Children of Migrant Labourers

The objective of this blog post titled "Children of Migrant Laborers" is to give the learner with a foundational understanding of the issues experienced by the children of migrant laborers in India. It would inform intervention measures for children of migratory workers. In addition, it provides the reader with an understanding of the rights of the children of migrant workers. In turn, this would aid the learner in gaining insights for working with the children of migrant laborers.

Content

Children of the Migrant Labourers
Children of migrant labourers and child rights
Conclusion

Children of the Migrant Labourers

Each year, tens of thousands of families in rural India are compelled by poverty to migrate in pursuit of a living. Insufficient means of subsistence and natural disasters, such as droughts and floods, often compel entire families to abandon their settlements. The majority of them become casual workers in the unorganized sector and are susceptible to exploitation. The agricultural industry, brick-kilns, quarries, building sites, and seafood processing companies, to name a few, use them as farm laborers. Migrants also work as casual laborers, head loaders, hawkers, and rickshaw pullers in the urban informal sector. They are employed in manufacturing, transportation, and service sectors. Their employers are just concerned with their labor and disregard their welfare. Moreover, the nature of their labor exposes them to hazardous working conditions, infections, and extremely restricted access to health care. Migrant workers, primarily laborers, can now be found in every nook and cranny of the country as a result of improved connectivity and rising labor demand.

Migrants are frequently paid well below the legal minimum wage and are required to perform excessive labor. Even women and children are need to labor in order to survive. Children become full-fledged laborers by 11 or 12 years of age (Smita, 2008). They are a vital element of the labor process, are suitable for specific sorts of work that demand dexterous fingers, and are popular in industries such as carpet manufacturing. The majority of migrant children work in construction, brick manufacturing, agarbatti production, salt production, sugarcane harvesting, stone quarrying, fishing, and plantations.

Children are the most vulnerable members of migrant laborer families. Many children are left behind when their parents travel, while others accompany them in their search for employment. When young children in their formative years relocate with their parents, they miss opportunities for physical, psychological, and intellectual development, which hinders their cognitive and emotional growth. Children of migrants are compelled to either abandon their schooling entirely or obtain a subpar education, resulting in learning deficiencies. Migrant children are more susceptible to abuse and exploitation, human trafficking and smuggling, prejudice, exclusion from essential social services, and the worst types of child labor.

Definition:

The United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UN CRC), 1989 defines „a child as every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier‟ (Bajpai, 2006). The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 of India defines „juvenile‟ or „child‟ as a person who has not completed the eighteenth year of age (Bajpai, 2006).

Internal migration is defined by UNICEF (2009) as the movement within a country's borders, typically measured across regional, district, or municipal boundaries, resulting in a change in the habitual place of residence. International migration is the travel across international borders that results in a change of normal country of residence.

In India migration primarily is of two types:

Long term migration which results in the relocation of an individual or the entire household.
Short term or seasonal migration which involves back and forth movement between a source and destination. Socio-economically disadvantaged groups usually belong to this category.

Statistics:

National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) estimates that nine million children under the age of fourteen years are in work sites in India. According to the estimate of UNICEF (2012), there are 15 million child migrants in India. As per the 2001 Census of India, the country had 309 million migrants, or 30 per cent of the population of the country was migrants. The World Bank estimates that, 326 million or 28.5 per cent of the population are migrants (UNICEF, 2012).

Smita (2008) notes that Maharashtra is the largest producer (70%) of sugar in India, and that according to a 2003 survey, 6.5 million workers migrate annually from central to western Maharashtra, the sugar belt, to harvest sugarcane. This comprises 2 million youngsters from 6 to 14 years old. Smita (2008) adds that the 0-14-year-old children accompanying their parents may account for approximately one-third of all seasonal migrants.

Children of migrant labourers and child rights:

The UN CRC draws attention to four sets of rights for every child: (National Initiative for Child Protection (NICP), 2000)
The Right to Survival: This right includes the right to life, the attainable standard of health, nutrition and an adequate standard of living.
The Right to Protection: This right includes freedom from all sorts of exploitation, abuse and inhuman or degrading treatment.
The Right to Development: This right includes the right to be educated, to receive support or development and care during early childhood, and to social security.
The Right to Participation: This right accords the child access to information and the freedom of thought and expression, conscience and religion.

