Right Against Exploitation
Aditya used to work hard in the office
Seeing this his boss started giving him more and more work.
But his boss didn't pay him for overtime or for the extra work he did.
So basically his boss was taking advantage of/exploiting him.
Exploitation takes place in many sections of the society.
Example: A shopkeeper sells the items in his shop with price more than the Maximum Retail Price.
The shopkeeper is exploiting the customers.
Example: At construction site, the owner pays very little to the labours.
The labourers work more and get little for their work and are getting exploited.
Let us further explore the Right against Exploitation
Once the right to liberty and equality is granted, it follows that every citizen has a right not to be exploited.
Yet the Constitution makers thought is was necessary to write it down in certain clear provisions.
It was to mainly prevent exploitation of the weaker sections of the society.
The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal .
They are; Human Trafficking, Forced and Child Labour.
1. Exploitation by Human Trafficking.
Human Trafficking means selling and buying of human beings.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.
At least 20.9 million adults and children are bought and sold worldwide into forced labor.
About 2 million children are exploited every year in the global commercial sex trade.
Almost 6 in 10 identified trafficking survivors were trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Women and girls make up 98% of sex trafficking victims.
Human trafficking is a basic violation of the right to live freely and equally.
It also degrades the value of human life and disrespects the gift of life each one of us have.
2. Exploitation by Forced labour.
Our Constitution prohibits forced labour or begar in any form.
Forced labour refers to situations where people are forced to work against their will.
‘Begar’ is a practice where the worker is forced to service the ‘master’ free of charge or at a nominal payment.
When this practice takes place on a life-long basis, it is called the practice of bonded labour.
Making labour work for free is wrong. The cost of energy, time and effort they put in, should be rewarded in the form of proper wages or payment.
3. Exploitation by Child Labour.
Child labour refers to the practice of employing children on a part or full-time basis in economic activities.
Such a practice can prove to be harmful to the mental and physical development of the child.
The Constitution prohibits child labour.
No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen...
-to work in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as railways and ports.
Many laws have been made to prohibit children from working in industries such as beedi making, firecrackers and matches,printing and dyeing.
Exploitation in any of these forms takes away the basic freedoms and rights people get from their governments.
Thus, we must work towards removing all of these practices to create a open, free, equal and healthy society for all to live in.
THE END