ILO’s Forced Labour Convention, 1930, says that “forced or bonded labour” includes “all work or service that is forced or bonded on any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not agreed to do.
Even though there are many constitutional and legal measures in place, like the (Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act that was passed in 1976 and changed in 1985, there are still many problems that need to be solved in order to get rid of bonded labour in India.
- There hasn’t been a government-led survey of the whole country since 1978. As a result, the government doesn’t look at how many people are saved and how many people are rescued and how many people are re
- A report from the NCRB shows that not all crimes are reported by the police.
- Rehabilitation process isn’t working properly. Only a small amount of money is given as immediate help, and the rest is given after the person is convicted. Because the judicial system isn’t working well, the time it takes for a person to be convicted discourages people from reporting on these cases.
- In addition, there aren’t enough law enforcement systems that work together across all of India’s states to investigate and prosecute people who are trafficked or bonded to work. This means that there isn’t enough information to fully investigate trafficking networks across states.
- It’s hard for bonded labourers to understand their constitutional rights under Article 23 and other laws, like the Minimum Wage Act and the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act.
So, more laws need to be made, like ratifying and implementing the ILO Domestic Workers Convention 2011, taking more steps to stop human trafficking, giving state governments enough money and people to set up units that help internal migrants, and making a National Action Plan for all victims of modern slavery. People also need to know more about their rights and the laws that protect them.