Article 27 of the convention states that state parties must "recognize the right of every child to an acceptable standard of life for his or her physical, mental, spiritual, moral, and social development." Article 19 states that the state must protect children from all sorts of physical or mental aggression, damage or abuse, neglect or negligent care, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.

The Constitution of India, Article 14 provides equality before law i.e. equal treatment and protection under law (Jhabvala, 2002). All children in similar circumstances are required to be treated in a similar manner, and if not so treated, such treatment can be challenged on the ground of discrimination and arbitrariness.

Article 15 paragraph 3 empowers the State to provide particular measures for women and children. Article 21 guarantees everyone the right to life. The Supreme Court has understood "right to life" to encompass the right to food, clothing, and proper shelter, among other essentials for survival.

Article 24 forbids the employment of children under the age of 14 in factories and other hazardous occupations.

Article 39e of the Directive Principles of State Policy states that the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to engage in avocations unsuited to their age and strength, and Article 39f states that children are provided with opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity.

Article 41 requires the government to ensure the right to education via effective action.

Article 45 states that the state is required to offer free and obligatory education for all children up to the age of fourteen.

Article 47 stipulates that the improvement of public health and the enhancement of nutrition are among the state's primary responsibilities.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 has a number of clauses relevant to migrant workers' children. Section 3 states that all children between the ages of six and fourteen have the right to free and mandatory education. Section 5 grants pupils the ability to request a transfer to any school, and schools are required to deliver transfer certificates immediately. According to Section 9 of the Act, it is the responsibility of the local government to ensure the admission of children from migrant households. According to sections 14 and 15, no child may be denied entry due to a lack of proof of age or a request for late admission. Section 29 stipulates that the language of instruction must be the child's mother tongue and that evaluation techniques must be flexible.

Profile of Migrant Workers and their families:

According to the NCPCR, the majority of migratory populations belong to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes. The majority of migrant workers come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and are either landless or own very little land. They lack knowledge and skills and have little assets and resources. According to studies, the majority of migrant workers in Rajasthan and Karnataka's stone quarries, Gujarat's salt pans, Andhra Pradesh's brick-kilns, Tamil Nadu's rice mills, and Maharashtra's sugarcane fields are from the most disadvantaged segments of society (Smita, 2008). They are frequently in debt and are compelled to labor alongside their families for contractors that issue loans during the monsoons.

Patterns of Migration

Long term migration is when migrant workers reside eight to nine months away from their homes on the job site. These are predominantly industrial and agro-industrial sites, including brick and tile production, construction, stone quarries, fishing, salt pans, rice mills, sugar cane fields, charcoal production, etc. There may be long-term migration between October/November and April/June. Many migratory laborers go from job site to job site, and others even migrate year-round after leaving their towns. Frequently, migrants migrate as a family and live in slum-like conditions on the job sites, putting themselves in precarious circumstances. During short duration migration, migrant laborers migrate from site to site multiple times a year for a length of one to two months, primarily for agricultural work, such as sowing, transplanting, and harvesting.

Nature of worksites:

Usually, the work sites are situated at a distance from normal human habitation. They lack basic facilities such as roads, water, markets, health and recreational facilities and schools. The migrants have to work for long hours, usually around14-16 hours. The labourers are expected to work in any situation, even if they are sick or injured. Women are in an even more difficult position as they have to work even if pregnant, or having just given birth to a child. Their living conditions are perilous; and living spacessmall and unhygienic. They face health hazards at the work sites such as infections, contamination and toxin related diseases, respiratory problems, gynaecological problems, injuries, gradual loss of hearing, malnutrition and unwanted pregnancies and abortions. They have no access to standard medical facilities. Neither are they paid when they are sick, nor can they claim any compensation or insurance (Smita, 2008).

Education of children of migrant labourers:

Children invariably drop out of school when their family travel. Children will inevitably join the workforce on work sites. If they do not work, they must care for their younger siblings and complete housework. Thus, they drop out of school entirely, remain illiterate, and are dragged into the migration cycle. Smita (2008) notes that even in migratory areas where children have access to school, the condition of government schools is abysmal. Inadequate educational facilities force these children into the informal labor market.

