14 child labourers rescued from gold smitheries in city

Coimbatore: Fourteen child labourers were rescued from gold smitheries at Town Hall in the city during a joint inspection conducted by officials on Tuesday.
The inspection was conducted jointly by Anti-Child Trafficking Unit (ACTU), National Child Labour Project (NCLP), labour department, District Child Protection Unit and Childline.

One of the officials involved in the inspection said they had searched shops on Edayar Street, PK Street and Manaka Street at Town Hall as part of monthly raid.

“All the rescued children were boys aged between 15 and 17 years. During the inspection, some of the boys were found doing works like smoldering which is considered dangerous without prior experience and safety gears,” said the official.

All the rescued boys had come from West Bengal or Bihar to the city in search of job because of poverty, the official added.

“During the inquiry, it was revealed that some children had been working for more than 10 months. It is only a few boys who had joined the goldsmiths initially. Later, they had invited their friends to the city. Even though the pay is poor, their economic status has improved when compared with the status in their state,” another official said.

Unless poverty is eradicated in their respective states, migrant child labourers cannot be abolished, the official said.

As the rescued boys are aged above 14 years, no case was registered against their employers and they were let off with a stern warning.

The boys were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) who in turn had informed their parents. The boys would be handed over to their parents once they appear before the CWC and prove their identity, the official added.

The official said as none of the boys had gone to school, it is difficult to send them to schools now. This is the first inspection conducted in 2019. More than 200 child labourers were rescued in 2018 by the officials during their monthly raids.