A Study on Child Labour in Indian Beedi Industry

By

Dr. Yogesh Dube, Member NCPCR
Assisted by

Dr. Godsen Mohandoss
Senior Technical Expert, NCPCR

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
5th Floor, Chandralok Building, 36- Janpath New Delhi – 110001 August 2013

Child Labour In Indian Beedi Industry

Beedi Industry in India Beedies are made up of tendu leaves hand rolled with shredded tobacco. The beedi enterprises in India were established initially as cottage or family business houses, and grew into a massive industry with high turnover and enormous employment potential. In India, beedi industry is a major revenue source in many parts of the country where five lakhs million beedies1 are manufactured every year which worth nearly 65 million. States like Madhya Pradesh,

Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha are involved in both manufacturing of beedies and tendu leaves

growing. Nearly 4.5 million workers are engaged in beedi industry in India with largest number in Madhya Pradesh (18.3 %), followed by Andhra Pradesh (14.4 %) and Tamil Nadu (13.8 %)2. Majority of the beedi workers are engaged in beedi rolling in home based work from the organized factories which has only ten percent of the workers involved in beedi rolling. Mostly the economically and socially backward populations are involved in beedi industry. It is to be noted that the tendu

1

Government of India, Report Circulated in the National Workshop on Beedi Workers Housing, Ministry of Labour, Hyderabad, 6-7 May 1995. 2 Agenda Note, 5th Report, Standing Committee on Labour Ministry of Labour and Employment, Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, April 2005.

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leaf collection is one of the profitable livelihood works for tribals3 as is beedi rolling for backward and schedule castes.

Production Process in Beedi work4

There are four important processes pertaining to beedi industry in India and they are tendu leaf

procurement, tobacco procurement, beedi rolling and packaging. In the first process the tendu leaves are collected from the forest during tendu patta season and are processed to make them non-brittle and categorized into six categories. Tobacco procurement is a process where tobacco is procured from the farmers directly to be used in the filling of leaves. The third process involves sizing of tendu leaves, filling the leaves with tobacco and binding

which are labour intensive and can be done either in factory premises or done in the homes, through an out-work or a contract system. In the out-work system the employer gives the raw materials to the employees to take it to their homes convenient place and bring back the finished product. In the he contract system the raw materials are given to the workers not directly by the actual employers but through a contractor or agent who channelizes and regulates the flow and has direct contact with the workers.

3 4

Beedi leaf collection fetches high returns to tribal families, The Hindu, May 02, 2006. The Beedi Industry in India: An Overview-Improving Working Conditions and Employment Opportunities for Women Worker in Beedi Industry, Best Practise Foundation, Karnataka, 2001.

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Only a negligible percentage of beedies are manufactured by the organized sector. About 90% of the beedi making are home based and amongst the home workers, women and children account for a sizeable proportion. The fourth process is checking, roasting, drying and labeling which are normally done in the factories premises mostly by males.

Child labour in Beedi Industry One of the main areas where the thrust is lacking regarding the elimination of child labour is the Beedi industry. This is mainly due to the fact that the nature of the industry perpetuates the invisibility of the workers involved in the beedi industry children work as part of the family. According to a Government report5 it is observed that “Children are also noticed working in labeling and packing jobs in factories and in beedi rolling in homes, but their employment was not shown in the records, nor the employers of child workers

admitted them as workers on the pretext that they were helping their parents”.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (CLPRA), 1986 bans employment of

children in hazardous industries.
5

Iftikhar Ahmed(1999), “Getting rid of child labour”, Economic and Political Weekly , Vol. 34, No. 27, 1999,

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The above diagram depicts that beedi making which is prohibited under this Act has the largest share in the percentage of Child labour where the official figures pen 21% (252574) as the total number of child labour.

It is to be noted that section three of the CLPRA 1986, includes a provision which allows children to work in processes with the aid of their family. Beedi production units exploit the loophole by giving work to families, who in turn also use children in beedi making.

