Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

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

1. The Committee recalls that the application of this Convention by India has been examined on a number of occasions by the present Committee and in the Conference Committee, most recently in 1995. It notes the detailed information submitted by the Government representative at that time, as well as the report received in October 1996, too late to be considered at the Committee's previous session. It recalls that the Conference Committee stated that in the light of the discussion and its conclusions over a number of years, and in light of the inadequate progress which had been made, it was deeply concerned over the situation and urged the Government to adopt effective measures to eliminate bonded labour.

Identification of bonded labourers and magnitude of the problem

2. Since many years this continues to be a disputed issue. The Committee has previously noted that the Government has carried out no comprehensive survey of the magnitude of the problem, but that it estimates that there are some 256,000 bonded labourers in the country, based on the number that have been identified and freed; no estimate is provided by the Government of the number that may yet remain in bondage. Other estimates, in particular by non-governmental organizations such as the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, refer to as many as 5 million adult bonded labourers and 10 million child bonded labourers, or even higher; while estimates by other reputable observers range between these two figures. The Committee expressed concern in its previous report that work to be undertaken by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) on the proposal of the Ministry of Labour to gather information on bonded labour was not scheduled before 1998-99; and as indicated below it notes that the Government has still not decided whether a comprehensive survey needs to be undertaken.

3. The Committee also notes in this connection the final observations of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations (CCPR/C/79/Add.81, 4 August 1997) on considering the state report of India on the observance of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stated:

29. The Committee expresses concern at the extent of bonded labour, as well as the fact that the incidence of this practice reported to the Supreme Court is far higher than is mentioned in the report. The Committee also notes with concern that eradication measures which have been taken do not appear to be effective in achieving real progress in the release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers. Therefore the Committee recommends that a thorough study be urgently undertaken to identify the extent of bonded labour and that more effective measures be taken to eradicate this practice, in accordance with the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976 and Article 8 of the Covenant.

4. Among the issues in this connection is the division of responsibility between the central and state governments. The Government has indicated that it is the responsibility of the states to identify and release bonded labourers, and in each of its last several reports it has referred to consultations undertaken between the Ministry of Labour and the state labour authorities. In its previous report it referred to meetings held in 1993 in which it was decided to constitute a committee of labour secretaries to study and recommend a workable definition of bonded labour and the modalities and procedures for the rehabilitation of those identified. The Government indicated in 1995 that the report of the committee of labour secretaries had been received, but did not supply a copy to the ILO; in its latest report it states that the report is still under study and that the Government is yet to make a final decision. It has however stated that the surveys were proposed on the basis of the existing definition in the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and not on any fresh definition that may be accepted by the Government at some future date.

5. The Committee notes that, as earlier indicated, the state governments have all taken a stand that there are no more bonded labourers to be identified, released and rehabilitated in their states, and they have reiterated this in the Supreme Court. In March 1995 the Supreme Court issued interim orders appointing an advocate and a voluntary organization in each of 13 states to verify their claims and to determine whether the practice of bonded labour has actually been eliminated. The Government states in its report that it is awaiting the outcome of this case "before taking a final decision on the need for a fresh all-India survey to discover the existence of bonded labourers, if any".

6. The Committee takes due note of this information, and asks the Government to communicate a copy of the decision of the Supreme Court, and of any interim decisions it may make on this matter, as soon as possible. It notes that, while no information has yet been received from the Government, the Office has received communications under article 23 of the Constitution, from one of the voluntary organizations appointed, the Mahabugnagar District Palamoori Contract Labour Union, in May 1996 and May 1997. The Office has communicated copies of these communications to the Government and requested it to provide comments on them for the Committee's consideration, but no reply to either of them has been received from the Government. Both communications indicate that this organization, one of several working on the problem, has reported to the Supreme Court the existence of bonded labour in specified circumstances, and included reports of the release by magistrates of some of the bonded labourers identified. It reports that a large number of cases of bonded labour are pending before courts across India.

7. The Committee expresses its concern at the continuing conflict between widespread reports from many sources of the continued existence of bonded labour in the country, and the position of the state governments which are responsible for this subject to the effect that the phenomenon no longer exists. At the same time the Government itself, as well as other sources, continues to indicate that bonded labourers are being identified and released in practice. Several such instances were noted in some detail in the Committee's previous comments. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take strong and effective measures to identify and release bonded labourers in the country and to gather statistics which will allow a reliable picture of the problem and the monitoring of the effectiveness of measures to correct it.

Responsible bodies

8. As indicated, there is a division of responsibilities for dealing with this question. The Committee has previously referred to the proposal to set up a national commission on bonded labour to implement the 1976 Act, and to the decision that it was unnecessary to do this in view of the establishment in 1993 of the National Human Rights Commission. The Government has again reported that the meeting of state labour secretaries referred to above is still of this opinion. The Government has also indicated that there is no need to establish a network of agencies to supervise and coordinate the abolition of bonded labour, as had been recommended by the National Commission on Rural Labour in 1991. The Committee notes these indications, and reiterates its regret that there is now no regular overview of the situation published by any government agency, as was previously the case until the abolition of the post of Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes, and its replacement by a Commission of the same title which apparently has as yet published no reports.

