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POSITION OF CHILD LABOUR IN WOOD

CARVING INDUSTRY AT SAHARANPUR According to international labour organization one third of the world’s

child labour force is in India. A variety of aspect like respondent’s desire, an

ambition, duration of work and income, savings habit, pocket money, goes

meaningless in today’s world. Out of the total labour force engaged in wood

carving industry of Saharanpur child labour constitute 20% of it. It is a quite

larger proportion as compared to that in many other various industries

running along side in the district. In this chapter, aspects related to their

socio-economic condition & health have been negotiated.

Saharanpur in U.P. accounts for 90 per cent of the total production of wood

carving in State. The craft is about 400 year old, employing about one lakh crafts

persons in district, increasing exports from the city wood carving units. Wooden

and other handicrafts from Saharanpur enjoy a good market abroad, especially the

US, Europe, Australia and Japan. Wood carving is known for its carving in hard

Sheeshum and particularly for its famous vine leaf pattern. The handicrafts

industry uses non-forest timbers like sheesham, babool and toon. The western

Uttar Pradesh belt is rich in these trees. Being specific to this region, importing

wood may prove to be an unviable alternative.

The range of designs include floral, geometric and figurative

decoration, in addition to this traditional anguri and takai carvings, jali

(fretted ornamentation), brass and copper and ivory inlay work. Bone and

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Plastic are now being used as zero cost substitutes for ivory. Articles made

include screens, folding tables, trivets, trays, book-ends, bowls, candle stands,

condiments jewellary and cigar boxes.

Woodcarving is an art and India has been a traditional producer of

woodcarving furniture for ages. Production of woodcarving is developed on a

commercial scale, which is carried out by many Indian artisans from generation to

generation. India has abundant collection of woodcarved furniture, out of which

some has been explored and a lot remains to be discovered.

It has a rich old heritage to crown its head, which is believed to be the

oldest heritage of the world. This has been adored and preserved by the

Indians since time immemorial. The exquisite furniture range comes in

various styles with varying designs, finishes, colors, shapes etc. The designs

and the carvings may be etched on the back or front, which gives a

remarkable and pleasing appearance. The use of high quality wood enhances

the overall functional value and visual appeal of furniture.

In the beginning, shisham was the only wood used by handicraftsmen.

Thereafter some indigenous craftsmen experimented with teakwood from

Nepal and Assam, ebonite from Assam and rosewood from the South.

Struggle for survival forced the wood carving industry to pass through many

critical phases. Changing scenario of industry turned the craftsmen to many

other varieties of wood.

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Besides traditional shisham, wood craftsmen have now been using

many other varieties of wood depending upon the suitability of texture, color,

grains of wood for particular job. For deep under-cutting and sculptural effect

teak, rosewood and walnut are preferred. For low relief, shisham and deodar

is used and for incised design ebony are considered. Rohira, sal, babul, etc.

are coarse grained and hard wood used for bold work. Haldu and dudhi are

used for special polychromatic effects.

The opulent Indian Wooden Furniture Treasure Chest Woodcarving

industry is spreaded in major parts of the country i.e. Rajasthan, Karnataka,

Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh. Woodcraft of Saharanpur is

famous all over the world for its elegance and beauty. Saharanpur is known

for vine-leaf patterns on Shisham wood. Floral, geometric and figurative

carving is also done here with wood inlay work. Woodworks industry in the

North Eastern region is scattered and the production is confined to a few

items only in a few states.

Gujarat has a rich culture for such carving and in addition to small

chairs and tables, the swing, without which no traditional home is complete,

is made. Wood inlay, which developed and flourished during the Mughal

rule, is done with bits of ivory, plastic, horn, metal pieces or other types of

wood into carved surfaces of wooden items. This kind is found in various

parts of the country such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

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Designs of Uttar Pradesh such as the fretwork, jali or the anguri work are also

very popular.

The wood carvers of Madhya Pradesh, with great sensitivity and skill

transform different varieties of wood such as shisham, teak, dhudi, sal and

kikar into works of art. Madhya Pradesh is famous for painted and lacquered

wood product such as toys, boxes, bedposts, cradles posts, flower vases etc.

Kashmir is the only state in India, where Walnut trees and Fine Deodar wood

are found. The craftsmen here create intricate carvings on wood obtained

from the walnut tree which is used to make furniture items like tables, chairs,

stools, partitions, trays, book stands, wall decorations, fruit bowls etc that

have rich floral and trellis patterns carved furniture. Some furniture pieces in

barmer like tables, low stools etc has miniature paintings on them. Carved

wood items such as cabinets, screens, chairs, tables, almirahs, racks etc are

also highly decorated over here. Also each region of woodcraft in Punjab is

making carved legs of beds and manjis and boxes. Gwalior, Sheopur-Kalan,

Rewa and Budhni are main centers of wood lacquering.

Uttar Pradesh has many craft centers engaged in making different

items out of wood. Mainpuri is famous for woodwork on ebony or block

sheesham inlaid with brass wire. Banaras is known for lacquered toys and

miniature utensils for children to play with. India is the second largest

supplier of bamboo and West Bengal is known for its creativity and artisans

of the State specialized in creating everyday and fancy articles from bamboo

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and cane. Cane and bamboo occupy a distinctive place in the life of Tripura

too. Furniture made of cane; baskets knitted out of cane and bamboo strips

are some of the well-known craft produce from the Tripura, which are always

on demand. Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu too, have their distinct wood

carving traditions.

Karnataka is famous for carvings and decorative pieces made from

sandalwood. Sandalwood items like, boxes, trays, key chains, small figurines

are not only carved tastefully but they also give out subtle smell of sandal.

West Bengal and Kerala are known for items made from the wood obtained

from coconut tree. Great prospects for Indian wooden furniture in the foreign

markets The Indian furniture industry is a non-organized sector with the

production of Handicraft accounting to around 85%.

The furniture industry is estimated to provide employment to around

300,000 workers in India. As a rural and cottage industry, it provides

employment to lakhs of people from the weaker sections of society. The skill

of the wood workers of India is not only restricted to domestic use but has

gain immense popularity in the foreign export markets. The industry has

extended to the fashioning of panels, cabinets, doors, windows, temples and

furniture. The taste of the people are moving more towards the antique kind

of furniture and a variety of experiments are being carried out with designs

by the Indian artisans to cleverly blend the traditional and modern woodcraft

items suiting today's décor.

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Exquisite designs, attractive colors, unmatched workmanship and subtle

elegance are the distinguishing features, which have put Indian hand crafted

furniture on world map. Steadily climbing the popularity chart the market

potential for furniture has reached approximately to US" 240,007.40 million in

2005. This sector has more potential for earning substantial foreign exchange.

Low capital investments, higher value addition and highly labor intensive are

highlights that make the sector significant for the country's economy.

These items found good market in Central European countries, United

States of America, England, Russia and UAE. Japan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar

has also emerged as new consumers for the country. Central and State

Government have been paying extraordinary attention to ensure high growth

rate and development of this industry. They are also proving funds to many

small businesses to help them flourish in the market. Also the Indian

government is continuously taking steps to minimize entry-exit barriers for

foreign companies. Liberal policies for foreign equity participation and foreign

direct investments have given a further boost to the sector.