The factors responsible for children working in the beedi industry I) Labour intensive Beedi industry is one of the main unorganized industries where the production process involves less capital, no machinery and is labour intensive, factors which make it highly conducive for involving children in labour intensive process.

II) Vulnerability of children Since children are easy to dominate and subjugate, they are preferred, in order to save on wages and avoid the legal measures like leave, wage and other benefits.

III) Ignorance of parents Illiteracy and ignorance of parents and large size of family are also contributory factors which propel children into beedi work. Parents lack awareness about labour laws, minimum wages, Child Labour Act, 1986 and other social security benefits.
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IV) Poor economic conditions/ Poverty Poor economic conditions of the families involved in beedi work also pave the way for the induction of children into work force as a part of family occupation. Beedi work does not require any formal training and can be carried out at any time, all of which are important reasons for the involvement of children.

V) Gender bias in beedi rolling Gender bias against the women coupled along with strong patriarchal tendencies, religious, caste factors results in a wide prevalence of child labour in beedi industries. For instance it is assumed that the girl children working in home based work in economically poor households is preferred.

Likewise, educations in poor households mostly the girl children are burdened with taking care of younger siblings and doing household chores. The notion of saving the money earned by doing beedi for better marriage proposals is also a major factor for indulging in beedi work6.

6

B. Srinivasa Reddy and K. Ramesh, Girl child labour: A world of Endless Exploitation, Dominant Publishers and Distributers, New Delhi, 2002.

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VI) Sub-contracting Most of the beedi rolling work is carried out in the confines of the home. The subcontractors pass on the raw materials to the families of beedi worker who in turn involve their children. The main motive of the manufactures to extend the subcontracting system is two-fold. Firstly, the introduction of the Beedi Workers Act through which the minimum wages were made mandatory. Second, factory workers have tried to organize themselves in trade unions and the manufacturers were not willing to have any organized or bargaining force in the production system.

VII) Exploitation of farmers In beedi industry the tobacco merchants have strong control over the workers who can be easily exploited. The merchants also often exploit the tobacco farmers from whom they buy their tobacco leaves. This is done by merchants determining the prices and not the farmers who have to grow this expensive crop, which needs proper manure, pesticides and considerable amount of labour. The attitude of the merchants leave the beedi manufacturers in a precarious situation where they in turn reduce the wages of their workers. Since beedi smokers constitute poor people, manufacturers cannot afford to raise the cost of beedi above a particular point. Therefore the brunt of the burden heavily falls on the beedi makers who work all through the year, with low wages and gets reflected in the involvement of their children who are forced to work along with them.

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VIII) Extraction by Naxals In addition to the above there have also been reports from various areas in States like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh of money being extorted by naxals through tendu leaf collection for party funds 7. This adds to the woes of the beedi worker families.

IX) Vicious cycle Since beedies are rolled by women, children are likely to get influenced by their mothers. As a result the mothers can easily sub-consciously or consciously involve children in beedi making .

XI) Bonded Labour and Child Pledging The beedi industry has several instances of the system of Bonded labour in many parts of the country particularly in Bihar, Tamil Nadu etc. Bonded labour is the system where a child/family goes to the owner who has given a particular sum of money and carries out work in the premises of the owner according to his wishes in conditions of servitude till the money is repaid. Normally the parents are unable to repay and therefore the vicious cycle of intergenerational bondage continues. Since the Government has been strict in implementing the Bonded Child Labour Act of

7

Naxal movement shadow looms over beedi leaf collecting season, The Hindu, (AP edition) May 14, 2012.

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1976, the other forms of slavery have been in gaining prominence. A study8 in Tamil Nadu reveals about the ill-treatment and exploitation meted out to the children in Beedi industry. Children work for 12 hours a day and are paid a daily sum of Re. 1 to Rs. 4 depending upon the amount pledged and the parents have to provide another family member to replace the pledged boy.

