It came to pass that Shakru was inspecting the construction site of his new factory that day, but after a few steps, he was surprised to find a young child walking barefoot on the construction site carrying a mortar bucket; A little girl is struggling to carry construction tools and stand behind adults to help; There are also children who look like they are seven or eight years old and less than ten years old, picking up hammers, hammering stones, and paving roads.

Seeing this scene in front of him, Sha Kru suddenly became angry, and dragged Moddy, who was standing beside him in charge of the project supervision, and pointed at these children and asked, "Moody, explain to me, what is going on with these children?" ”

It was clear that Murdy didn't understand why his boss was angry, and explained in a daze, "They, they're all workers?" Rest assured, boss, these children are paid very little. ”

Originally, Moody used child labor, and Shakru was already very angry, but now when he heard that he was still deducting the wages of these children, he was even more annoyed, and scolded angrily: "Open your eyes and take a good look, how old are these children, they should study or play with toys at home at this age, but now?" Their hands are carrying bricks and mortar? Moody, I remember you were a Dalit, right? Why do you still have the heart to continue to destroy these children? ”

Shakru scolded like this, Murdy finally figured out what he meant, he knew that his boss was different from other high-caste people, he wanted to take care of low-caste people as much as possible, so in his company, there were very few high-caste employees, and the working environment of low-caste employees was much better than in other companies, but judging from the things in front of him, it was obvious that the boss still didn't understand the actual situation at the bottom.

So he replied with a wry smile: "Boss, you misunderstood, it's not that I want to find these children to work, it's these children and their parents who begged me to let them come." ”

"What? The child's parents begged you to let their child come to the construction site to do this kind of rough work? How is this possible! Shakru asked incredulously.

Moody said helplessly to Shakru: "Boss, if you don't believe it, just ask a random child, and you can see what he will say." ”

Shakru snorted coldly: "Hmph, look at how I will clean you up after I finish the investigation!" After speaking, he walked up to the little girl who he had just observed standing behind the adults with construction tools and asked, "Children, let me ask you, why do you come here to work?" Did someone force you to come? ”

The little girl first glanced at the woman next to her, and then replied timidly: "I came with my mother, and my mother said that working here will not only provide enough food, but also make money for the family." ”

Shakru glared at the woman next to the little girl in a shabby sari with a basket on her head, and asked coldly, "Are you her mother?" How could you be willing to bring such a young child to a construction site to do such menial work? ”

The girl's mother hid her face and cried, "Sir, I'm sorry, I—I don't want to do this, but we really can't help it."

At this time, a little boy beside the woman, who was also dirty, said: "Sir, don't blame Mother, we are really poor and have no choice, and now we can only work here with Mr. Moody to have enough food and not be deducted from wages, so he is a very good man." If he hadn't been kind enough to take us in, I would have had to beg on the streets or become a thief, and my sister, she would probably have been sold to Sonagachi (New Delhi's red light district)"

Shakru was surprised by this answer, and then he asked several people in succession, and the answer was almost the same, everyone felt that although the work on the construction site was a little harder and more tiring, it was better than no work, because it meant that they had to beg and even do other things they didn't want to do, such as stealing and selling X.

And Moody is very fair here, never deducts wages, and can eat a full meal at noon, and he is also a Dalit, so he will not discriminate against workers, so many people are willing to come here to work, and even due to the limited amount of work, many people have no place to come.

Hearing this, Shakru walked back, patted Moody on the shoulder, and said, "I'm sorry, Moody, it's me who blames you." ”

Moddy hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Boss, don't say that, I have to blame for not telling you clearly in advance, so it's still my responsibility." ”

After this incident, Shakru made a special effort to investigate the situation of child labor in India, and found that the situation was even more serious than he had seen.

As early as 1986, India passed a bill prohibiting the employment of minors under the age of 14 in many industries, and those who illegally employ child laborers face up to two years in prison and a fine of 20,000 rupees (about 3,000 yuan). However, since the promulgation of the bill, it has been in vain. The Government of India has hardly conducted serious investigations into child labour, and few have prosecuted those who employ child labour.

In Mumbai, India's economic hub, for example, it is known to be home to a large number of sweatshops employing child labor, but the local government has only inspected child labor twice in the past year and a half.

Although the Government of India requires all states to establish state-level specialized agencies to protect children's rights, only 5 of India's 28 states have established such institutions. The National Commission for the Rights of the Child, which was established in 2007 to protect India's 420 million children, currently has only 10 staff.

In India, they worked in a variety of occupations, from working as servants in middle-class and wealthy families, struggling to earn a living in sweatshops, working on farms at a very young age, and a large number of children were organized to beg on the streets, at stations, and at scenic spots. They are engaged in low-paying, labor-intensive jobs, and the living conditions are very difficult.

Factories that employ child labor are illegal, and child labor is mostly trafficked. According to the latest data from India's Central Bureau of Investigation, there are currently 3 million victims of human trafficking in India, of which 1.2 million are children under the age of 14. Child labourers are often placed in small rooms with five or six people, and most of them are malnourished, and most suffer from skin diseases. In early 2011, the Mumbai police discovered that girls were hired as domestic helpers and were never paid. Eventually, the officers were ordered to stop working with children and pay all their compensation, but they did not hesitate to face the accusations and instead excused themselves for taking in the girls and giving them food.

There is no good way for Shakru to deal with this situation, after all, it seems that they are harming them by driving them away from the construction site now, so he can only tell Moody to prepare more delicious food for these children and pay them more.