Woodcraft has played its part in making the Indian handicraft fortune

wealthier and inspire of many environment prevention issues the prospect of

the hand crafted furniture sector in India seems positive. India presents a

favourable outlook to sell this kind of furniture and one expects this sector to

grow further in the coming years.

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The children are having different professions other than wood carving

in different areas of the district. Some of the general professions of children

are jobs on brick kilns, jobs in dhabas, jobs in wood carving industry and

manual jobs in agricultural field, etc. The job performed by children in

district Saharanpur are as follows :

1- Agriculture – Indian economy is primarily agricultural economy. The

children can easily join this profession, as so many jobs are unskilled

jobs. The training is not required for these jobs. The children are

engaged for grazing and watering the cattle, for plucking the flowers,

fruits and vegetables etc. They are also engaged for gradation of

products and for filling up the bags, hoeing and weeding, etc. There

jobs are available near their houses. They would do the jobs in the

morning and come back in the evening to their houses. They do not

demand high wages as these are not physically hard and difficult jobs.

The children have to work on these jobs from morning till evening

without any break but still they are getting low wages. Notwithstanding

this they prefer these jobs because they remain near their house, meet

their friends, play while performing the jobs. In such jobs they get the

wages in cash as well as in kind. So many times they get meals also.

2- Hotels, Dhabas and Tea shops – Hotels, Dhabas and Tea shops are

the other avenues for the child labour. They go to the dhabas early in

the morning and perform the different job like cleaning the floor,

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Chairs, tables, utensils, preparation of tea, vegetables dals and other

dishes. They also serve tea, meals, snacks, whisky etc. Number of boys

are employed on these jobs. Very low wages are settled with the parent

of the child and they continue to perform these jobs till late in the

evening. For whole of the day he has to face the annoyance of the

employers. He is beaten and abused by the employers so many times

but he is also being buck up and encouraged by him at the other time.

And if there is more number of customers he has to work very hard and

yet exhausted in the evening. But if there is a small number of

customer, he is being cursed that the customer are not coming due to

his bad luck and sometimes he is removed being labeled as a cursed

boy. In case some glass or tea cup is broken the price of that is

deducted from his pay.

3- Provisional stores or shops – The provisional stores are the other

avenues far the child labour in district Saharanpur. Generally the boys

are employed in the provisional stores. They are supposed to deliver

the goods to the customers. They go to their jobs early in the marring.

Before going to the job they go to the residence of the proprietor of the

shop. They work far sometime at his residence. They wash the utensils,

clean up the floor, prepare the tea, wash the clothes, cook the meal etc.

Then they are to attend the provisional store and continue to deliver the

goods to the customers through out the day in the evening again they

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are to attend the household work of the proprietor. They are given the

meals in the mid of the day at the shops in certain cases. Sometimes the

owner of the provisional store provides them meals, to save time.

Generally these meals are inferior. The tea is also given but they are

not given any rest throughout the day and they continue to work for

whole of the day. They are getting petty wages. They can be removed

at any moment even in the mid of the day without paying them

anything. The job performed by the child labour in this case are in no

way less than the jobs performed by the adults. But there is a big

difference between the wages of the adult and the children.

4- Hawkers, Boot polish and selling of fruits and other things in

Railway Trains and Bus stops :

Generally, the boys are engaged by the businessman to sell

newspapers, fruits, juice and other material in the train and at bus stops

etc. The businessman supply the material by counting or weighing and

instruct them to sell the same on profitable rates. In the evening he

again count or weight the material and get the payment of the sale. The

child is paid either on the daily basis or on the commission basis.

Almost in all the cases the material is supplied either on the basis of

the cash security or the security of some gentleman who undertakes to

pay for any type of risk. In cash of boot polish, in most of the cases the

material is supplied by the parents and in few cases by the

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businessmen. Here again if the child is unable to earn adequate amount

against the material supplied to him, yielding no profit, he would be

removed from the contract. On the other hand if the boy is selling less

the commission would be paid so low that it becomes uneconomic

enterprises and the boy would leave the profession.

5- House hold Jobs – In most of the cases the boys and girls are engaged

to work for the household jobs. The servicemen, the businessmen, rich

landlords and industrialist etc., employ the children to work in their

houses. In certain cases more than one child is employed in a single

house because wages of child labourers are very low and it becomes

convenient for the family members to pursue effectively to their own

business. These boys and girls are given small training to light the gas,

wash the utensils, clean the floor, washing of clothes and cook the

food, prepare the tea and serve it to the family members and the guests.

These children join their jobs early in the morning, even before

sunrises and they continue to work till late in the evening, sometimes

even upto mid-night, serving the guests. These children develop the

affection for the family members like the children of the family and

sometimes consider themselves as the family members of the same

family and how shocked they are when they are being beaten up or

suddenly they are removed from their jobs. Sometimes their parents are

humiliated before them due to the problem of poverty.

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But once leaving one house they join the other house. The children

are not aware that what are their wages, how they are paid and at what

time the wages are paid. They simply serve. Their parents come many

times and get the payment without informing their children. The largest

number of boys and girls are engaged in this profession. There is no leave

for them and if they fall ill their pay is deducted for the period they

remained absent due to their illness. They are not allowed to join

marriage or other social ceremony of their relatives because it would be

inconvenient for the household in which they are employed. Even the

parents who had promised since long to get along him to a particular

marriage, started persuading the child to continue on the job and they

started telling benefits to stay in that service.

Though the child mind is not convinced with the arguments of

the parents, but they are compelled to continue to serve. They are

shocked when ultimately they lose the hope to join that particular

marriage or occasion. They continue to serve thinking unnecessarily

and facing the situation under compulsion. Though they are promised

to participate in the next function but they are not sure about that too

and really it turns as the same phenomena next time. It hurts their

feelings and it becomes a factor for their underdeveloped mental

faculties.

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6- Industries – Many children are employed in certain industries like

paper, textile, leather, iron, furniture, carving etc. for certain minor

jobs where no skill is required. They work on daily or monthly basis.

But no official record is being kept for their service or their payment.

They can be turned out any time without any notice. What to say about

the social security for them because it is against the law to employ the

children. But with low wages, and without any other benefits, they

continue to work in the factories. Though they work for some specified

hours, but they have to work very hard as the businessmen had

employed them only with one objective of profitability.

Despite the statutory restriction on the child labour, there are more than

20% children, belonging to the age group of five to fourteen years, who work

as menial, unskilled and semiskilled worker in this industry. A child labour is

paid Rs. 10 to 65 per day depending upon his age and performance. They are

generally forced to work for 10 to 12 or even more hours under adverse

conditions without any extra remuneration.

It is really a matter of great concern that the children of tender age,

who should have been in schools, are made to work in the wood-based

industries under impoverished condition to supplement the income of their

parents. There is need to apply the factory regulations on these industrial

units so that the industrialists exercise a check on the employment of young

children in this units. A fear is expressed that if the factory regulation is

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enforced on these industrial units, here may be a sense of indifference

towards mechanization and the industry may revert to the house hold sector.