XII) Educational deprivation One of the foremost impacts on the life of children is educational deprivation due to their involvement in the beedi work. The beedi work includes part time workers who engage in work after school hours and full time child labourers who do not attend school. It is to be noted that beedi work is paid on piece rate basis and for small sum of amount the children have to roll thousand beedies. Therefore, after this back breaking work concentrating in studies becomes difficult. In a study9 of children involved in beedi work in Madhya Pradesh show considerable dropout without completing the primary education. This is due to the fact that they are pulled out mainly for economic compulsions.

(XIII) Lack of Unionization Beedi industry is majorly a home based industry where majority of women and children are rolling beedies in their homes and not in premises which can attract factory legislations. Trade unions who are engaged in upholding the rights of the workers find it more difficult to mobilize women and dissuade the children from
8 9

N.Tripathy, Exploitation of Child Labour in Tribal India, Delhi: Daya Publishing House, 1991. Surendra Pratap. Current trends in Child Labour, A case study of beedi industry in Tikamgarh, M.P. CEC working paper 2001.

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entering or continuing in beedi work10. Additionally, all the benefits which are normally applicable to a registered beedi worker like the maternity benefit, provident fund, health schemes, group insurance, recreation, housing assistance etc., under the Beedi Workers Welfare Fund etc., are normally circumvented. Under the fund, there are also special schemes to encourage education of children of beedi workers, especially for the girl child which are often unused.

(XIV) Health hazards One of the main hardships that tend to be ignored is the health hazards to which the children are exposed. There is a direct connection between the certain occupational

diseases like T.B, lung cancer etc. Beedi rollers experience an exacerbation of asthma, anemia, giddiness, postural and eye problems, and gynecological difficulties11. In a recent study12 in south India also has highlighted that the health hazards existing in the beedi rolling environment experienced by the women beedi rollers is at an alarming rate. In addition, the immense psychological turmoil which these children face is usually brushed aside. The extent of psychological pressure that a young girl faces can be gauged from the

10

Report by Mr. S.K. Das, DG, Labour Welfare, Ministry of Labour, report prepared for ILO, October 2000 as cited by ILO’s Beedi Sector in India: A Note. 11 Rekha Pande, Health issues of women and children-a case study of the beedi industry. Women's Link. 7(2); April-June 2001. 12 Senthil Kumar and Subburethina Bharathi, P. A study on occupational health hazards among women beedi rollers in Tamil Nadu, India by, International Journal of Current Research vol. 11, pp.117-122, December, 2010.

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incident13 where a girl who used to get beatings from her if she fails to maintain the required target of beedies started borrowing from a lender. Her mother was informed about her borrowing of beedies from the lender who was not properly paid back. In order to escape beatings from her mother the girl committed suicide in the forest by eating the seeds of a wild plant. This incident highlights the dangerous impact of the profession where the target is all that matters.

Initiatives pertaining to beedi work In 1944 the Rege Committee had drawn attention to the evils of the contract system where exploitation takes the form of intermediaries and had recommended formation of large beedi companies to counter this unhealthy trend. Likewise the minimum wages committee in 1965 also had recommended reorganization of the industry on factory lines.

In addition the Beedi and Cigar workers (Conditions of Employment) Act 1966, mainly aimed at regulating beedi work prescribes a working day of 9 hours and 48 hours a week for a beedi worker. In addition, the workers are entitled to a paid weekly holiday and leave at the rate of one day for every twenty days work during the preceding year, wages for the leave period at rates equal to overall daily wages during the month immediately preceding the leave and three months maternity leave for women workers. This Act, which was challenged by some firms, but has been upheld by Supreme Court in January 1974.
13

A. Dharmalingam, ‘Female Beedi Workers in a South Indian Village” Economic and Political Weekly, July3, 1993, p, 1465.

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The Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, established in 1976 is an important development aiming to benefit the beedi worker. It functions with the objective to promote financial assistance to the workers through adherence of employer to rules pertaining to the following: registration of workers, providing ID cards, free housing and health, establishment of Beedi Workers Welfare Cess, scholarships to the workers and their children etc.

