Bangalore: "Did you know that the two boys in your employment were being abused in your hotel?" asks a member of Child Welfare Committee. "No sir. This is news to us. We have come to know of it only after you told us," says the employer.

The member does not believe it and says the children would have to stay at the Government Boys' Home and more in-depth studying needs to be done.

The tales of 29 children, who were rescued over the past few days from their employers, were heard by five members of the CWC on Thursday. Six were domestic help while the rest were children rescued from hotels and restaurants. All cases would be processed and sent to the Labour Department for action, says Nina Nayak, chairperson of CWC.

"Earlier, cases of children working as domestic help and hotel workers were dealt with by the CWC. The employers would give compensation at the meeting and end the matter. But with the domestic help and hospitality sector placed under the category of hazardous occupation, the Labour Department will have to handle the compensation and prosecution part," says Sheila Devaraj, a member of CWC.

Additional Commissioner S. Narasimhaiah from the Labour Department says that an action plan is in place to deal with cases of child labour and has been sent to the Government for approval.

Back at the CWC meeting, the two hotel employers claim that they pay their employees minimum wages. "How much do you pay these two boys?" asks a member on the panel.

"We pay them Rs. 1,600 per month," they assert. The CWC member quickly calculates and tells them that according to Minimum wages set by the Centre, the children needed to have been paid Rs. 2,300 at least. The employers remain quiet.

"No employer writes the names of the under-aged children they have employed in the attendance register," says Vasudev Sharma, a member of the CWC. "The employers do not enter their names because then they would have to give them minimum wages and other perks," he adds.

Just as it has been since early in the day, the phone starts to ring incessantly. A person calls to say that many of his friends have employed children in their homes. Please do something about it but do not reveal my name, he says. "We've received many such calls from people informing us about violations by their friends," says Mr. Sharma.

"It is heartening to see that so many people are calling us. With so much social support, many children can be rescued. But it is important that the Labour Department does not delay awarding of compensation and penalties. The onus is now on them," says Mr. Sharma.

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