Almost 250 million children, about one in every six children aged 5 to 17 on the face of the globe, are involved in child labour. Child labour in sivakasi fireworks industry my india. Ideally suited for fireworks manufacture thanks to a dry climate and low rainfall, sivakasi caught the public eye when activists exposed the rampant child labour employed in its factories. First crack in the firecracker industry to curb child labour despite campaigns like bachpan bachao andolan, the employment of children in firecracker units is.
In 2011, sivakasi, tamil nadu was home to over 9,500 firecracker factories and produced almost 100 percent of total fireworks output in india. Hazardous child labour is defined by article 3 d of ilo convention concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, 1999 no. The employment of children took a dramatic turn in the late 1700s with the industrial revolution in great britain. Ward from manchester was interviewed about the health of textile workers on 25th march, 1819. Yet, child labour has reached a headcount of millions. Poverty is the main cause of child labour in agriculture, together with limited access to quality education, poor agricultural technology. Each year, preceding or following diwali, newspapers erupt with news on firecracker factory blasts, and the stench of death they emanate. The town of sivakasi in south india, known for its fireworks and matchsticks industries, has been reported to employ child labour in the production of fireworks. Child labourers exposed to toxic chemicals dying before 50. Pdf childlabour practice in fireworks industry researchgate.
However, reports of widespread child labour in firework production continue to persist. The conditions in which sivakasi cracker workers toil from dawn to dusk are. Child labourers have historically been a part of the fireworks industry in india, especially sivakasi. The widespread employment of very young children in factories and mines marked a break with traditional practice, and was something that some contemporaries found distasteful.
Carlos manuel is a young man from the community of san juan planes who has worked in the fireworks factory since he was eight years old. Death factories making fireworks with children s toil, finds india today investigation the workers have no formal training, machines and or safety gear as they fill gunpowder into. Catalogue of human deaths in china s firework factories. What are the labour law compliances required for a. Review of the child labour situation in fire crackers. Save child labour working in firecracker factories, lets pledge to give up firecrackers this diwali. These children cant attend school, and with no hope of a career they are limited to a. Sivakasi, tamil nadu was home to over 9,500 firecracker factories and produced almost 90 percent of total fireworks and 500 match factories giving 75 % matches output in india. Out of a total population of 100,000 workers in the match and fireworks industries, the child worker population is around 45,000, mostly below the age of 14. Mitigation strategies the main variable to control noise level is the particle size of the chemicals.
Andhra pradesh cracker unit deaths bring back focus on child labour. How high street clothes were made by children in myanmar for p an hour this article is more than 3 years old. From sparkling diamonds to firecrackers, our economy is thriving on. Tamil child labour think of these kids when sparklers light up diwali sky ians every time a sparkler lights up the sky during diwali festivities, spare a thought for karuppuswamy, chitra and muneeswari three of the nearly 40,000 children toiling away in sivakasi district fireworks. The international labour organisation has set an international law on child labor that was signed and ratified by most countries. A stream overflowed into the ventilation drift after violent thunderstorms causing the death of 26 children 11 girls aged from 8 to 16 and 15 boys between 9 and 12 years of age. Even though factory owners claim that child labour in sivakasi is. Opinion the factories of lost children the new york times.
Sivakasi houses worlds largest concentration of child. Child labour can also refer to the practice of exploiting children for financial gain. Save child labour working in firecracker factories, lets. List of fireworks accidents and incidents in sivakasi wikipedia. Poverty and lack of schools are considered as the main cause of child labor. Andhra pradesh cracker unit deaths bring back focus on child labour as many of us prepare to greet the festival of lights with sweets, rangolis and most likely firecrackers, a blast at a firecracker manufacturing unit at east godavari district of andhra pradesh left almost a dozen dead, including children, on monday morning, while some battled serious burns. Laws governing child labour in factories were first passed in 1874, but child labour on. Factory and mine owners preferred child labor also because they perceived the child workers smaller size as an advantage. The major issues in the fireworks industry in sivakasi is child labour and frequent accidents. In textile factories, children were desired because of their supposed nimble fingers, while low and narrow mine galleries made children particularly effective mine workers. Why the fate of sivakasi cracker workers is clouded in smoke the. Child labour in match box and fire crackers industries of sivakasi. The workers have no formal training, machines and or safety. The fireworks factory fire left few of the 103 workers there unscathed.
Andhra pradesh cracker unit deaths bring back focus on. A serious accident in 1838 at huskar colliery in silkstone, revealed the extent of child labour in the mines. Such rights include the opportunity to enjoy their childhood, attend school regularly, have peace of mind, and live a dignified life. Child labour existed in the netherlands up to and through the industrial revolution. Bba raised the question to the audience would you burn these crackers that has resulted in thousands of children deaths. Child labor and mortality rates in the industrial revolution. Not working in factories or in the fields, without pay, in less than human conditions. Death factories making fireworks with children s toil, finds india today investigation the workers have no formal training, machines and or safety gear as they fill gunpowder into small earthen pots, rocket tubes and paper shells.
