Is it ethical to ban child labour. Knowing that some of them only have a job to survive and support their family

Why should we ban child labour ? Consider the following questions :

1.  Is the child working of his own free will ?

2.  Is the child working because there is no other option available to him ?

3.  Is the child being paid fairly for the work that he is doing ?

4.  Is there a written down labour contract between the employer and the child , which is being adhered to strictly , by way of hours of work , kind of work and the remuneration that will be paid ?

5.  Is the child being trained on a growth path , so that he does not have to continue doing the same work for years together ?

6.  Is the child protected in times of illness ?

7.  Is the child governed by the normal labour laws of having the requisite number of holidays in a year ?

8.  Is the child trained for the kind of work that is expected from him ?

9.  Are the working conditions safe for a child ?

There can be many more questions , but if the answers to all the above questions are YES , then there is no problem with child labour , otherwise employing children should be a questionable matter.

May there be any "excuse" to support child labour ?

Supporting child labour is a "Fedual Mentality" - in the bad old days, Landlords resorted to practice of bonded labour. They even used to take children as bonded.

Under no situation such evils of the society may be brought back.

It is ethical only repeat only if the state can take good care of the compensation. A state which can not guarantee welfare of child and his/ her dependents should have no right to enact such ban's.

Yes Ravali,

Your views are very correct.

I will like to add that, alongwith taking preventive measures for stopping child labour, Government should also have a plan to rehabilitate these unfortunate children and give them education to become tomorrow's independent, responsible citizen.

rightly said ravali. children are future and their future is in our hands. we should help them study,play etc.

It is definitely ethical to ban child labour.... no excuse can make it not detrimental to the society. or else you know what would happen, a 3-4 year old will be made to work just because he has to support his family. Further not banning would also be taken advantage of  other sections of the society as they now can get cheap labour in face of children.

Children are innocent and they should not be overburdened with responsibility and it is the responsibility of the Govt. to see that any child is not discriminated and taken advantage of the situation. At the same time,  the state should also see that such families with no support should be taken care of ... either thru prvidng rationing facilities or giving jobs to other members of the families. 

Child labour is a sin. Free education for a child till the age of 14 is right of every children in India. In case support is required for the family, government bodies should take care of this and many schemes are available from central and state governments. Local governing bodies should take care of such matters 

banning child labor is correct but it is not the complete solution. gov.t has to provide free education and food to such children, which may not be possible in a country like India. that's why govt. is not succeeding in this area.

yes she is saying right, but in this way many of them are totally dependent on government and at last they suffers,

There can be be no question - yes it is ethical to ban child labour. They are often made to work in unsafe and unhealthy environments with starvation wages. BUT...

Does the state have effective processes to provide them food security? We have heard of the horror stories about the quality of meals provided. Does the stste have effective processes to provide them quality basic education? We know the state of primary and secondary education in state run institutions - no classrooms, shortage of teachers... If the state can't provid thes basic necessicities, then what alternatives are provided? The state fails miserably in nearly all the functions that it is meant to provide. I don't know what the solution is. I wonder if anyone does?

We have developed a culture of making and breaking of laws. There are number of facilities to protect child and let us not make them labours in any contest. I support your views Ravali.

Yes, employers should not encash the vulnerability of the opressed section of our society as a source of cheap labour. For survival of these section, Indian Govt and also the civil society is making efforts for their upliftment. We need compulsory education of each and every child of our nation. Ths ban on child labour is absolutely justified

Child labour is a concept in transition. Banning child labour is only one part of the solution. The other part is top provide them with an education without increasing the financial woes of the family. Through literacy is the only lasting solution that will ban child labour.