No school, no money: Why they want to work

NOIDA: “I don’t want to leave work. There is no school and I have nothing to do at home,” a 16-year-old boy working at a dhaba in Sector 15 said. The boy, who had been “freed” from child labour by a team of Noida police and labour department officials on September 24, was found working at the same place a week on.
The boy told TOI he and his father had come to Noida from their village in Jharkhand on August 29. He used to study earlier, but after the school closed during the lockdown, he started accompanying his father to the dhaba where he worked.
“I do odd jobs here, like giving salad, water, etc. I have three siblings at home. I will return soon. I was here only because there were problems at home during the lockdown. There were financial issues. School was also closed and I used to roam free,” he said.
His is not the only story. Many children have been forced to take up jobs to augment the family income in the aftermath of the lockdown. Another 15-year-old boy, who was found placing items on a rack at a grocery store in Ganga Shopping Complex last week, said he started working as his mother lost her job a few months ago.
This boy had been studying in a school in his native village, and the mother-son duo had come to Noida in search of work just before the lockdown.
“My mother worked as a tailor at a company in Sector 7, but lost her job recently. She tried to find work, but didn’t get any. I had come here sometime before the lockdown. My mother took up a job but soon after, the lockdown was imposed,” he said. “My father died when I was very small. There are no earning members in my family. When there is compulsion, you have to do jobs like these,” he added, placing his hand on his stomach.
Another 16-year-old boy working at the same store had a similar compulsion. His school shut and parents stuck in Bengal since the lockdown, he had no option but to work. “There is no one to earn at my home. My parents went to the village because they had to repair the house damaged during the cyclone. Now, no work is happening there,” he said.
His employer said many children had started looking for jobs recently. “If I don’t employ him, he will leave and look for work somewhere else. He is in dire need,” he said.
CWC member Kamal Dutta said the problem was that most of these children lacked vocational training and the lockdown had rendered many of their parents jobless. “Children must be provided vocational training. The problem is that legally, they can’t get work. But if they work to earn a living, it might invite action. So, these families are helpless,” he added.