The Beedi Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1976 collect taxes by way of cess and through imposing excise duty on manufactured beedies. The rate of excise duty on beedies is Rs.7 per thousand beedies rolled and the rate of cess is Rs.2 per thousand beedies rolled. The amount collected is utilized for the welfare of the beedi worker families.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 aims to fix the wages for the beedi work which is normally at piece rate and varies from State to State and the floor minimum wages for the beedi industry is set at Rs. 35 per thousand beedies, though it varies from State to State14. At present the beedi workers are demanding that a minimum of Rs. 125 should be fixed as minimum wage for rolling 1000 beedies 15. The other main legislation which is applicable to beedi workers are the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 but this not applicable to home based beedi workers.

14

Madu M Raghunath, Strategies for implementation of minimum wages –the case study of Beedi Industry, thesis submitted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. 15 Beedi workers demand fixation of minimum wage, The Hindu, Feb 09, 2011.

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In a judgment of the Supreme Court of India in the dispute between M/s P.M. Patel and Sons versus Union Of India and others, the verdict has been that the ‘home workers’ in the beedi industry are ‘employees’ within the meaning of Employees’ provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and working in their dwelling houses is interpreted to be the premises notionally connected with factory 16. Based on the above the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 is applicable to all home based workers. But not all of the family members are covered in beedi work since mostly it is the head of the family who receives the identity card.

In addition there are several Acts which also encompass beedi workers they are: Maternity Benefits Act of 1961, Factories Act of 1948, Payment of Wages Act of 1936, Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and Payment of Gratuity Act of 1972.

The Supreme Court in the M.C. Mehta case in December 1996 passed the verdict that a one-time contribution of Rs. 25,000 to a state managed fund should be made for their employees' education i.e. for the children employed in hazardous industry. In addition, employers will have to pay a fine of Rs. 20,000 for violating the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act 1986, again to be deposited in a State

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Labour Law Journal, 1986(I) LLJ on page 88 as cited in B.B. Patel (ed), Problems of Home-Based Workers in India, Delhi:OUP and IBH Publishing Co., 1989, p, 206.

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scheme for child labourer’s welfare and rehabilitation. The rate of conviction is very low in number in comparison to the violations, particularly in beedi work.

In 2004 the Central Government had initiated an scheme known as Integrated Housing Scheme For Beedi Workers where any beedi worker engaged in beedi industry for more than one year with monthly income not exceeding Rs. 6,500/- is eligible, provided that the beedi worker should not have a house of his own or in the name of his spouse or any dependent.

Revised Integrated Housing Scheme 2007 For Beedi Workers addresses the shortage of homes for beedi workers where the respective welfare commissioners are empowered to identify eligible beedi worker based on Economically Weaker Sections, Schedule caste & Scheduled tribe and support the construction of homes by providing a central subsidy of Rs. 40000 and rest through assistance in the form of loan from financial institutions like HUDCO.

The latest development in 2013 is the medical insurance scheme under Rashtirya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) which proposes to cover the entire beedi workers in India by 2013-1417. The medical scheme will cover the beedi worker families with a medical insurance cover of Rs. 30000 and additional amount incurred would be replaced by the welfare commissioner to the concerned hospital.

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New medical insurance scheme for beedi workers, The Hindu, KANNUR, June 9, 2011

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But despite these legislative measures child labour still persists in the beedi industry in India, since children's work in beedi industry remains ‘invisible’ and Beedi Workers Welfare Fund does not cover the unregistered workers who are in abundance. CONCLUSION

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Conclusion It is clear from the study that child labour in beedi industry is prohibited under the CLPRA despite this children continue to work in an unorganized form mostly in home based. Therefore, efforts are needed to regulate the powerful forces that create demand and supply for children in the beedi industry. Though the there is huge presence of domestic market, the effects of globalization where the beedies are exported to the developed countries needs to be taken seriously as this will further marginalize the vulnerable population and their children..

In keeping with the intent of article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, any attempts to regulate globalization should address the best interests of children through a 'child impact analysis'. Such an assessment would review any proposals for their impact on children, taking into consideration, for example, whether changes in economic policies (like the subsidies for the production cost for beedi) protect the rights of children to education and health services or whether changes in labour policies (lack of laws and legislation regulating family labour) specifically address the issue of child workers.

