking in persons” to align it with the definition of trafficking contained in the optional protocols on trafficking in the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; and criminalizes conduct of persons who frequent brothels for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Committee hopes that the Bill will soon be adopted and requests the Government to supply a copy of the new legislation, as soon as it is promulgated.

The Committee notes the reference to Ujjawala, a “Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of Trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation”, a federal scheme launched on 4 December 2007 which comprises five components: prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration, and repatriation. The Government also refers to the Central Advisory Committee (CAC) for preventing and combating trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation, which was established by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and to the proposed establishment of central and state-level nodal authorities. The Committee considers that these measures represent positive developments and hopes they will continue to evolve and be effective. It hopes the Government will supply updated information about the work of Ujjawala, the CAC and nodal authorities, including any official reports assessing the effectiveness of their work and its impact in practice on trafficking in women and children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.