That may affect both production and export. But such apprehensions,

howsoever real these may be, can not be the reason to justify social malady of

the child labour. Moreover what is unique to the wood handicraft of

Saharanpur are its handcrafted novelists, not the machine-made stereotyped

objects that are found every where on the globe. The woodcraft of

Saharanpur has traditionally been the labour intensive industry. It has

flourished there mainly due to the fact that there has been no dearth of

traditionally skilled labour in the city and around it. In case stress is laid on

the mechanization, it may not only destroy the very base of this age old

handicraft, but also disturb the socio-economic structure of a community and

create numerous social problems. There is, therefore, need to keep in sharp

focus the ultimate objective, that is the survival of the age-old handicraft for

the betterment of the community as a whole.

TRENDS OF CHILD LABOUR IN SAHARANPUR DISTRICT

1- Migratory Character (Trend)

Labour migration is closely associated with the process of economic

development. Brainely Thomas (1973) express the view that all sort of

development may lie behind the decisions of individuals or families to leave

one country in order to live in other. “History shows the influence of threat of

starvation, political oppression, religious persecution, eviction, a sense of

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adventure, an urge to make a future, a desire to join relatives abroad or to get

away from those at home.” But in India it is a symbol of crucial and serious

problems like poverty, unemployment and under employment, very low

wages, starvations, indebtedness, inability of more employment in farm

sector etc. which pushed labourers out from their permanent native place.

Indian unorganized labourers are always wandering here and there in search

of employment. This will damage the economic, social, educational life of

their families. Migration is an important cause for the problems of

urbanization, urban unemployment and poverty, slums, pollution etc.

The essential character of migration is that it involves a change in

place of abode or place of usual residence a taking up of life in a new or

different place. A migrant is defined as a person who has changed his usual

place of residence from one geographically defined area to another similar

area. Thus the concept of migration involves implicit imposition of boundary

lines which must be crossed before a movement is concerned as migration.

Internal migration refers to the movement which results in a change of usual

place of residence within the country. It may consist of the crossing the

village as known or town boundary as minimum condition far qualifying. The

movement as internal migration.

There are mainly four types of migration namely Rural-Urban

migration, Rural-Rural Migration, Urban-urban migration and urban-rural

migration. These all types of migration are existed in India. But major and

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main form is rural-urban migration. Therefore, Indian labour migration is

basically a rural-urban migration which is a problem. Because economic

problems pushed labour into urban area from rural area. Most of the study

concluded this strong fact of migration.

Poverty accompanying features is a main reason of Rural-urban

migration. Huge unemployment and rare opportunity of employment in rural

area is second prime factor for Rural-urban migration. Over-burden on

cultivated land is another reason of Rural-urban migration. According to Royal

commission on labour, the important characteristics of Indian workers are :

1- Most of Industrial area has grown into multilingual micro-cosmos

diverse in structure of their population. It means that the industrial

centers are composed of labour force which belongs to different part of

the country. Hence, it is heterogeneous in nature as its, language and

social-customers and tread on concerned.

2- The majority of factory workers were at heart villagers because they

were born and brought up in the villages.

3- They had village tradition and they ratified with the village and hoped

to return to them.

4- But they were not all agricultural workers serving a brief spell of

industrial work in the city. The artisan group among the village

population sought employment in textile, factories, tanneries, railways,

and some craft industry etc.

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5- Opportunities for employment of women and children in towns were

relatively short and workers strangers to the new environment so they

could not establish a permanent house.

6- The joint family system took care of the women and children of

migrants.

2- Social Security and welfare Benefits :

Social security and welfare measures were not available to the child

labour engaged in wood carving industry at Saharanpur, what the workers of

other organised sector are getting today. If any, it was from charitable

institutions or on the mercy of the employer.

3- Irregular Attendance:

Wood carving industry of Saharanpur comes in the category of

informal sector. So the child workers are found irregular in their job. Most of

the labour do agricultural practice at the time of harvesting or some other

works of their concern. They join this trade off and on. That is why it has

been observed and reported by the workers, that during the peak agricultural

Seasons like Sowing and harvesting etc. This fluctuating nature of ins and

outs has made it difficult to estimate the actual number of child workers

engaged in the wood carving Industry in Saharanpur town.

Most of the child labour are found irregular on their job because they

have poor sense of social responsibility. It was found that this group of labour

changes their job frequently.

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4- Lack of Educational Standard :

Educational standard is an important factor, which affect labour

efficiency in the long run its importance has not exaggerated, education

imparted in schools has not equipped young man for modern industries.

So far as the education of child labour of Saharanpur engaged in this

industry is concerned, the whole problem was studied under various heads

namely levels of the workers-Primary, secondary and above which is discuss

later in detail.

It was found that near about 65% of the child labour engaged in this

industry are illiterate. About 10% of this group can only read and not write.

5- Low standard of living :

Standard of living indicate the complete socio-economic condition of

child labour force engaged in wood carving industry at Saharanpur, which is

clearly illustrated in this chapter. It was found that the standard of living is

very low of this group. The general living conditions of this group are very

miserable. This problem is mainly associated with their poor economic and

social background that they inherit. Large family size, illiteracy, location of

their work place and living area, adoption of work in early age etc. indicate

their low standard of living.

FAMILY CONDITIONS OF CHILD LABOUR

Child labour is a widespread phenomenon. There are several factors,

which are responsible for the early entry of children in the labour force, but

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all of them can-not be quantified. The consequence of child labour are

innumerable; some of them leave their impact on the child alone, whereas,

other influence the society as a whole. There exists a certain relationship

between the causes and effects of child labour which is responsible for the

continuance of this social evil. This section is aimed at finding the likely

determinants and consequences of child labour and establishing a relationship

between them.

Background characteristics of children

As mentioned earlier, the study surveyed 400 children who are

currently working in wood carving industry, Saharanpur. All these children

were males. Some background characteristics collected included their

religion, age and level of education.

According to the latest available data on the woodcraft industry of

Saharanpur, there are more than 300 production units, scattered in different

areas of the city. Most of the production units are concentrated in Kamela

colony, Sabari Ka Bagh, Khattakheri, Khajurtala. Pilkhan-Tala, Aali-ki-

chungi and every nook and corner of the Purani Mandi area.

All these large production units have their own show rooms. Most of

the large production units in fact do not produce anything, but only market

the material produced by the small scale units in the small unorganized area

of the city. Most of these large units area organized in a registered

organization Saharanpur, Wood Carving Manufactures Association. This

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association has strength of 38 members units. In addition to it, there are

approximately 3500 such marginal household units, which function in their

domestic premises on contract basis. They use traditional hand-tools. These

marginal production units form the back bome of the massive woodcraft

industry of Saharanpur and produce ninety percent of the total bulk. In past,

the owner of these petty contractual units remained constantly under debt of

their masters, the larger production houses. Each of them was obliged to work

only for a particular master on the imposed terms and conditions like a

bounded labour. The condition has now changed. These highly skilled

contractual workers have now formed a union of their own. This union takes

care of their interest. Now the owners of the production and trading houses are

required to advance commitment-money to a skilled workers to retain him.

Whenever the worker gets better after, he returns the commitment money and

joins the other production house. This vicious cycle had create numerous ills in

the industry, resulting into fall in quality and rise in the prices.

According to the latest tentative figures, about one lakh child labour is

engaged in this industry. Where they appointed as daily labour as contract

labour. As about skilled, unskilled or semiskilled workers are there in this

industry, so different types of conditions are applied for their appointment.

