The Hindu : National : “Child labour will lead to ban on carpet exports”

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Friday, Oct 19, 2007
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“Child labour will lead to ban on carpet exports”

Sandeep Joshi

United States may publicly list handmade carpet as product of child labour, Minister warns industry

Ban will hit industry hard and leave many jobless
India accounts for 35 % of world trade in handmade carpet

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh on Thursday warned carpet manufacturers against using child labour which could lead to a ban on exports to the United States and other Western nations.

He said the U.S. government might be thinking of publicly listing handmade carpets as products of child labour following a law passed by Congress last year.

On October 1, the U.S. Department of Labour issued a notice seeking comments on “procedural guidelines” for preparing a public list of goods produced by child and forced labour in violation of international standards. This action is in response to the law that asks the U.S government to carry out “additional activities to monitor and combat forced labour and child labour in foreign countries.” Mr. Ramesh said, “The government and industry will have to work together to deal effectively with this new development, which could be used by groups hostile to our interests.” He asked the Carpet Export Promotion Council to carry out an independent social audit every year to convince non-governmental organisations and others concerned that the incidence of child labour had indeed come down significantly over the past two decades. A ban on exports would hit the industry and leave many weavers jobless, he said after inaugurating an India Carpet Expo in Varanasi.

In the last fiscal, India’s exports of handmade carpets were around $800 million, with the U.S. market alone accounting for 50 per cent and Germany 20 per cent. India accounts for about 35 per cent of the world trade in handmade carpet. There are about 20 lakh artisans directly employed in carpet making, concentrated in Varanasi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi and Shahjahanpur (all Uttar Pradesh), Jammu and Kashmir, Jaipur and Panipat in Haryana.

Mr. Ramesh said Indian exporters were now in a position to give buyers the “Kaleen” certificate to confirm that child labour was not used in any way in the production of carpets.

Greater use of this certificate would also help in combating adverse propaganda by not only foreign countries but also NGOs and civil society groups in India.

The Union Ministries of Commerce, Labour and Women and Child Development were planning a joint initiative to check the incidence in carpet, garment, sports good and gem and jewellery units, where there is a strong public perception of the use of child labour.

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