Not For Sale
Mumbai - 18 April 2016, In an engaging and thought provoking conversation on human trafficking, Asia Society India Centre in association with Thomson Reuters Foundation was delighted to welcome Nithya, Trade Unionist and Survivor of Bonded Labour in the Textile Industry, Dhananjay Tingal, Executive Director, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Mona Gupta, Officer on Special Duty, Apparel Export Promotion Council, Vivek Singh, Senior Programme Manager, IKEA Foundation and Pamela Philipose, Former Director & Editor-in-Chief, Women's Feature Service to its platform.
To set the context for the discussion, Belinda Goldsmith, Editor-in-Chief, Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke of the foundation's vast body of work in prevention of human trafficking and the 'Trust Women' initiative. From legal provisions which compel children to attend school to the poverty which often pushes children to take up jobs, the panellists motivated by Philipose covered a full array of measures taken to prevent child labour and the realities on ground.
Gupta highlighted how the textile industry is most susceptible to child labourers. She cited invisible supply chains and the seasonal nature of the industry as factors which encourage parents to send their children to work. Supplementing this from her personal experience, Nithya recounted how she was once hidden underground in inhospitable conditions at a mill when an audit to ensure children were not being employed was being conducted. Singh, condemning this practise emphasised that IKEA's philosophy is that what is good for society is good for business
Expanding further on the issue of child labour, Gupta asserted that it is not only a supply-pull situation, but is a demand-push situation as well. Nithya spoke of bonded labour as a reality in India also elucidating how sexual harassment is the unfortunate reality among bonded labourers. Tingal in answering a question posed by Philipose mentioned that natural disasters are often the points at which human trafficking begins.
Turning to possible solutions the panellists highlighted the need to create resilient and empowered communities, while addressing the root causes of poverty. Nithya spoke of the need for policy level changes while Tingal stressed upon the necessity to encourage workers to demand their rights. Gupta underlined the importance of setting up grievance redressal mechanisms and creating awareness among consumers to buy certified child-labour-free goods.
Reported by Antaraa Vasudev, Programme Assistant, Asia Society India Centre.
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