DE LAS REFORMAS A LA CONSTITUCION POLITICA DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS

2.3.8.1. Governmental Efforts

The Government of India implemented a number of policies and programs and passed legislation to combat child labor in general. A National Child Labour Policy was adopted in 1987 to support the 1986 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. In 1992, the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) participated with ILO to start the International Programme for Child Labour (IPEC), and India was the first country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with ILO-IPEC to “promote conditions that will progressively prohibit, restrict and regulate child labour with a view to its ultimate elimination.” MOLE and the U.S. Department of Labor collaborated to start the INDUS Program in 2003 to eliminate child labor. The Government passed anti-child labor legislation; additional state laws addressed child labor issues; and the judicial system in India also made many important judgements that favored children’s rights and welfare.

In addition, the Government at the national and provincial levels pressured the carpet industry to eliminate child labor by enforcing child labor laws. Those enforcement activities, one of the key elements of the NCLP, were reported at the aggregate level by the Government of India (2006). The impact of enforcement activities on the carpet industry was identified by the ILO evaluation, which indicated that the appearance of new production areas in Bihar was the “outcome of increased surveillance (…) by the labour enforcement officials in the core carpet belt” (ILO, 2000:12).70 Another example during the 2007 carpet expo in Varanasi was Union Minister of State for Commerce (Jairam Ramesh) warning carpet manufacturers against using child labor, indicating that it could lead to a ban on exports to the United States and other Western nations.71

Although not directly aimed at combating child labor, the Government of India also started programs to improve the standard of living of carpet industry workers. In 2007, the Government started Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana, which is a subsidized health care insurance scheme for carpet weavers and other artisans. The Ministry of Textiles issued photo-identity cards to weavers and allied workers and also sponsored a Census of Handloom Weavers that was conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research. The purpose of the census was to build a comprehensive dataset of handlooms and textile workers to promote growth in the

70 _{The project staff also encountered evidence of government surveillance and enforcement of child labor laws in the carpet}

industry. In early 2008, during the exploratory qualitative research phase of the study, the research team visited a village to tour a carpet factory. There was no factory, and the villagers reported that government inspectors had found children there and closed the factory. Also in November 2011, during the latest data collection phase of the project, people in Mirzapur and Bhadohi districts (UP) were hesitant to participate in the research, reportedly due to recent police raids and labor inspections in local carpet factories.

29 handloom sector and to ensure that only genuine weavers received the benefits of various schemes being implemented by the Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms).

2.3.8.2. International, Industry, and NGO Efforts

Programs specifically targeting child labor in the carpet industry included carpet labeling schemes, education and health projects aimed at children in the carpet industry, rescue and rehabilitation of child laborers, and awareness campaigns (see Table 3). Four major labeling programs involved carpet exporters and manufacturers agreeing to codes of conduct that prohibited child labor. Rugmark, GoodWeave, Kaleen, and STEP also involved manufacturers agreeing to allow monitoring inspections of carpet production sites. GoodWeave, Rugmark and Kaleen provided labels for the manufacturer to affix to the carpets, guaranteeing that the rugs were child-labor free. The STEP and Care & Fair programs certified companies rather than carpets.72

Besides those labeling programs, self-monitoring systems were implemented by CEPC and by some individual carpet exporters, such as Obeetee. The CEPC loom inspections were conducted by an independent agency (the Academy of Management Studies) and monitored annually 15 to 30 percent of all looms registered with the CEPC by CEPC members. The CEPC also managed a Weavers Welfare Fund (WWF) for children in carpet weaving villages.

The Centre for Rural Education and Development Action (CREDA) worked primarily in awareness building among community members for the abolition of child labor, education of children, extracurricular activities, nutrition programs, income generation activities, enhancement of women’s rights, and giving communities a voice. Two NGOs, the Project Mala Charitable Trust of the United Kingdom and the Delhi-based Children Emancipation Society, started Project Mala in 1989 in the Mirzapur and Varanasi regions of Uttar Pradesh. Project Mala was one of the first organizations to respond to the problem of child labor in the carpet industry by starting their own schools in the carpet belt. At the time of this report, Project Mala was running six primary schools and two middle schools to serve the needs of children who formerly had been working on carpet looms.

72 _{RugMark was the first labeling program in 1994. The program with the most members is Kaleen, which was started by CEPC}

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Table 3. Current Interventions to Eliminate Child Labor in the Carpet Industry

Organization Type of Intervention

Rugmark India Labeling, education, healthcare, prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation GoodWeave Labeling, education, healthcare, prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation

STEP Labeling, education, healthcare, women’s empowerment, small business promotion, and _{strengthening of self-help group programs.} Care & Fair Code of conduct, education, healthcare, and social sensitization.

Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) Membership code of conduct, sensitization campaigns, labeling (Kaleen), loom inspection _{program, education, healthcare, vocational training, and welfare programs.} Obeetee Self-monitoring system.

Centre for Rural Education and Development

Action (CREDA) Community mobilization, education, awareness campaigns, vigilance. Project Mala Education, health care, nutrition.

National Child Labor Program - National

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY