Workshop conducted in Srinagar for child labour awareness among placement agencies

Concerned over the increasing cases of child labour, a one-day orientation cum training programme was organised by an NGO along with labour commissioner of Kashmir and members of juvenile justice board to bring awareness about child labour among placement agencies in the Kashmir Valley.

Concerned over the increasing cases of child labor, a one-day orientation cum training program was organized by an NGO along with the labor commissioner of Kashmir and members of the juvenile justice board to bring awareness about child labor among placement agencies in the Kashmir Valley. The program has been organized as children are found to be working at different places including factories, industrial units, and residential houses as home servants aimed to earn their livelihood.

Keeping in view the increasing cases of child labor, the training program was organized by Childline, Hope Foundation where experts gave different presentations on child labor. Hakeem Javaid, the organizer of the workshop said that this program has been initiated for the first time wherein placement agencies are also been kept in the loop.

"This program has been initiated for the first time where placement agencies have been kept in the loop. The purpose of this workshop was to inform the placement agencies that when they provide services, do they provide by keeping the law in mind or not. We want to inform the placement agencies that if service needs to be provided, how should they provide to them," Javaid told ANI. Khair-un-Nissa, a member of the Member of Juvenile Justice Board said that people who have attended the workshop that people do not know that a kid up to 14 years old cannot do hazardous and non-hazardous labor.

"You cannot allow kids to upto the age of 14 to indulge in hazardous or non-hazardous labor. People are not aware that children from the age of 14 to 18 can be employed only in non-hazardous labor. I want to make people aware from a law point of view as to what labor children can and cannot do," Nissa said. Rifat Ramzan, a law student said such workshops need to be conducted more often in the Valley. "Such seminars need to take place more in the Kashmir to make people aware that child and bonded labor is completely prohibited," the law student said.

"I feel that the organizations such as NGOs work better than the administration or implementing authorities because nobody is looking after the implementation of these laws," Ramzan further added. The orientation cum training program was attended by a number of personalities including labor commissioner of Kashmir, members of the juvenile justice board, owners of placement agencies, and some students as well.