Labour resources minister Janardan Singh Sigriwal on Tuesday said stern action should be taken against parents engaging their children in any form of labour.

“There should be a law to punish parents for employing their children in labour,” he said, while addressing a workshop organised by the labour resources department at AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies on World Day Against Child Labour.

The minister, however, admitted that laws were not enough to abolish child labour. He said: “Everybody should take a pledge today (Tuesday) that they would not employ children as domestic help and should discourage others from doing so. Besides, one should try to bear education expenses of at least five children in need.”

Sigriwal said he has been seeking central funds for the state under National Child Labour Project. “At present, the Union government is utilising the funds. We want the Centre to provide us with the funds so that we can start our projects and use the money according to our need,” he added.

Labour commissioner Dhirendra Mohan Jha said the state has fixed the role of its different departments as part of the child labour abolition programme. “Chief minister Nitish Kumar has an ambitious plan of constructing residential schools for children rescued from various workplaces,” he added.

Bihar State Child Labour Commission chairperson Ramdeo Prasad said: “One of the main reasons of child labour is poverty. Poor people engage their children in labour because they think that more hands will supplement the income of their families.”