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Monday, 11 October 2010 |
Indian apparel manufacturers are wary of being cited for child
labor violations. The US, which accounts for 30 per cent of India’s apparel exports worth $10 billion, had a few months back labeled India as a country that uses child labor in garment manufacturing. The stand poses a huge reputational risk to India that supplies garments to the likes of Wal-Mart, GAP, H&M, Diesel, M&S and Levi’s, all of whom swear against child labor.
Under Indian laws, children under the age of 14 are prohibited from working in hazardous industries and in homes, hotels and restaurants. But the law is rarely enforced and convictions have been few. The Indian government estimates that more than 12 million children under the age of 14 are employed, while NGOs estimate there are twice that many.
The US makes two lists of countries that need to be watched for child labor. One is required by law and designed to promote consumer awareness about child labor. It includes Argentina, China, India, Jordan, Malaysia and Thailand. The other, which includes Argentina, China and India, is created by executive order to make sure that the government doesn’t buy products that might have been made by little kids in a sweatshop.
India has all along followed a proactive policy in the matter of tackling the problem of child labor. Indian apparel exporters are formulating a strategy to correct the perception that the country’s garment industry is using forced child labor. In the competitive apparel retail markets of the industrialized world, any such allegation could lead to a potential loss of market share. |