According to the latest field survey of the production units in the city, the

skilled artisan gets between Rs. 110 to 180 per day depending upon his

experience and expertise. A child worker is paid Rs. 40 to 65 per day

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depending upon his age and performance. While a skilled worker normally

works for eight to ten hour a day. Child-workers are forced to work for many

more hours under adverse conditions without any extra remuneration.

Labour Composition

In Saharanpur about one lakh workers are engaged in various processes

relating to various activities in wood carving industry. Through the direct

sample survey it was analysed the composition of labour structure is as follows :

Table 4.1

Labour Composition

Labour No. of Labour in %

Male Labour 75%

Female Labour 5%

Child Labour 20% Source - Primary Data collection. It is clear from the table that child labour constitute 20% of the total

labour force in the wood carving industry.

1- Gender and age

The largest group of child labour were those 10–13 years of age (46%)

of the total number of children interviewed. ) Table 4.2 shows that there were

very few girls (4% ) who were involved in child labour in the wood carving

as compared to boys (96%). Several factors were associated to this particular

phenomenon. In Saharanpur, this was because working in wood carving

which is considered as an activity for men. Also they could be made to do

more work for prolonged hours.

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Table 4.2

Gender and age distribution of children working in Wood Carving Industry

Age Male % Female % Total

6<= 4 0 4

8' – 10 18 0 18

10' – 12 46 0 46

12' – 14 28 4 32

Total 96 4 100 Source – Primary data collection.

From the above table we have four categories in age and two are in

gender. To test equality of proportion child labour we have applied chie-

square test where calculated chie square value at 3 degree of freedom is 4.167

and its P value (Probability of rejection ) is 0.244 which is greater than o.o5

(level of significance 5%). So it may be concluded that the proportion is

significantly differ in the given category of the given gender, it again reflect

that the intensity of male child labour is more than the intensity of female

child labour in wood carving industry, which is again a critical issue for the

policy makers.

Test of Chie-square between gender and age and educational level of

working children in wood carving industry in Saharanpur is applied by using

the following formula:

x2 = or

x2 = Chi-square test

f0 = observed frequencies

fe = Expected frequencies

f0 - fefe

0 – E E

2 2

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Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 4.167a 3 0.244

Likelihood Ratio 5.712 3 0.127

Linear-by-Linear

Association 0.003 1 0.959

N of Valid Cases 100

a, 5 cells (62.5%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .16.

2- Education level of working children

In the survey that was administered, information on the level of

education was collected for every working child interviewed. The purpose

was to understand the education level of the working children.

Table - 4.3

Percentage distribution of working children in wood carving industry

Education Status Age Group

6 <=8 8' - 10 10' - 12 12' - 14 Total

Not enrolled in Primary education 0 0 6 0 6

Dropped out of Primary Education 4 14 25 24 67

Attending Primary Education 0 4 1 8 13

Completed Primary Education 0 0 0 14 14

Total 4 18 32 46 100

Source – Primary data collection.

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It is clear from the above table that the education profile of the working

children indicates that 67% of the working children had dropped out of

primary education and 6% of the interviewed children had not enrolled in

primary education at all. During interviewing the children, it was observed

that their family had to fight for two meals a day, leaving them no option but

to work.

To test equality of proportion child labour we have applied chie square

test where calculated chie square value at 9 degree of freedom is 37.028 and

its P value (Probability of rejection ) is 0.000 which is less than o.o5 (level of

significance 5%). So it may be concluded that the proportion is not

significantly differ in the given category of the given literacy, it again reflect

that the intensity of child labour is more in case of drop out in the context of

literacy, which is again a critical issue for the policy makers.

Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 37.028a 9 .000

Likelihood Ratio 44.566 9 .000

Linear-by-Linear

Association 12.974 1 .000

N of Valid Cases 100

a. 11 cells (68.8%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .24.

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Table – 4.4

Level of Education

Education standard No. of respondent Percentage

Illiterate 64 16%

Class 2 upto 156 39%

3 to 4 class 120 30%

5 to 6 class 40 10%

Class 7 and above 20 5%

Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection.

Children were further asked if they had either taken any formal

education or could at least read and write. As seen from the analysis, almost

16% (64) children could not even read and write. 39% (156) children could

recognize the alphabets and do counting upto 100 but could not write their

name and read complete sentence. Near about 45% of the respondent could

read and write the complete sentences.

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Currently 104 of the children are not attending formal and informal

type of school and rest of the responded are attending any formal or informal

type of schooling. Hence reason for both discontinuing and never attending

school is collected from the surveyed children. The most common reason

cited by the children includes financial constrain of the family that prevent

them from attending school. 23% of the children reported that they dislike

studies and hence they did not go to any school. Some of the other reasons

mentioned for never attending discontinuing the studies include teacher is

very rude (16%) due to house hold chores (8%). Thus to a large extent it is

the family back ground which inhibits the child from attending school, but at

the same time the school also play an important role in building environment.

The attitude of the teacher toward these children can be made more cordial,

as a result children could also be drained into studies and continue studying.

Given the fact that all these children are now working, attempt is made to

assess their sensibility to attending school if given opportunity for the same.

3- Religion Composition

Table – 4.5

Religion Composition

Religion No. of Respondent Percentage

Hindus 72 18%

Muslims 328 82%

Total 400 100.00 Source – Primary Data Collection

194

Out of the sample of 400 children 82% of them were Muslims while

the rest 18% were the Hindu workers. This showed that the Muslims

constitute the bulk of wood workers.

4- Distribution on the basis of Sex :

Among the respondent, majority of them are male and very few are female

who are engaged in this profession. The following table represented an account of

the sex distribution of child wood workers.

Table – 4.6

Sex Distribution of the child labour

Sex No. of respondent Percentage

Male 384 96

Female 16 4

Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection

5- Reason for Discontinue/Never Attending School

Table – 4.7

Reasons No. of Respondent Percent

Financial Constrain 212 53%

Dislike studies 92 23%

Teacher is very rude 64 16%

House hold chores 32 8%

Total 400 100 Source – Primary Data collection

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Data and pie diagram indicates that more than half of the respondents

did respond favourably that they would go back to school if they got chance

for the same. At the same time these children were further asked if their

employer would allow them to do so. But only few of them mentioned that

their employer would encourage them to do so, while the remaining were of

the reverse opinion.

6- Background characteristics of the children’s family :

Along with the child’s

characteristics some basic

information about the child’s family

was also collected namely in terms of

the family members staying with the

parents and their working status.

Monthly income of the family was

also collected as all this could have an

implication on the working status of

the child.

Large size of Family

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Table – 4.8

Family size

No. of family members Percentage

upto 4 2%

5-7 36%

8-10 47%

11-13 13%

14 and above 2%

Source – Primary data collection

As the above table, diagram and pictogram show that the average

number of family members is on the higher side at 7 members as compared to

a general household size, which was 8 to 10 members. Only 2% of the child

family had less than four members in their family.

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7- Literacy level of parents:

Table – 4.9

Literacy level of parents

Can read and write Percentage

Both father/mother 2%

Only father 22%

Only mother 6%

Cannot read and write 70%

Source – Primary Data collection

Level of literacy of children’s parents was also looked into as this has a

bearing on children’s education and their care. Data shows that both mother

and father of almost seven out of ten children can not read and write. Only in

case of 8 parent of the children both mother and father could read and write.

