Invisible Hands under Article 24: Evaluating the constitutional safeguards for minors trapped in unregulated home-based supply chains
The working of the modern economy is largely dependent on informal production systems as a measure to either circumvent costs or provide flexibility. In labour-intensive industries like beedi rolling, carpet weaving, embroidery and bangle making, companies routinely subcontract their work to a chain of subcontractors. The informal sector work invariably ends up in the private domestic setting where work is remunerated on piece rate basis. This arrangement shifts the burden of overheads such as workspace and electricity on the poor households. In order to meet high targets and cope with low wages, parents often use their children in the informal economy.