SHILLONG: Minister in charge of Labour department, Prestone Tynsong admitted of the prevalence of child labor in the state and maintained a machanism was in place to monitor it.
He was addressing a gathering on the workshop on “Elimination of bonded labour and child labour system” on Friday at Yojana Bhavan.
While stating that bonded labour in the state is negligible, child labour is a threat in the state. “Child labour, yes, we do have it,” he said.
He informed there is enough manpower in the Labour Department such as labour inspectors and district task force is also in place.
Meanwhile, member of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Justice P C Ghosh spoke of the employment of children and young adults in tunnels known as rat hole mines in Jaintia Hills.
Besides the ecological impact of coal mines, he observed numerous miners had lost their lives in rat hole mines during rainy season in which water often floods the mines.
Pointing to the significance of the workshop, he said the programme seeks to draw insights from intellectuals to pave the way towards curbing rat hole mining menace in the state.
Speaking about bonded labour, Ghosh said, “The mindset of each one of us has to be changed. It is our first duty to change our mind in light of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 which has been enacted by the Constitution and by our Parliamentarians.”