In case of 2% children only father could read and write and in case of 6%

children only mother could read and write.

8- Working Status of Parents

Working status of the parents was also collected from the children.

Parents were working as daily laboures in 62% of the cases. In 29 percent of

the cases father was working but mother was a housewife. In 4 percent of the

cases each either the mother or father was dead and mother was working

respectively. This indicate that these children belonged to families, which

survived on daily hand to work situation.

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9- Fathers Occupation

Table – 4.10

Father’s occupations No. of children Percentage

Wood Carvers 264 66%

Agricultural Labours 48 12%

Business 28 7%

Govt. Servant 2 5%

Rickshaw Pullers 58 14.5

Total 400 100

Source – Primary data collection

The above table and pie diagram show the occupational distribution of

the fathers of child wood-workers. It was found that 66% were wood

workers. While the father of 12% were agricultural labourers. Apart from 7%

respondent informed that their father were business-man and father of 2 child

workers Govt. servants. Where as the father of 14.5% child worker were

rickshaw pullers. This showed that the fathers of the child workers had been

engorged in very low earning professions.

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The above given tables present information about age, religion, caste

marital status and mother tongue wood carvers belonged to both Hindu and

Muslim communities, Among Hindus only male child workers have been

found who belonged to the backward castes communities. It meant that

higher caste people did not want this profession and secondly they got

different jobs. On the other hand the other major community engaged in this

profession was of the Muslims. Muslims belonged to both the higher and the

lower castes are engaged in wood carving.

Only a few had got some education. Among them only two were

matriculate. Thus, the child wood carvers were backward from the education

point of view also. It may be said that the child labour engaged in

woodcarving were backward on the economic and education front also.

Therefore they did not have any social base or prestige in the society.

The detail about their residential background also suggest that their

living condition was very poor. Some of the workers, who could not bear the

rent of rooms, took shelter on the outer extension of their workshops. They

spent minimum amount over their residential requirement. Their residence

are found in slum areas which are very unhygienic. They use the water of

common water tap provided by the municipality department. They don’t have

proper sanitation system and generally use open areas.

It had also been found that people who worked in the wood carving

industry developed different sorts of diseases due to dust and prolonged

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sittings at one place. The child labour engaged in this sector to use of heavy

tool, prolonged sitting and deep concentration on their work suffer from the

problem of muscles, disorder, weak vision and continuous back problem in

an early age.

Thus who ever occupied this profession certainly develops some sort

of disease within a few years owing to their pathetic reasons. The study of

this community of the wage-earners, deserved attention from the concerned

ones. So that some positive steps could be taken for their amelioration.

Table – 4.11

Birth Place of the workers (Area wise)

Place of Birth No. of Respondents Percentage

Urban 288 72

Rural 112 28

Total 400 100

Source – Primary data collection

Table – 4.12

Types of House

Types of House No. of Workers Percentage

Kuchcha 196 49

Pucca 48 12

Mixed 76 19

Jhuggie 80 20

Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection

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The workers were also required to furnish information about the type

of houses they possessed and occupied. It is found that 49 percent

children were living in the Kuccha houses. Whereas 12 percent of the child

workers had Pucca houses to live in, 19 percent resided in mixed type of

houses, partly Kuccha and partly Pucca. Apart from them there were others

forming 20 percent of the sample who had Jhuggies or huts to live in. It had

been found that majority of the child workers lived in slum type of areas

putting up their huts or Jhuggies and paid little amount of rent.

Such poor people occupied vacant piece of land in the town and put up

their huts there. There were the unauthorized occupations. Therefore in the cases

of mass clearing up operation there huts were wiped out by the district

administration. Again they set up their hutments at some alternative places.

Most of the young workers born in Saharanpur only but their parents

mostly belong to rural area. Poor people who did not get work in the rural

areas, migrated to the towns for their earning and livelihood.

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Table – 4.13

Birth Place of the workers (House wise)

Where you live No. of workers Percentage

Own House 144 36.0

Rented 256 64.0

Total 400 100

Source – Primary data collection

The workers were asked about the type of houses, where they lived.

It is obvious from the above table that 36.0 percent were living in their

own houses. It meant that these workers were living for several generations.

Hence their ancestral houses have become available to them. The next group

of 64 per cent workers had occupied rented houses. They were able to pay the

rent and they wanted to live separately from their parents, workshops or who

come from village.

The worker who were living in the rented houses disclosed the rent of

their houses.

Table – 4.14

Number of Families Residing in the House

No. of Family No. of Workers Percentage One Family 164 41 Two Families 148 37 Three and more Families living together

88 22

Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection

203

The table and diagram shows that in 41 percent houses of workers only

one family was residing, while in the houses of 37 percent workers, two

families were living in one house. In the next group it was found that in the

houses of 22 percent workers, three and more families were living together. It

meant that majority of the workers did not have the separate or independent

houses to live in. This was due to the reason that because of the high rent

rates of the houses, the family of the workers could not bear the high rent.

Therefore, it was shared by two or more families of the workers. This was the

way the rent of the house was minimized and then they could afford the

reduced rent to occupy the houses.

Table – 4.15

No. of Rooms Occupied by the Families

Types of Room Families Percentage

One Room 300 75

Two rooms 84 21

Three rooms 16 4

Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection

204

From the respondent of wood workers, it was clear that 75 percent

workers had only one room to live in, while the percentage of the families

occupying two rooms was 21 percent. It was also evident that 4 percent

workers families were occupying three rooms. It means that majority of the

families were occupying only one room to reside. Very few of them had got

two or three rooms.

This showed that the wood workers lived in very congested

environment due to their low earning. Thus misery and poverty all went

together in the lives of such low paid workers. This was a feet that somehow

they passed their life with their family members.

Table – 4.16

Location of the House

Location No. of Workers Percentage

Slum areas 212 53

Posh areas 00 00

Mixed areas 188 47

Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection

This is evident from the above table that the child wood workers lived

in different type of areas. 53 percent of the workers lived in slum areas.

Because their houses were located in the slum areas. The children informed

that the houses in these areas were within their means, hence they had

occupied residences in such areas. The other group of child workers forming

47 percent of the total sample lived in mixed areas. These were slum, posh

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and other types. Thus who resided in the mixed areas occupied Jhuggies /

Huts or Kuchcha houses. Their houses did not have water taps and in most of

the cases no electricity and no latrines. Such jhuggies or huts were allowed to

develop in such area so that their family members could serve in the houses

of high class families.

As regards the amenities in the houses, it had been found that latrines,

water taps and electricity were available in few houses. Most of the workers

who did not have latrines in their houses, went for defecation to the canal side

or some where else. In the absence of electricity, the workers used lanterns,

dhibries for a few house only at night.

Despite the statutory restriction on the child labour, there are more than

20% children, belonging to the age group of five to fourteen years, who work

as menial, unskilled and semiskilled worker in this industry. A child-labour is

paid Rs. 10 to 65 per day depending upon his age and performance. They are

generally forced to work for 10 to 12 or more hours under adverse conditions

without any extra wages. The necessary information have been gathered from

the child Labour Welfare Officer, union leaders, workers and personal

investigation.