Some popular work sites of migrant labourers:

Smita (2008) provides details about sugarcane harvesting areas in Maharashtra, brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh, and salt pans in Gujarat. The Indian state of Maharashtra produces 70% of the country's sugar and has 172 cooperative sugar plants. An estimated 6,500,000 laborers travel to sugarcane locations in western Maharashtra, of which around 200,000 are youngsters between the ages of 6 and 14 years. The cane cutters and their family reside in close proximity to the sugar fields. Each family resides in a modest home constructed from a bamboo mat and bamboo poles. The cottages are crowded, and humans and animals reside in close contact. They work many hours per week. The adults sever the cane, remove its top, and toss it to the ground. The children then stack the sugarcane stalks and gather and bundle the sugarcane tips.

Approximately 2 million individuals from Orissa's tribal districts migrate to Andhra Pradesh to work in brick kilns. There are over 300 brick kilns in the vicinity of Hyderabad, where between one million and one half a million people, 35 percent of whom are youngsters, move. A typical brick kiln employs between 100 and 200 men, women, and children as laborers. Mixing clay, forming mud balls, shaping them into bricks, transporting wet bricks to the field for drying, turning them as they dry, transporting dried bricks on head loads to the kiln for firing, and transporting fired bricks on head loads to the trucks for shipment to the market are all steps in the brick-making process. Children carry 10 to 12 bricks on their heads at a time. Children aged 9 to 11 are involved in every step of the brick-making process. The brick-kiln units favor employing laborers with children for their low wages. Families sans children may be denied employment.

Gujarat has over 1,600 salt-producing units in 13 districts; Kutch, the largest salt-producing district, receives between 2,000,000 and 2,250,000 migrants annually. Typically, a marine salt pan occupies a 10-acre area and is maintained by one family of two adults and two to four children. The laborers must endure strong sea breezes, the glare of the sun off the salt, intense daytime heat, and chilly nights. These severe conditions are exposed to children who assist their parents in all areas of this operation.

Causes of Migration:

The majority of the country's agricultural industry relies on rain-fed agriculture. After the failure of the monsoon harvest, families leave their homes in search of employment, burdened by debt and food poverty. UNICEF (2009) identifies migration's "push factors" and "pull factors." "Push factors" are circumstances at the place of origin that motivate individuals to migrate, such as low wages, poverty, lack of livelihood options and marginalization, caste conflicts, and communal tensions. "Pull factors" are conditions at the place of destination that attract and encourage migration. These may include guaranteed means of subsistence, higher wages, enhanced living circumstances, etc.

It is a commonly accepted truth that economic factors are the leading cause of migration. Poverty and marginalization, unemployment, low wages and insecure livelihood conditions, and a lack of education and health services drive people to migrate to areas with better wages and work conditions, more employment opportunities, better access to education and health services, and more viable livelihood options.

UNICEF and Economic Research Foundation (ERF) (2011) state that political reasons such as insecurity and violence, inadequate governance, pervasive corruption, and violations of human rights lead people to seek safety and political liberty. In addition to social and cultural causes such as social exclusion, discrimination, and ethnic/caste tensions, migration is a source of freedom for many. Environmental factors such as scarce natural resources, environmental degradation, forced displacement due to development projects such as dams, power plants, and highways, natural disasters, and climate change drive people to migrate to regions with improved climatic conditions and agricultural opportunities.

Impacts of Migration:

Some of the significant impacts of migration are:

Lack of access to legal rights, public services and social protection programs that are given to the regular residents by local self-government and also lack of opportunities for political representation.
Limited access to state provided services like health and education.
Insecure and hazardous conditions at work place and comparatively low wages.
Discrimination based on ethnicity/caste, religion, class and gender.
Denial of basic entitlements such as access to subsidized food, housing, drinking water, sanitation, public health facilities and education

Impacts of Migration on children who are left behind:

Lack of Parental Care: When children do not accompany their parents they are left with relatives or friends. Children, in the absence of their parents become subjects of neglect and abuse. They are deprived of the parental care, emotional support and guidance and protection. Relatives/ friends may be unable to take up the responsibilities of the children and children may feel unwanted and discriminated.
Family Responsibility: In the absence of parents, older children are forced to take care of the younger siblings and get involved in household chores. Such responsibilities on young shoulders often hampers their education, and opportunities for overall development.
Social Stigmatization: The long duration of absence of parents can be a social stigma to the children of migrant labourers. The children practically become orphans when parents migrate for longer periods of time which may lead to their low self confidence, low self esteem, anxiety and stress. They may be negatively viewed and judged by the society.
Vulnerability to negative influences: The lack of parental care, guidance and supervision may lead the children to drop out of the school and lead them to substance abuse, sexual deviance and anti social activities.

