Prohibition of child labour
Also called: Article 24 · Topic: Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Remedies · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Rights in the Indian Constitution"
Meaning
Article 24 says no child below 14 may be employed in a factory, a mine or any other hazardous (dangerous) work. It is a fundamental right that also binds private employers, not only the State. A law goes further: the Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986, amended in 2016. It bans all work by children under 14, except helping in a family enterprise after school hours or working as a child artist. It also bans hazardous work for adolescents aged 14 to 18.
Example
A 12-year-old working in a mine or a factory breaks Article 24. A 16-year-old doing hazardous work breaks the 2016 law, even though Article 24 itself covers only children under 14.
Don't confuse with
- Right to education (Article 21A): this is a positive right. It makes the State provide free schooling from 6 to 14. Article 24 only bars employment.
Related concepts
- Right against exploitation
- Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
- Begar
- Asiad workers case
- Bonded labour
- Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976
- Right to education
- 86th Constitutional Amendment Act 2002
- Unni Krishnan case
- Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009