Wood carving industry in Saharanpur employed about one lakh

workers engaged in various manufacturing activities. The universe was

analysed and divided into the following stratified units.

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Table 4.17

Distribution of worker in various manufacturing units

Stratified Units No. of workers % of Labour

Supervisory 60 15%

Skilled 80 20%

Semi-skilled 120 30%

Unskilled 140 35%

Total 400 100%

Source – Direct personal investigation with the manufacturer and with the workers.

WORKING CONDITION OF CHILD LABOUR

The study of working conditions, wages etc. of child workers would be

meaningful if it is related to the structure of the local economy as a whole. In

the case of child workers, the labour market is more unorganized than that of

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adults, in that the former are entirely outside the ‘conventional’ labour force,

they are also not as committed as adults. Keeping there limitations in view

three broadly mutually exclusive categories or activities have been

distinguished for the purpose of analysis. These are (i) employment in

establishment, (ii) unpaid family labour in household enterprises, and (iii)

others such as those who self employed domestic workers. In the present

study the term ‘establishment’ is used for that woodcarving units where the

wood carving work is carried on large scale and are exported, in which a

child is employed and generally no residence is indicated. The second

category comprises the small/child carver in which mostly the family

members alone participate and in such place children work part – time or full

time for economic gain but without remuneration as such. The third category

voice who have no fixed place of business.

“Excessive fatigue and sweated conditions of work are bound to create a

defiance mechanism in the workers and if it is desired that they should continue

in jobs permanently. The best policy would be to improve conditions of work

and living of workers and make them feel contented and happy.”

Working conditions refer to the environment under which the workers

are required to work. It includes sanitation, dust and dirt-temperature and

humidification, ventilation, space inside the factory, safety measures and

various welfare measures like canteen, bathrooms, drinking water

arrangement, refreshment rooms etc. It has been said that environment creates

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a man, and if the environment improves, the man’s ability to work also

improve. Good working conditions are always desirable for good health.

Good working conditions means lesser number of hours of work, sufficient

lighting and ventilation, good sanitary conditions, various welfare facilities,

large number of safety provisions, sufficient holidays and leave with pay etc.

The importance of working condition is very great for industrial

workers. It has got a great influence upon them from many points of view.

Firstly, the health of industrial workers depends mainly upon working

conditions. It is not possible to carry on the hard work under unhealthy

surroundings. If there are good working conditions, the health of the workers

is also improved. Bad working conditions adversely affect their health. The

workers feel that their job is a very tough one, they become sluggish and it

becomes difficult for them to work well.

Children doing work as wood-carver

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Children doing work as wood-carver

210

A child is doing work as wood-carver

Though wood-carving Industry is the back-bone of the economy of

Saharanpur yet the working conditions for the workers are not upto the mark.

There is no age bar for recruitment and retirement. Poor little children start as

labour force at the tender age of 8-10 years and end up doing the same till late

60s or till they’re alive. No promotions, bonus or pension kind of thing exists

in this business. The hand to mouth survival of these people depends solely

on this labour. The poor working conditions have become stable and there is

no hope for their improvement. Let’s consider these working conditions

under the following headings:

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Ventilations :

The child wood carvers work in old dingy rooms with usually a small

door to enter and exit. No ventilators or windows are present in the work-

place. The room remains locked when the workers go home and till they

return. The harmful gases accumulate as they find no passage to escape.

When the children arrive and open the rooms, one of them takes a broom and

sweeps the floor in a careless manner. Then they all start their work continue

till the working hours in the night. Many of the workers smoke and the child

labour of them become passive smokers as they have to inhale the smoke

present inside in the absence of proper ventilation. Fresh air is as necessary

for our life as food. But the stale air inside the work-place makes these people

sick in the long sun. The sick owners or proprietors in this business should do

something in this regard. Only they can remove these architectural defects

and get some ventilators and windows constructed inside these dingy places.

But these people are selfish, money-minded and not at all concerned about

the health of their labour force.

Sanitation :

A proper drainage system is necessary for the health of the citizens of a

town. But clogged drains, sewers and ditches have become a part of our town.

The places where these workers live or work are situated in the dirty and

filthy areas. They along with their families have becomes habitual to live in

there. But it is a great danger to their life and health to live in such areas

212

without proper sanitation Harmful gases, pungent smell and heaps of garbage

are the hallmarks of the colonies of these poor people. Here, our government

and Municipal Committee has a role to play. Only they can improve the lot of

these people and bring out necessary changes. But our administrative system

has itself grown into a sleeping giant that pays no heed to the cries of the

humanity. Good education and awareness among people can only help to

change the administrative system and improve the conditions of the town.

Working Hours :

The Child labour in woodcarving formed a specific type of labour

force in the country. They were unskilled wage earners. Poverty,

unemployment and family life have compelled even the teen-aged children to

adopt this profession which is definitely injurious to their health and well

being. This is the main reason that most of the wood workers from the very

early age suffer from different diseases. Their working hours is also very long

in comparison to their age. The working duration of the wood carvers are as

follows :

Table – 4.18 Duration of work

Duration of work No. of child workers Percentage Upto 4 hrs 00 0 5 – 8 hrs 180 45 9 -12 hrs 212 53 More then 12 hrs 08 2

Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection

213

It is clear from the above table that the duration of the spread over was

more them 8 hours a day. 53% child carven work for more than 8 hours a day

and it was also found that near 2% of the respondent workers for more than

12 hours.

Rest Interval

Near about 60% workers stated that they did not have any fixed time

for interval or rest during their working hours. Only 11% children say that

they availed of rest intervals which were fixed. The duration of rest intervals

for these children was generally 30 minutes. These child workers did not

have the benefit of weekly off. Only 23% respondent availed Friday off.

Living with family–

Of the 400 workers in non-family enterprises, only 82% were living

with their parents or close relatives. The remaining 18% were living in the

premises of the establishments. In most cases, the child worker spends his

night, all by himself as the owner/employer live elsewhere. Most of the

children who lived in the premises of the establishment maintained

communications with their parents.

Housing :

Housing covered an important aspect of human life. It is considered as

one of the most important basic need of mankind. This provides them some

sort of shelter for their survival and well-being. But for the labours, the

worker sections of the society, is a big problem. As the standard of living of

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the child wood carvers are very poor, most of them are living in kuccha house

and Jhuggies. During the study it was found that 48.8% of the wood carvers

were living in the kuccha house, where as only 12.4% of the children had

pucca house. Apart form them there were 20% of the sample child workers

live in Jhuggies and huts. Such poor people occupied vacant piece of land and

put their huts there. Maximum of them had only one room to live in, while

the percentage of families occupying two rooms was very near about 21 to

22%.

The houses of the wood workers were located in very congested

environment due to their low earning. They generally lived in slum areas as

because the houses were without their means.