One of the crucial link which was highlighted in this study is the occupational health hazards which confronts the children involved in beedi making. Therefore, it is important that Universalisation of Primary Education for all children envisaged through Right to Education Act is the most effective strategy to counter the problem of child labour in Beedi industry. This is because one should not expect young
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children to study or learn effectively after doing a monotonous and strenuous job like beedi work without any time of their own to enjoy their childhood or develop their faculties in a right direction. Therefore the viable alternative to tackle the problem of child labour in particular is to make the children continue in school and thereby preventing them from entering into the unorganized work force. All other alternatives, devised to educate will be additional burden in having a false notion that working girls will also learn some kind of education.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) role NCPCR has been emphasizing that all forms of child labour which hampers the mental and physical development of children must be eradicated. This includes the Beedi industry. NCPCR has raise the issue of child labour in beedi industry along with the children being involved in home based industries to concerned States like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh etc. Moreover, NCPCR has also stressed the importance of Right to Education Act in countering child labour in beedi work. The Governments in these states have assured including the concerns of NCPCR in their action plans developed to eradicate child labour in their states. In addition, NCPCR has with the support of experts, carried out advocacy at various levels. NCPCR is advocating and forging a concretized effort by the Government with the support of International Agencies like UNICEF, ILO and other civil society members to eradicate the evil of children working in hazardous occupations like beedi industry and ensuring that entitlements of Children are not denied.
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Recommendations 1. Undertake a detail survey of the beedi industries in various states and mapping of the socio-economic details of beedi worker families. 2. Strict implementation of minimum wages and social security benefits to the workers particularly women. 3. Compulsory registration of all beedi workers and all issuing ID cards to all beedi workers. 4. Popularizing the depot system separately for men and women, where no children should be permitted. 5. Ensuring a stringent system by beedi companies to check whether their product is manufactured using the children. 6. Reviewing the license periodically based on the conformity of non-involvement of child labour in supply chains. 7. Poverty eradication, alternate employment schemes and vocational training catering for employment generation. 8. Training the police personnel in the department to be more sensitive to register child related cases. 9. Protection of beedi workers and contractors from the extraction of naxals in tendu leaf collection areas. 10. Ensuring that every child is enrolled in school and retained therein. 11. National Child Labour Project Schools to be special training centres to mainstream child labourers into regular schools.

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12. Monitoring of mid-day meals to ensure quality food to all children in beedi workers areas and supplementing nutrition to mal-nourished children in schools. 13. Adherence of stipulation of RTE Act pertaining to infrastructure facilities, creation of new schools and other mandatory provisions to enhance quality education and to retain children who are dropping out of school due to the lack of these facilities. 14. Extending Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya which provides residential schools for upper primary school girls. 15. Ensure that welfare schemes for Tribal communities are disseminated and availed in beedi work areas. 16. Protect of tribal communities involved in tendu leaves collection from being economically exploited. 17. Covering tribal children through Ashramshalas for their overall development. 18. As in the mandate of providing education to all, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme should be expanded in Beedi rolling areas to encourage Beedi workers to send their children to schools. 19. Provide crèches in order to curb drop out of children especially girls from schools on account of being made to look after their siblings. 20. Increase the number of existing Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres in the district from present number as the cases of Malnutrition is very high beedi work endemic districts. 21. Monitoring abuse of children working in beedi work invoking the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2012.
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22. Extending the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for empowerment of adolescent girls (SABLA) in beedi endemic areas to improve the nutrition, health status & awareness of adolescent girls in the age group of 11-18 years. in beedi work endemic areas. 23. Establish additional children homes and observation homes. 24. Strengthening coverage of Anganwadi’s system in beedi worker areas to ensure quality nutrition care for the children of the beedi workers. 25. Extend all the health facilities to the workers of beedi industry and organize regular medical checkup and camps for beedi workers and their children to detect occupational diseases like Tuber-culosis, Asthma, skin ailments, postural difficulties etc. 26. Door to door survey of beedi worker families to record any medical ailments and referral to appropriate medical care. Mobile health units can also be used in beedi workers areas as it would facilitate early detection of diseases. 27. Panchayati Raj Institutions have to be involved in monitoring of the child labour situation in their respective villages. 28. The State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights should take up at the State level the welfare and protection of beedi workers children. 29. A State Level monitoring committee constituting of both Government and civil society representatives involved in child welfare should be set up to monitor the anti-child labour activities. 30. Mass awareness programmes through IEC on the health problems associated with beedi work in child labour endemic areas.
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31. There should be Jan Sunwai/Public Hearing in all the affected blocks to hear the grievances of the affected and vulnerable families. 32. Elimination of child labour in beedi industry should be included in State action plan for eradicating child labour and lining it with RTE. 33. At District level the District Collector has to periodically monitor the welfare of beedi workers. 34. Task Force on elimination of Child Labour in beedi industry to monitor the identification of child labour, pre‐rescue planning, rescue operation, interim care, repatriation, rehabilitation/social reintegration and follow up and prosecution of employers/violators under all relevant laws. 35. Must ensure inter-departmental coordination and convergence such as the facilities like health, education, housing and social security available for the Beedi workers.