9. Noting that the Government considers that the National Human Rights Commission should deal with this problem at the national level, the Committee requests the Government to indicate what powers this Commission has in this regard, and whether it has received and dealt with complaints on bonded labour, or carried out other activities in this connection. Please also indicate what action has been taken by the Commission to implement the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

10. In previous comments the Committee has asked for information on the functioning of vigilance committees which the 1976 Act requires to be established to deal with this problem, and in its previous report the Government supplied information on the institution of such committees in several states. The Committee noted that, in a report published in 1991, the National Commission on Rural Labour stated that while a few vigilance committees were doing good work, most had not been established or had not been active. The Government states again in its report that, according to reports submitted by state governments, these committees are in place and are functioning well. In the above-mentioned comments received from the Mahabugnagar District Palamoori Contract Labour Union, it is however indicated that these vigilance committees do not exist in most places. In view of the contradictory information received, the Committee hopes the Government will clarify this issue in its next report, on the basis of information received both from the state governments and from other sources.

11. As concerns the involvement of trade unions in ending bonded labour, the Committee recalls that the Government has indicated that, because bonded labour usually takes place in the informal and unorganized sectors, the involvement of trade unions was not feasible. The Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee have referred in this connection to the existence of bonded labourers in several sectors such as stone quarries, brick kilns, building and road construction, forestry, bidi workers, carpet weavers, etc. The Government indicates in its report that workers in these sectors do have the right to organize, and the Committee notes with interest that a Central Board of Workers' Education has been set up. This Board conducts awareness sessions and training programmes for workers in the small-scale and unorganized sector, to inform them of their rights, and that such programmes have taken place in 1995-96 in several of the sectors mentioned above. The Government notes that these are not programmes with a wide reach. Nevertheless, the Committee hopes the Government will be able to encourage such training in the future, and that it will find ways to work with both trade unions and employers' organizations to identify and eliminate bonded labour wherever it may occur.

12. There has also been discussion previously of the need to involve voluntary agencies in the fight against bonded labour. The Government indicates in its report that the centrally sponsored scheme for providing financial assistance to these organizations has now been transferred to the states, but gives no indication of how it is functioning under state management. Please provide detailed information in this regard in the next report.

Rehabilitation

13. The Committee has previously noted the considerable time lag between liberation from bonded labour and rehabilitation, and reports of poor follow-up leading to a relapse into bondage. The figures provided by the Government in its most recent report indicate an improvement, with about 7,500 bonded labourers awaiting rehabilitation in May 1995 as compared to more than 10,000 at the time of the previous report. This figure of 10,000 was taken as the target for 1995-96, but the Government has reported that by March 1996 only 1,115 had been rehabilitated. It was expecting at the time of the report to meet with state governments on this shortly, and the Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the problems encountered, the reasons for slow processing and the present situation, taking into account also any newly identified bonded labourers.

14. The Committee notes the information in reply to its previous request concerning bonded labourers designated "not available for rehabilitation", who are said to have died or migrated after release. This may be another indication of the slow pace of rehabilitation.

15. The Committee previously noted that under the centrally sponsored scheme for rehabilitation a sum of 6,250 rupees was to be spent for the rehabilitation of each bonded labourer, and questioned whether this sum was adequate to the needs of rehabilitation. It welcomes the statement in the report that this sum has now been increased to 10,000 rupees.

16. The Committee had previously noted with interest the details supplied by the Government on the measures taken in nine states for the integration of the centrally sponsored scheme for rehabilitation with other programmes, and asked the Government to provide further information in this regard. It notes that the Government has reported several kinds of measures available to rehabilitate bonded labourers, including allotment of houses and land, providing employment under the Employment Assurance Scheme, social security coverage in several respects, admission to schools, the organization of cooperative ventures and a credit scheme. The Committee notes the statement that land-based schemes have proven successful in rehabilitation, and that given the pressure on land and the need to decrease delays, state governments have been given the right to disburse assistance under the centrally sponsored scheme. The Committee notes that it is difficult to form a general impression of how well these different rehabilitation schemes work in practice, and requests the Government to provide such an assessment in its next report.

Enforcement

17. In its previous comments, the Committee analysed in detail the number of prosecutions, convictions and acquittals in different states under the Bonded Labour (Liberation) Act, 1976. It also questioned the adequacy of the penalties imposed (the fines are only 2,000 rupees under the 1976 legislation), and asked for updated information on both these questions. The Government has indicated that no additional prosecutions have been brought because of the absence of any fresh identification of bonded labour. It also indicates that the penal provisions under the Act are quite stringent, but does not comment on the amount of the fine provided for in the legislation. The Committee can only take note of this information, and requests the Government to indicate in its next report whether any further actions have been brought and how they are disposed of, in view in particular of the Supreme Court action referred to above. The Committee also requests current information on the penalties for infringement of the Act.