Impacts of Migration on children who accompany their families:

Poor health and lack of access to health services: The children of the migrant labourers are often excluded from the state sponsored health and nutrition programs. The absence of trained attendants during child birth; inability of the lactating mothers to breastfeed the child as required due to work conditions; and lack of complementary feeding, make the children anaemic and weak. These children also are deprived of immunization, growth monitoring and regular health checkups. Children of migrants are prone to malnutrition that affects their normal growth, and can result in frequent illnesses and physical and cognitive deficiencies. Poor working and living conditions, lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities can lead to diseases such as malaria, water-borne and respiratory diseases and diarrhoea.
Limitations in access to education: Migration delays school entry, denies or interrupts schooling, increases the number of children dropping out and leads to child labour (UNICEF, 2008). The work sites such as salt pans, sea coasts, brick kilns, plantations, charcoal sites, sugar cane sites etc are usually found in isolated locations and have no access to schools.
Child labour: Children accompanying the parents on migration end up in working in the work sites. They work for long hours as payment of wages is low on a piece-rate basis. Often their work input is not counted separately and added to the family income.
Contact with peers: Being on the move constantly deprives them of friendships, familiarity and peer support thus lowering their self-confidence and sense of security.
Vulnerability to abuse and exploitation: Migration may expose the children to substance abuse and sexual exploitation and sexual deviance.
Other difficulties: Migrant families are always on the move and thus suffer from lack proof of residence. Hence they find it difficult to obtain birth certificates, subsidies and such other facilities

Existing Interventions/Services:

Government and non-profit organizations have launched numerous measures to mitigate the effects of migration. By promoting community-based groups such as SHGs and livelihood initiatives, efforts are made to return children to school. In 1988, the National Child Labour Projects were started in an effort to rehabilitate children working in hazardous industries and vocations. The objective of the Government of India's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Programme to universalize basic education is also to provide education for migrant children.

Some NGOs, such as Vedchi Pradesh Sewa Samiti (VPSS) and Sankalp in Gujarat, established nurseries, learning centers, and seasonal hostels for the children of migrants in sugarcane fields. In Maharashtra, alternative schools known as "Sakharshalas" were established at sugar cane harvesting areas and "Bhongashalas" were established near brick factories. National Child Labour Program: In the 11th five-year plan, the NCPCR (2007) advised establishing Transitional Educational Centres (TEC) to offer children with residential facilities while their parents go for work. The NCPCR has also proposed temporary TECs where people migrate for employment, such as brick kilns, salt pans, sugar cane fields, etc., and the Departments of Labour, Education, Panchayati Raj, and Tribal Development are responsible for these TECs.

Role of Social Workers:

Social workers play a crucial role in ensuring that migrant children have access to existing programs and in advocating for comprehensive services for their welfare with the government. Some of the most significant contributions that social workers can make include:

Establish facilities to identify and to establish contact with children of the migrant labourers.
Motivate migrant parents to send their children to schools.
Playing the vigilante role of exposing cases of child migrant workers.
Organize bridge education facilities.
Strengthen school education committees.
Assist local community based Organizations for child rights protection.
Network with various departments such as education, police, labour and social welfare.
Advocate with local and state level authorities for implementation of existing policies for the benefit of the children of migrants
Advocate with state and union governments for child centric policies that protect the rights of children and enhance access to non-discriminatory services.

Conclusion:

Millions of children who migrate with their parents drop out of school, limiting their development. Every kid must be taught under the 2009 Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act. Despite the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, many youngsters work at migration sites. Protect these kids' rights. Children deserve a healthy childhood. Sincere and efficient implementation of law provisions is needed. Local communities should preserve children's rights. Education, Labor, Tribal, and Panchayat departments and nonprofits must work together to implement policies and improve access to services. Post-globalized India has experienced unprecedented rural-to-urban migration in search of better jobs. The liberalized economy and recurring failure of rain-dependent crops have boosted migration in the country. Seasonal or permanent migration harms families and children. As adults relocate for work, children either follow or stay with family or neighbors. Migration violates children's international and constitutional rights. They lack parental care and love, are often forced to drop out of school, and lack health and nutritional services. It robs children of childhood joys and socializing and development opportunities. Government and civil society organizations have tried to improve children's services, but more is needed. Social workers can examine and analyze the reasons and context of deprivation, and advocate and promote services and opportunities for the holistic growth and development of children of migrant workers in India.