Duties of an Inspector to prevent Child Labour

The Government appoints Inspectors to make sure that there is no illegal employment and the permitted employment of adolescents is done as per the law. An inspector or police officer has a duty to:

• Conduct periodical inspections of the places where employment of children is prohibited.
• Carry out rounds of inspection at industries where children are employed and where adolescents are employed.
• To check the working conditions of children in family enterprises.
• Accept complaints and report illegal acts of child labour to the Court.
• Determine age of a child, if there is a doubt that the child is below the age of 14 years.
• Inspect the Register maintained by the employer at the establishment which would have details such as:
  • Name and date of birth of the child employed along with relevant documents as to the date of birth.
  • Hours and periods of work(including the hours of rest).
  • Nature of the work that the child is doing.

All the inspectors have to make sure that if a child is being employed illegally, then the concerned employer has to pay Rs. 20000 as a fine into a fund known as the Child Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare Fund, which the child can reclaim later.