Child labour, which is work that interferes with schooling and damages health and personal development, based on hours and conditions of work, child s age, activities performed and hazards involved. They say the laws have remained ineffective in curbing child labour. It is said that labour contractors supplying children to fireworks factories examine their fingers closely. Ending dangerous child labour in firework factories plan. Death factories making fireworks with childrens toil. In this blog post, abhijna ganesh somashekhara, who is currently pursuing a diploma in entrepreneurship administration and business laws from nujs, kolkata, details the labour law compliances required for a firecracker industry with special focus on ant child labour. Chinese factories make most of the worlds fireworks. Around 2011, there were about 9,500 firework units and 500 matches units in sivakasi effectively creating about 90% of indias firecrackers and 75% of matches output.
In may 2002, the ilo issued a new global report on child labour that describes the extent of the problem. As more and more factories were built, more jobs were created, making it easier for children to obtain one of the jobs in the textile factories, also know as textile mills. The problem of child labour in fireworks industry comes out of the closet every time there is a ghastly incident as this. The government and the fireworks industry seem to think that if things. Injuries among children child labor and the industrial. In guatemala, many work in the fireworks industry, but as ilo tv now reports, the challenge is to find poor families alternative sources of income. In the space of only one week from 28 july to 4 august 2003 there were four reported explosions in fireworks factories in various parts of china leading to the death of at least 31 people. Death factories making fireworks with childrens toil, finds india today investigation. Chinese clothes factories import cheap child labour from across china many workers are brought in to the factories from yunnan province as. First crack in the firecracker industry to curb child labour.
How does it affect the children mentally and physically. Nineteen people including three students died in the acci. The recent explosion in hebei which killed workers as. Beijing has increased its efforts to crack down on child labor, for example, last august, beijing removed the license of a factory accused of using child labour to produce olympic merchandise. It was way back in 1989 that a reporter named shubh bharadwaj had reported about the. They are working up to 14 hours per day with two onehour break, and are paid very less. Myanmars labour laws permit factories to pay newer workers at reduced rates.
In a blast in 1991 in a factory, 39 people were killed and 65 others. They point out that although india bans the use of young workers in hazardous industries, thousands of children continue to work in firecracker and matchstick factories or are involved in carpetweaving, embroidery or stitching footballs. Sivakasi, an industrial town in tamil nadu, houses the worlds largest concentration of child labour in its various units. Men, women, and young children worked in the cotton mills in lancashire, england. With nano sized aluminium nal particles, the specific surface area increases creating easier ignition and increased burn rates. Unfortunately some of these extremes involved putting young children at risk, not only risking their future, but even sometimes their life. Catalogue of human deaths in chinas firework factories china. He is now in the eighth grade and says, almost all of the children around here who work in the fireworks factories know about the rights of children and about child labour, thanks to the training we. There are nearly 460 fireworks factories giving employment to about. Struggling economies and the industrial revolution caused higher child labor rates and child mortality rates. Children as young as 3 years old work in factories, mines, and even brothels, often paid only with a meal. Bbc news south asia india tightens child labour laws. How high street clothes were made by children in myanmar.
Child labour comes to the fore at sivakasi madurai news. The girl child with nimble fingers and supple arms is preferred because these physical attributes enhance output. When i was a surgeon in the infirmary, accidents were very often admitted to the infirmary, through the children s hands and arms having being caught in the machinery. It triggered a series of parliamentary enquiries into the working conditions of children in mines and factories. Researches show that 44 of 206 foreignowned companies in shenzhen employ children at the age between 10 to 161, even apple had admit using child labors under 15yearsold5. In sivakasi, workers, especially children, have died or been scarred for. The nightmare of child labour in sivakasi telegraph india. Sustained campaign by ngos and government action that followed had prevented child labour. Even if some of these factories have done away with child labour, as they.
Death factories making fireworks with childrens toil, finds india. Although children had been servants and apprentices throughout most of human history, child labor reached new extremes during the industrial revolution. Child labour refers to the use of children as a source of labour while depriving them of their fundamental rights in the process. Author katharine weber oped article notes that 146 people, most of them teenage girls, died in triangle waist co fire in manhattan on march 25, 1911. When economies have struggled in the past, societies have gone to extremes to survive. First crack in the firecracker industry to curb child labour dailyo. The minimum age of employment is now 16, according to chinas new labour law. More than 80 million children worldwide are employed in dangerous work, international labour organization figures show. Child labourers exposed to toxic chemicals dying before 50, who says bangladesh tannery workers exposed to formaldehype, sulphuric acid and. From sparkling diamonds to firecrackers, our economy is. Child labor often exists in countries vulnerable to natural disasters, and those that lack infrastructure for health care and other income securities. This could increase scrutiny of the chinese fireworks industry, whichin the wake of the 2001 and 2009 factory explosions in southern china in which children were among the dead, and allegations.