Children in bondage and other forms of compulsory labour

18. The Committee notes that observations were received from the World Confederation of Labour on the question of bonded child labour, in a communication dated 23 October 1997 which was dispatched to the Government for any comments it might wish to make. As there has not been time for the Government to reply, consideration of this information and of any comments the Government may make on it will be dealt with the next time the Committee examines this file.

19. The Committee notes the information supplied in the Government's report and in the Conference Committee on bonded child labour and other forms of compulsory child labour, which is to be distinguished in the context of the present Convention from the existence of a large number of working children who are not under compulsion in the sense of the Convention. It notes that the Government is receiving assistance from the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and other donors.

20. The Committee notes that -- as for bonded labour in general -- there is no generally agreed order of magnitude for the number of children in bondage or in other forms of compulsory labour in India, though some estimates are in the millions. The Committee is considering two situations under this Convention: children who are actually in a situation of debt bondage; and those who are under other forms of compulsion to perform work, particularly the most hazardous forms of work which are performed under situations of constraint. It is not always clear from the information received whether the situations described comprise bonded or other forced child labour, which makes numerical estimates more difficult; but it does not appear to be in doubt that compulsory child labour exists on a large scale in the country.

21. The Committee notes the additional information supplied to the Conference Committee on the implementation of the blueprint for action entitled "Identification, release and rehabilitation of child labour", covering a range of actions to attack the child labour problem especially in hazardous occupations. Noting that no information has been provided on the impact of these activities, the Committee requests the Government to include in its next report an assessment of the activities, the impact they have had in practice, and plans for future action.

22. The Committee has been informed that the Supreme Court of India adopted a decision on 10 December 1996 in the case of M.C. Mehta v. the State of Tamil Nadu, after the Government's report was received. In that decision, the Supreme Court ordered a number of actions relevant to this Convention, including the following:

-- simultaneous action in all districts of the country to withdraw children working in hazardous industries and ensure their education in appropriate institutions;

-- a survey to identify the children in hazardous industries and a contribution of Rs.20,000 per child to be paid by the offending employers of children in hazardous industries to a welfare fund to be established for the education of children;

-- employment to be provided to one adult member of the family of the child that had been withdrawn from work, or alternatively a contribution of Rs.5,000 to be made to the new welfare fund to be established by the state government;

-- financial assistance for families of the children withdrawn from work to be paid from the interest earnings on the corpus of Rs.20,000-25,000 deposited in the welfare fund as long as the child in question is attending school.

23. Please provide information in the next report on how this decision is being implemented, as concerns the present Convention, and a copy of the decision.

24. As concerns protection against sexual exploitation, the Committee noted previously that all state governments and union territory administrations had been advised to form advisory committees for the eradication of child prostitution and to devise and implement social welfare programmes for their care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation. Please indicate whether these advisory committees have been formed, and what form their work has taken so far. The Committee would be grateful to receive any reports that any of them may so far have issued describing their work.

25. The Committee also noted that the state government of Uttar Pradesh was to conduct a survey of the problem of alleged child prostitution. The Committee notes from the report that the survey has been entrusted by the state government to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and that it will examine the magnitude of the problem, characteristics of the victims, and existing facilities for rehabilitation of child prostitutes, inter alia. The survey was to be completed within a year, and the results communicated to the ILO. The Committee looks forward to receiving this report, and any other available information on the magnitude of the problem in the country and on actions which have been taken or are contemplated to deal with it.

26. The Committee notes that this problem appears to extend beyond children, and again refers to the 1997 conclusions of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations, which indicated:

31. The Committee deplores the high incidence of child prostitution and trafficking of women and girls into forced prostitution, and it regrets the lack of effective measures to prevent such practices and to protect and rehabilitate the victims. The Committee also regrets that women who have been forced into prostitution are criminalized by the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act and, further, that article 20 of the Act puts the burden of proof on a woman to prove that she is not a prostitute, which is incompatible with the presumption of innocence. Therefore the Committee recommends that the application of this law to women in the situation described be repealed and that measures be taken to protect and rehabilitate women and children whose rights have been violated in this way.

27. The Committee endorses the conclusion by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which refers to forced prostitution incompatible with the present Convention, and requests the Government to take measures to repeal the legislation and inform the Committee of the measures taken or envisaged to ensure conformity with the Convention.

28. The Committee considers that comments of employers' and workers' organizations on the application of the Convention would be useful to examine the issues raised in the present observation. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would endeavour to obtain such comments and communicate them with its next report.