All You Need To Know About Right Against Exploitation
Introduction
The right to be free from all types of exploitation is known as the right against exploitation (Articles 23 and 24). The Indian Constitution protects the fundamental right against exploitation. Slavery, beggarism, child labor, bonded labor, and other kinds of forced labor are all forbidden under the Indian Constitution as examples of exploitation. Human dignity is guaranteed by Articles 23 and 24, which deal with the right against exploitation.
About Right Against Exploitation
• The Right against Exploitation is a provision of the Indian Constitution that safeguards each person's dignity. Moreover, it prohibits the following forms of coercion or incentive used to exploit or misuse services.
• It makes the buying and selling of human beings as a commodity illegal, which is known as human trafficking. Moreover, it prohibits the employment of women or girls for immoral purposes.
• The use of forced labor of any kind, including slavery and bonded work, is forbidden. A practice known as "Begar" calls for a worker to offer his master a free or inexpensive service.
• The state has been given the authority to require such people to perform required service in order to halt the practice. Government agencies are forbidden from treating people differently based on their race, religion, or other characteristics.
• Employing minors under the age of 14 in mines, factories, or other hazardous jobs is prohibited.
• Many people in our nation are deprived and underprivileged. They could also be the target of abuse from others. Typically, exploitation takes the following shapes:
• Forced labor that goes unpaid, i.e begar
• Enslavement and human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and devdasi-like behavior
• Traditionally, landlords, moneylenders, and affluent individuals have all used forced labor. In truth, there are still several locations where bonded labor is practiced, such as brick kiln employment. Both types of activities were outlawed by the Indian constitution in part III, and bonded labor is now a criminal offence.
• The constitution forbids the use of child labor as well. Employing young children in hazardous jobs like mines and factories is now against the law.
• Giving these kids a right to an education has made the right against exploitation more significant.
Constitutional Provisions Regarding The Right Against Exploitation:
• Our constitution has specific safeguards to prevent the exploitation of weaker groups of society in order to protect against discrimination and foster personal liberty. The clause is written into Article 23.
• Article 23 - Prohibits forced labor, beggar labor, and other similar kinds of human trafficking. Any infringement of this clause will result in legal sanctions.
• Moreover, Article 24 includes a particular clause designed to stop the exploitation of children.
• Article 24 states that no kid under the age of fourteen may be employed in a factory, mine, or in any other dangerous occupation.
Exceptions
• There are some circumstances that might emerge when being forced to labor might be necessary. As a result, these clauses have several exclusions that are explicitly stated in the constitution.
• Article 23 exceptions: This article itself established an exception by stating that the State may impose mandatory public service in certain circumstances. Of course, in such a situation, the State is not permitted to discriminate on the basis of race, caste, or class.
• As a result, it would not stop the State from enforcing obligatory recruitment for public objectives like the military or social services.
• The provision does not forbid using forced labor as a form of punishment for criminal convictions.
• No exemption under Article 24: There would be no exception to the ban set forth in Article 24. It is obvious that children under the age of 14 should never work in factories, mines, or any other dangerous jobs. In light of this, the Supreme Court has ordered that proactive measures be taken for the welfare of such children in order to raise their standard of living.
Article 23 (Workers' Rights) Recent Issues:
• The COVID-19 Epidemic caused waves of worker reverse migration. Employers have abused workers' rights on numerous occasions, and states have done nothing to stop it.
• Our Constitution's Article 23 forbids "forced labor." According to the Supreme Court's ruling in ‘’PUDR v. Union of India (1982)’’, "the word 'force' must include the kind of compulsion arising from the urgent economic situation (like Covid-19), which leaves no alternatives to a person and forces a person to work for very little pay, even less than minimum wage."
• The ILO's "Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017," which mandates that the states must protect the rights of the marginalized group to "free choice of employment" while recovering from a disaster, is also violated by this action.
• Hence, the numerous Home Ministry orders and State laws would be against both our Constitution and international law.
SC Directives
• The Supreme Court issued the following directives for the abolition of child labor in MC Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu.
• A survey must be conducted to identify child labor.
• Children who work in hazardous sectors must be removed from those jobs, and their enrollment in educational institutions must be guaranteed.
• The children's welfare fund must get Rs. 20,000 from the delinquent employer.
• One adult family member of the child being rescued must be given a job. If it is not possible, the state shall put 5000 rupees into the fund for the welfare of children.
• While the child is enrolled in school, the harmed family must get financial support from the interest earned on that $20,000/$25,000 investment.
• The maximum amount of time that youngsters can work in non-hazardous jobs is six hours. Moreover, employers are required to provide at least two hours of education daily.
• In this instance, the employer is entirely responsible for the cost of such schooling.
Indian Laws Enacted In Conformity With Article 24
Factories Act of 1948
• The first law enacted after independence that set a minimum age requirement for factory workers was this one. The Act set a minimum age of 14 years old.
• Children under the age of 17 are not allowed to work at night under this law, which was updated in 1954.
The 1952 Mines Act
• The mining industry was governed by the Mines Act of 1952.
• Minors under the age of 18 are prohibited from working in mines by this regulation.
• Child Labor (Prohibition and regulation act) 1986
• A law that forbids and controls child labor is the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986.
• This ground-breaking law was passed in India to address the widespread issue of child labor.
• It listed both the places and ways in which minors could work and the places and ways in which they couldn't. A person who is under the age of fourteen is referred to as a child.
• According to the 1986 Act, children are not allowed to do 57 procedures and 13 jobs.
Child Labor (Prohibition And Regulation) Amendment Act of 2016
• A law that forbids and controls child labor is the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act of 2016.
• This Act specifically forbids the employment of anyone under the age of 14. Additionally, it forbids those between the ages of 14 and 18 from engaging in risky tasks or procedures.
• This amendment act has increased the severity of the penalty for breaching this law.
• This Act gives young people the ability to work as artists as well as a variety of domestic professions.
Child Labor (Prohibition And Regulation) Amendment Rules 2017
• In order to create a thorough and detailed framework for child and adolescent worker prevention, prohibition, rescue, and rehabilitation, the government adopted the following Rules in 2017.
• By establishing working hours and conditions, the Regulations clarified issues connected to the employment of family companies and protected artists.
• Legislation enacted by the Parliament in accordance with Article 23
• Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act 1956
• Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act 1976
Conclusion
Even so, it is a beautiful element of our constitution that prohibits exploitation. There are many difficulties in the actual application of the elimination procedure. The protections for the protection of employees' rights must be modified in accordance with dynamic situations like Covid-19 and the evolving nature of employment.