An estimated 5,000 kids, all of them from very poor families, come to Bangalore from all over Karnataka every summer to work in hotels and other establishments.
For most kids in the city and elsewhere, summer vacation is a time to acquire a new skill: taking swimming, music lessons, joining cricket coaching camps; some go visit their relatives, while some go on a trip; but for some kids, summer vacation means heading to Bangalore in search of menial jobs to raise funds to finance their education for the coming academic year.
An estimated 5,000 kids, all of them from very poor families, come to the city from all over Karnataka every summer to work in hotels and other establishments.
“Most of them come to the city to raise money. Almost all of them are from poor families; they don’t have money for their uniforms, books, and in some cases fees,” explained GR Shivashankar, vice-president of World Federation of Trade Unions (hospitality industry-South Asia).
One such boy, R Manjunath, works at a hotel in Jayanagar I Block. Manjunath said he hails from Kollegal, Chamarajanagar district, and had come to the city from Mysore.
“As soon as I reached the city railway station, someone claiming as an agent of hotel owner came to me and asked me whether I am ready to work. I nodded my head and accepting the offer. And here I am, working as a cleaning boy,” he exclaimed.
Manjunath, who will be in standard 10 next year, said his family was not in a position to buy guides and send him to coaching classes for next year’s crucial SSLC examination. “I am getting good food and accommodation, I don’t worry about anything else,” he said.
Another boy, M Ravindra from Kunigal, said he wanted to pursue his schooling and wanted to wear brand new uniform by earning money through the ‘salary’ he gets from the stop-gap employment. “This can go only for two months, till the school re-opens. But that money is enough for me to continue my schooling in ninth standard,” he said.
Boys like Manjunath and Ravindra are employed in thousands in city hotels and other places which face acute shortage of working hands.
Shivashankar, president of Karnataka Trade Union Centre (KTUC), said the government just indulges in big talk, like Right to Education Act, but in reality has left children like these in the lurch. “Where has the money reserved for the education of children in the central and state budget gone? Does it reach to the children?” asked Shivashankar.
He said he had taken the issue of child labour with the government but so far nothing had been done. “I think the labour department is hand-in-glove with the hotel managements and other establishments who employ these children,” he added.
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