Health :

The development of a nation depend upon increasing gross national

product and average per capita income with raising the living standard of

poor and economically depressed section of the society. When the production

increases, the profit of the earning went to the industrialists. It must reach to

the labour force also, who were the real force of production. But if it did not

reach them, this section of the society would suffer and they would not

contribute their required labour. With the result, production would fall down

and the industrialists would suffer. For national development and economic

growth in the country it is required that there should be improvement in the

economic conditions and rise in the living standard of the poorer section of

the society. This is specially for those working as labourers, either in

215

agricultural sector or in industry. Such is the case of wood carvers. They also

belong to the poorer section of the society. They remain depressed for various

reasons. Firstly they are low paid labourers and secondly, they don’t have any

social status. Poverty, unemployment and family life have compelled even

the teen-aged children to adopt this profession which is definitely injurious to

their health and well being. This is the main reason that most of the wood

workers from the very early age suffer from different diseases. They are fully

aware of the risk, yet they cant’ prevent their children to do this work. The

factors that affects the health of their children adversely are :

Long working hours without proper rest, Use of heavy instrument in

work place, Improper ventilation in working area, Lack of proper lightning

system, Poor sanitation system both in their working place and in their

houses, Impure drinking water, Lack of proper nutrition due to poverty, Lack

of knowledge to maintain hygiene, Large family size, Use of tobacco in early

age, Work in dust without proper precaution, Seasonal effect on their health

due to working in open areas, Improper family budget, And the root cause of

all the above is poverty, Due to all the above reason the health of this

working group is not good. Most of them are suffering from Tuber Culosis in

early age. Their resistance power is very weak due to which they get

infectious diseases very quickly. Due to poor economic conditions they can

not avail medical treatments for the disease. It is also found that their

traditional believes and unawareness is responsible for their poor health.

216

Temperatures

The people living in the areas with moderate type of climate are the

luckiest ones. Because they do not have to face the harsh extreme type of

climate. Here in region, the temperature are above 400C in the summer and

the mercury dips near 00C during January. During summer the wood carvers

sweat profusely as their work place has barely a single fan and power-cut

have become a routine for our town. They work and work without any rest in

the absence of electricity. Their clothes get stuck to their sweaty bodies.

Some of them remove their shirts and work in vests but still it is too hot.

While in winters, their hands shiver and they get hurt sometimes but still they

have to finish their work in time. They continue without fail but isn’t it the

duty of their employers to make arrangements for generators, fans and

exhaust fans. Government should make some laws for these employers and

prescribe rule to provide good working conditions.

Safety provisions:

Safety must be the first priority of the employers and the workers but

none of them is concerned about it. The poor workers are not aware of safety

provision due to lack of education and employers think only of minting

money. The old and dilapidated buildings are used as Karkhanas which may

collapse any time. They are the weakest structures to face any casualty. No

fire extinguishers are available in these buildings. The passages are too

narrow that half of the people will be killed in a stampede in the case of a

217

casualty like earthquake, fire etc. No one is worried for the safety of the

workers neither the administration nor the employers. The workers should be

educated a little and made aware of their rights. They should ask their

employers to provide some measures for their safety. They live in a

democratic country and everybody has a right to live and work freely and

says his voice a giants atrocities or misbehavior of their employers. Some

times the workers get hurt but there is no availability of even first-aid. So,

this makes clear that there is absolute absence of safety provisions in the

work-place of the wood-carvers.

Space

There should enough space available for the workers to work to keep

their belonging and their tools. There should be some space for them where

they can rest for some time. But the wood and the wooden articles they are

manufacturing occupy the whole of the space. The workers are unable to sit

comfortably in these dingy small space. Gradually spondelytis or cervical

spondelytis affects their backbone and neck. The fine saw dust remains

suspended in the air and is inhaled by the workers. Such conditions and lack

of space may cause diseases like Asthma and Tuberculosis. Lungs of these

people are badly affected. The employers should construct these factories as

Karkhanas in open space. The building should be well ventilated and

spacious enough to accommodate these workers and the wooden-articles in

the comfortable way.

218

Toilets and Urinals

Most of the factories do not have toilets. The people run towards the

open space outside or to the corners in case of an emergency. If some of the

Karkhanas have toilets, they are of old fashion which should be cleaned twice

a day by the sweepers. But the sweepers arrive there once a week. The germs

and flies grew in large number in such places and cause diarrhea, Cholera etc.

Flush and cisterns should be made available in the toilets. They are the only

option to get rid of foul smell, flies, germs and diseases.

Lighting:

The space where the wood-carvers perform their task daily should be

properly lit. So that these people may devote their whole of the attention on

their work. Poor lighting arrangements can make their eye-sight weak in the

long run. The showrooms and offices of the proprietors in this industry are

too luxurious and well-lit. But the poor men who devote their whole lives for

the sake of their work suffer in cosy, dingy and semi-dark work shops. They

have to look deeply to carve the intricate designs in wood. Sometimes they

hurt their fingers while cutting wood in the absence of proper lighting in the

work place. The old carvers gradually become victims of poor-eyesight and

spondeylytis as they have to bend on the articles to carve them beautifully

while is not enough. They intricate beautiful designs in the articles of wood

are appreciated by all but who knows what these wood carvers have to go

through while making them.

219

Drinking Water :

Water is the basic necessity for life. We all need fresh and clean water

to live a disease free life. Water-borne diseases may prove to the lethal in the

several cases. The workshops where the wood carves work have usually an

old hand pump that stops working quite often. If a tap is available there, it

remains dry because municipal supply of water is inadequate. The poor

wood-carvers drink the water whether it is pure or impure because they are

unaware of the germs carried by impure water. Diarrhea, dysentery and

cholera are a few of the diseases caused by impure water. Sometimes no

source of water is available inside the work place. Then the young helpers

working there fetch it from the neighbourhood hand-pumps installed by the

municipality. The water is usually not clear, has a foul smell and carries a

million of germs. So, arrangements should be made to provide these wood-

carvers pure and safe drinking water.

Rest and Shelter :

No rest and shelter is available in most of the workshops. The workers

have to make arrangements for their boarding and lodging themselves. The

whole day they work in the Karkhanas and return to their homes at night but

some of them have come from other states or districts to find a job here who

have to sleep in the dirty corners of the Karkhanas or hire a small room and

share it with five or six more people like them. In other industries, usually

employers provide a place to rest and shelter to their employees. But wood-

220

carving industry does not provide any such facilities. The plight of the

workers is worse than any where else. They are just suffering under the harsh

working conditions and they do not get proper rest and shelter, It makes their

work more tedious and affects their health severely in the long run.

Mess and Canteen :

Food is another basic necessity of life. These wood carvers work till

working hours at night, such hard work requires lots of energy and only good

food can fulfill this requirement. The poor people barely get two square

meals a day because their wages are too low. Sometimes they work the whole

day without a single meal. No provision for a mess or canteen is made by the

employers. Those workers who come to work from the nearby villages bring

some chapattis with them but no curry, salad or vegetables they get here. A

healthy meal is only an imaginary thing for them. Many of them suffer from

malnutrition.

PROBLEMS FACED BY THE TARGET GROUPS

Labour at all times has been recognized as a saviour factor of production,

without which no production is possible. Labour problems do not arise where the

various factors of production are supplied by one and the same person. But when

labour is supplied by agents other than those who supply other factors of

production, a host of problems begin to appear and gradually develop in

dimensions. Thus, all problems of labour arise from individual and group conflicts,

friction and competition, in the process of adaptation to the working and living

221

environments. The problems of labour have led to the occurrence of immense.