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Bibliography Agenda Note, 5th Report, Standing Committee on Labour Ministry of Labour and Employment, Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, April 2005. Ahmed, Iftikhar (1999), “Getting rid of child labour”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, No. 27, 1999. Beedi leaf collection fetches high returns to tribal families, The Hindu, May 02, 2006. Beedi workers demand fixation of minimum wage, The Hindu, Feb 09, 2011. Dharmalingam, A. ‘Female Beedi Workers in a South Indian Village” Economic and Political Weekly, July3, 1993.. Government of India, Report Circulated in the National Workshop on Beedi Workers Housing, Ministry of Labour, Hyderabad, 6-7 May 1995. Kumar, Senthil and Subburethina Bharathi, P. A study on occupational health hazards among women beedi rollers in Tamil Nadu, India International Journal of Current Research vol. 11, pp.117-122, December, 2010. Naxal movement shadow looms over beedi leaf collecting season, The Hindu, (AP edition) May 14, 2012. New medical insurance scheme for beedi workers, The Hindu, KANNUR, June 9, 2011 Pande, Rekha. Health issues of women and children-a case study of the beedi industry. Women's Link. 7(2); April-June 2001. Patel, B.B. (ed.), Problems of Home-Based Workers in India, Delhi: OUP and IBH Publishing Co., 1989. Pratap, Surendra. Current trends in Child Labour, A case study of beedi industry in Tikamgarh, M.P. CEC working paper 2001. Raghunath, Madu M .Strategies for implementation of minimum wages –the case study of Beedi Industry, thesis submitted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. Reddy, B. Srinivasa and K. Ramesh, Girl child labour :A world of Endless Exploitation, Dominant Publishers and Distributers, New Delhi, 2002. Report by Mr. S.K. Das, DG, Labour Welfare, Ministry of Labour, report prepared for ILO, October 2000 as cited by ILO’s Beedi Sector in India: A Note.

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Report of the working group on occupational safety and health for the tenth five year plan (2002-2007), Government of India, Planning Commission September –2001.

Rustagi, Preet Survey of studies on Beedi Industry: With Special Emphasis on Women and Child Labour, CWDS, New Delhi, 2001. Singh , Andrea Menefee and Anita Kelles-Viitanen. Invisible hands: women in homebased production /ed. by.-New Delhi: Sage, 1987 The Beedi Industry in India: An Overview-Improving Working Conditions and Employment Opportunities for Women Workers in Beedi Industry, Best Practise Foundation, Karnataka, 2001. Tripathy,N. Exploitation of Child Labour in Tribal India, Delhi: Daya Publishing House, 1991. Usha S, & D. Radha Devi, “Causes and Earnings of Child Labour in Beedi and Agarbathi Industries”, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 40. No. 4, 1997.

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