Chapter - 10 Law and Social Justice

• Farm workers are not getting minimum wages in villages.
• Women workers are not getting equal wages as that of the men which is not permitted by law.

The advantages of foreign companies in setting up production in India are:

1. Foreign companies get cheap labour. Wages that the companies pay to workers in the USA are far higher than what they have to pay to workers in India.
2. Additional expenses such as for housing facilities for workers are also cheaper.
3. Lower working conditions including lower safety measures are used as ways of cutting costs.

Thus, companies can save costs and earn high profits.

The victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy got justice, but this statement is debatable. Some victims were adequately compensated, while others are still struggling for a fair judgment to be taken on a violation of their rights. 8,000 people died, while another 50,000 were rendered handicapped and hence unable to earn a livelihood. The company which owned the pesticide factory- Union Carbide, did not accept responsibility for the deaths and left in a hurry, leaving behind harmful toxic chemicals that are contaminating water in Bhopal even today. UC was fined a measly $470 million from a $3 billion civil case, for this catastrophe. Financial compensation for the victims' families was adequate but survivors of this disaster are still fighting for safe drinking water, health-care facilities and jobs.

Law enforcement implies the government's responsibility as lawmaker and enforcer, to ensure obedience to its laws by everyone within the State that it governs. It is the responsibility of the government to ascertain that laws are not violated by anyone. Enforcement is important to maintain the democratic status of India; if foreign companies are allowed to maintain low working conditions, then this interferes with the Fundamental Right ofthe Right to Life, of a worker. Hence, enforcement is necessary to protect the people.

Most of the time markets exploit the consumers. To protect people from such exploitation, the government make certain laws. These laws try to ensure that the unfair practices are kept at a minimum in the markets. For example, private companies, contractors in the drive for profits might deny workers their rights and not pay them proper wages. To ensure that workers are not underpaid, or are paid fairly, there is a law on minimum wages. Laws have also been made to check adulteration, black-marketing etc.

I will have to adjust in the new environment. I will get admission in a new school where new friends and new teachers will come in contact with me. It may take much time to me to adjust in the new school because I am a little but introvert. I don't like changes or shifting. This will definitely adversely affect my studies. But as there will be no alternatives, I will have to face the situation.

The government plays a large number of roles in any state. In Unit five, the government's role in the economic sector is explained. This includes providing public facilities like water supply, healthcare and sanitation and ensuring that these amenities are not overtaken by private enterprises; the government also plays a pivotal role in law enforcement, which is of utmost importance in the economic sector. The government makes laws to protect workers in production factories- laws on minimum wages, controlling working conditions and safety measures. It also makes laws for markets that protect consumers against over-pricing and sub-standard products. The government has a law against child labour and it also punishes organizations that do not follow policies put in place to protect the environment against pollution.

Smoke comes out from the chimneys of the factories. Foul smell comes from open drains, heaps of rubbish and dirt lying here and there. Smoke of petrol and diesel vehicles is also polluting the air. Water is polluted by chemical fertilizers used by the farmers. Water is also polluted by the effluents thrown or discharged into the rivers. Dirt and human wastage's as well as wastes thrown by different factories in different fields or farms on open ground pollute the soil. Companies and contractors are responsible to violate environment laws. Hence, they should be given strict warning. Clean surrounding is the need of the hour. So, we should try our best to keep it healthy. We should not throw garbage here and there on the road.

Earlier there were very few laws protecting the environment in India. There was hardly any enforcement of these laws. The environment was treated as a 'free' entity and any industry could pollute the air and water without any restrictions. Now there has been a change in perception. Government has introduced laws on the environment. The courts have given a number of judgments upholding the right to a healthy environment as intrinsic to the fundamental right to life. The government has set up laws and procedures that can check pollution, clean rivers. The government can also fine to those who pollute our precious environment.

The famous cartoonist R.K. Laxman, in this cartoon, is trying to convey an ironical perception of the double standards and hypocrisy some of us follow. A mother is complaining about the heavy bags that children are made to carry to school, but she hires another "child" servant to do the same without a wee bit of sympathy for the less fortunate child who has to work and earn a living.

This relates to the 2006 Child Labour Prevention Act that banned children under the age of 14 years from work, making it a punishable offence for those who employed these children. Unfortunately, 74% of child domestic labour today is under the age of 16. R.K. Laxman, in his cartoon, is pointing towards this very glitch and how the government has not taken adequate action to enforce this law.