Social and economic problems, problems of conditions of employment, of hours of

work, of health and sanitation inside a factory or a workshop as well as outside it,

of housing and welfare and social security. The magnitude of labour problem

increases with the tempo of industrial activities in a country.

Labour has got certain characteristics which given rise to various

labour problems. Firstly, it is inseparable from the person of the labourer.

This peculiarity results in the fact that the supply of labour, along with other

things, depends upon the forethought and selfishness of those who bring up

the labourer. Secondly, the workers sells his work only. Therefore the

environment in which the labourer has to work are of utmost importance in

the supply of labour. Thirdly, it is a perishable commodity. Fourthly, it is not

so mobile as capital. Fifthly, labour has a very weak bargaining power.

Sixthly, rapid adjustment of the supply of labour to its demand is not

possible. Finally labour is not only a factor of production but is also the

ultimate end of production.

Labour problem is a special kind of social problem, which arises because

of a conflict between the interest of the employer and the interest of the worker.

The worker is both an agent of production contributing to the National Output

and as a consumer, claiming and equitable share of the National ..... The conflict

arises because the employer wants to maximize his income and is anxious to pay

the worker the least. The worker claims a lot, because he thinks that he produces

222

the whole wealth for his master pockets. Thus the conflict arises between the

two. Labour problem, thus have many aspects – economic, political,

psychological, sociological, legal and historical.

Considering the conditions of labour in Wood-Carving Industry

Saharanpur, it appears that it has caught all the worst features due to

irresponsibility and self-interest. Unrest among labourers is mainly

responsible for the present fall in production. Labour, being largely

unorganized, unregulated and plentiful has not been able to get decent wages.

Collective bargaining is difficult owing to considerable increase in the supply

of labour which results in apparently low standard of living and worst

housing conditions. The problems faced by the woodcarvers is studied under

the following two heads:-

(i) Economic Problems Economic conditions of children represented by their wages,

incentives, family budget, indebt ness and job security. etc.

Service conditions Child wood-carvers work on daily labour basis or they may appointed

on piece-wage system. They are purely temporary worker so they can earn till

they work or till they get work. If due to any circumstances they do not work

for a day, a week or for a month, they don’t get any remuneration and are

suffered from economic problem. As their job is not permanent, it is not sure

that they get job in the same place regularly. This create a sense of insecurity

in their mind which generally reduce their work efficiency.

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Time of work

Another major problem faced by maximum children is their time

duration of work. According to labour law the working hour for any group of

labour whether, skilled, should not be exceed eight hour. But, they are forced

to work quite longer. Sometime they even have to work 10 hours, or more.

During the working time they get only half an hour break to take their lunch

and rest which is very difficult for the labour below age fourteen.

Wages

An important problem faced by the child workers is wage

differentiation. The percentage of labour below the age of 16 is more in

woodcarving industry and they are the group who get less wages. Due to very

flexible control on finger these labour group perform very fine carving like

zali work which is very difficult job. But this labour group get minimum

return against their work.

Another problem of the children is unawareness about the wage rate

system prescribed by the Government. The wage rate is influenced by force

in labour market. The wage payment made by different exporter and firm is

different from each other. The worker below age 16 were some time cheated

by the employer while getting their payments due to illiteracy. As all the

carver’s work on temporary basis, so there is no such provision for any

payment against their live. So to fulfill their daily requirement they work

even when they are ill, for the minimum wages.

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Incentives No incentive is given to child workers. In some occasion like Eid

Diwal the skilled workers called ustadji, get some incentives by the employer

(those who work in big firms). But the other unskilled child worker don’t get

anything as incentive except their normal wages.

Indebtness Due to illiteracy and unawareness about the formal credit facility, this

group depend either upon their employer or local money lender to borrow

money. The earning from their work is even enough to satisfy their daily basic

need, therefore to fulfill many social responsibility and cultural activity they

need money from some external source. Most of the time they get this from their

employer and have to work in low rate to clear the debt. They maintain this

facility in future they follows every word of their employer. A majority of wood

worker experienced many problem in getting loan from banks and other formal

financial institution being illiterate or not having any assets affected their

chances of getting loan from banks.

Repayment The earning of the carver’s group is so low that, it is not even enough

to satisfy their daily needs. So this group don’t even think for saving and are

not able to clear their debt. As for the repayment behaviour, they felt that they

were able to manage the repayment by selling the produce, with either

previous savings, borrowing from others, selling any of their assets or

reducing expenditure on their daily consumption. In other words, those who

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wanted to repay always found some source through which they could

mobilize the finance for repayment.

High Rate of Interest

A reason behind indebt ness of this group is the high rate of interest

charged by the employer or local money lender. Some times to take loan from

the local money lender, they give some of their assets as guarantee and due to

non-payment of the loan amount and high interest of it, they lose their assets.

Improper family budget

Most of the wood-carvers work on daily labour basis and get their

wages daily. After getting payment they make their expenditure on daily

consumable goods without any plan. They earn only by targeting next day.

Most of the labour below the age of 14 spent their daily income on

entertainment, fast food and tobacco after giving very few amount to their

parents, which adversely affect their health.

They can not demand for equal pay for equal work. The payment given

by the employer to different labour is not same without any sound reason.

They are not getting minimum wages in lieu of the service rendered by them

to respective employers/masters.

(ii) Social Problems

The labourers engaged in Wood-Carving Industry of Saharanpur not

only suffer from economic problem, but they have to face many social

problems, which are listed below :

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Large family :

Most of the labour engaged in wood carving industry are Muslims,

poor and lowers section of the society. This group believe on more children

who in future helps in earning for the family. But due to large size family

they neglect the basic necessity of their children like proper vaccination and

nutritional food which create many health problems.

Child Labour :

Child labour is the result of large size family. Due to large family, the

head of the family is unable to satisfy the basic wants of his family with his

limited earning which enforce him to send their male child for work in an

early age. And this process accelerate the problem of child labour not only in

wood carving but in India as a whole?

Living Condition :

A view of living condition of children and their family

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A view of living condition of children and their family

They are living in an atmosphere

which is not conductive to their health.

Most of the wood carvers live in small

rented house with improper ventilation

and lighting. They live in slum area.

Many of them live in Kuchha house &

Juggi Jhopries. During rainy season there

is leakage from the roof which affect

adversely to their health.

Sanitation :

Improper sanitation system adversely affect their health and the labourer

generally suffer from diarrhea, malaria and other infectionary diseases.

Lighting :

The lighting system at work place as well as in their living place create

visual problem for the worker. The worker generally work in natural light in

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small room and the craft work need concentration of eyes on their work. This

create eye sight problem in early age.

Deprived medical Facilities :

Although the Medicare centers are opened in slums area but they are

not properly maintained. So the workers have to depend on private

practitioner who charge high fee which create many social problems.

They are not allowed to exercise their right to work. They are

not allowed to avail social security, dignity and respect.

They are suffering as a result of non-implementation of social

security legislations.

They are deprived of their right to participate in any managerial

work. The labour engaged in this job only perform the job

assigned to him.

They are not allowed to avail three times food in a day in a society

where atmosphere is not conducive to their well-being.

They are denied basic facilities such as rest, education,

recreation and amusement, sports, social protection and periodic

holidays with pay.

They are generally illiterate in their native languages. Most of them

would not be able to read a contract or sign their own names.