Global Journal of Human Social Science, H: Interdisciplinary, Volume 22 Issue 7

The processes in the textile sector have already been analysed where it is evident that a large amount of low-skilled labour is required. This means that any large manufacturing company must look for methods in which they can acquire the services of these low-skilled labour forces at very low wages. Hence, if a country provides opportunities to corporations to hire low-skilled labour which is often child labour at very low wages, the investment and the number of contracts that the country can incite increases drastically. Similarly, the other large nation with focus on FDI being China also has a large amount of child labour . 15 The fact that the Government’s focus on securing employment over regulating child labour can even be seen in the orders of the Courts. It is often evident that the judiciary is deferential to the Government policy and has a larger chance of resorting to their strategic planning. 16 Recent orders of the Supreme Court regarding employment in the firecracker industry state: " We cannot give money or jobs or support people who will lose their jobs if we shut down firecrackers manufacturing units... We do not want to generate unemployment. … Such a revenue to the State as well as employment to large number of workers on which five lakh families sustain cannot be put in jeopardy by imposing a total ban . ” 17 It is evident that even the Court realizes that often the focus of the state is not just the morality of something, but also the economics of it. The prevalence of child labour in the firecracker industry is well-known and the Supreme Court’s stance cannot be justified by ignorance. 18 Hence, credibility to the argument by Weiner can be assigned with regards to the focus of the Government to encourage and incentivize multi-national companies to invest in India. This is done by offering cheap labour and not actively prohibiting children to work in these factories. Hence, the lack of active regulation is equivalent to an endorsement of child labour in India. V. R egulating C hild L abour The already unpliable task of regulating child labour becomes even more arduous if the Government’s strategy revolves around it. Hence, the primary objective in drafting a policy would not be to attempt to abolish since the truths of poverty will still justify child labour. 15 https://www.ilo.org/beijing/areas-of-work/child-labour/lang--en/index .htm Last Accessed on 27th August, 2022. 16 Nanhu v. Delhi Administration 1980 Supp SCC 613; All Delhi Cycle Rickshaw Operators Union v. MCD (1987) 1 SCC 371. 17 https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/we-cannot-kill-jobs-in-crac ker-industry-says-supreme-court/article26507955.ece Last accessed on 12th September, 2022. 18 National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Report on the visit of Dr. Yogesh Dube to Review the Child Labour situation in Fire Crackers & Match Industries in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, 2013. Rather, regulation of child labour in a sophisticated manner where the Government takes active steps in ensuring that children who are enticed by factories have safe working conditions and receive fair wages. The CLRPA contains various provisions which seek to regulate the amount of time a child works in a day and a week. However, what it fails to implement is a sophisticated system that can ensure that children are adequately represented in work environments. The legislation only lays down rights of the children and duties of the employer without prescribing any way to efficiently monitor or exercise the fulfilment of these duties. A huge problem of child labour is that children are not capable of entering into negotiations and lack any bargaining power against the employer. They cannot form Trade unions or enter into any sort of collective bargaining without outside support. The nature of child labour is such that it is often forced. While valid consent of a child is anyway not in question, their guardians who often send them to work do that under duress. As analysed, the reason for child labour stems from impoverishment foremost, and hence any decision taken then is taken under economic duress. Hence, child labour is seen at the ground level as a relief from impoverishment rather than an issue. This entails that parents send their children into labour and often gratuitous to the employers for even employing them. This sense of gratuity ensues that even the parents cannot unionize against employers and gain bargaining power. Hence, with the lack of any support at ground level to ensure safe working conditions for children, the case remains bleak. The employer would find it easier to bribe an official 19 than keep up with the extensive regulations. There needs to be a regulatory agency that is able to mitigate the vast difference in the bargaining power between the two parties. Hence, the regulatory mechanism must be able to balance children’s rights and the employer’s production costs. VI. A ccountability in the T extile S ector The propagation of child labour in the textile sector is because of the massive number of multi- national companies that are looking for ways to find cheap labour. These companies invest in developing and under-developed countries where their cost of production is very low to ensure a high margin of profit can be maintained. The method of acquiring services in these regions is often through indirect contracts and multiple levels of sub-contracting. In such a scenario, it becomes even harder to regulate child labour from the top tier. 19 Mihir Sharma, Restart: Last Chance for the Indian Economy 308-313 (Random House: 2015). © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue VII Version I 15 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 H Child Labour in the Fast Fashion Industry, with a Focus on India