Communiqué against child labour signed

The Labour Ministry, trade union representatives, and other social partners have inked a communiqué aimed at addressing issues relating to child labour.
The signing ceremony was held at Regency Suites in Georgetown in observance of World Day Against Child Labour held under the theme, “Human Rights and Social Justice…Let’s end child labour”.
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) representative, Dr Suleiman Braimoh called on government to strengthen partnerships with civil society, including parents, teachers, and caregivers, to further progress made in protecting children from exploitation.
Guyana’s report to the Child Rights Committee in Geneva traces hard data on situations of child labour dating back to 2001. In that year, a report on the multiple indicator cluster survey by UNICEF was published; it was found that 27 per cent of children were involved in child labour.
In Guyana’s interior, particularly Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine, child labour was at 40 per cent, while Region Four recorded a 10 per cent incidence of child labour, an indication that children on the coast were least likely to be engaged in child labour.
“A second round of the survey published in 2006 revealed that this [overall] figure was dropped to 16.4 per cent. In other words, something was being done and the thing that was being done was having some impact.” Braimoh said.
The UNICEF representative stated that despite the fact that Guyana had done so much to reduce the scourge over a five-year period, there were areas where child labour was rife.

“I think it is now time for us to look back and, on the basis of sound scientific evidence, examine how well all initiatives have worked and to identify areas where we need to make adjustments to catalyse stronger significant gains on the elimination of child labour.”
Offering his thoughts on steps Guyana can take to reduce child labour, Braimoh believes it is important for Guyanese to deepen their knowledge base and understand the dynamics of child labour.
He pointed out that since the dynamics of child labour are different in the city, compared to rural areas, it is crucial to understand the manner in which family structure predisposes children to child labour.
During his remarks, Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul reiterated the ministry’s support for the eradication of child labour.
A rapid assessment in outlying areas discovered that some children have been deprived of an education and were not being sent to school. However, Dr Gopaul said these instances were few and far between.
“Guyana is proud of its record in fighting against child labour. In my trade union experience, many years ago we joined colleagues around the world in leading a boycott call against some well-known brand name products manufactured in countries, such as Bangladesh, with the use of child labour.”
Dr Gopaul called for a continuation of such a boycott on products manufactured by children, and challenged Guyanese to send clear signals to businesses that target children as a form of labour.
Guyana  has  for  many years endorsed Conventions 138 and 182 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) dealing with minimum age and worst forms of child labour.
There is legislation in place barring children under 15 from being employed.
Despite this, Dr Gopaul stated that government has been increasing efforts to train persons who are unable to benefit from formal education and assist them in becoming productive citizens.
He said that the government has ensured that even those who leave school for one reason or another can be given the opportunity under the Board of Industrial Training programme, to develop skills. Last year, the state trained in excess of 4000 school dropouts in many fields. “More so, we were able to train them in a field they like best,” Dr Gopaul noted.
An International Labour Organisation report has indicated a decrease in the number of children aged five to 17, who are involved in child labour.
The 2010 report, on child labour trends from 2004 to 2008, estimates that during the four years, child labour numbers fell by seven million from 222 to 215 million. Of the 215 million child labourers globally, more than two-thirds, or 153 million, were five to 14 years old and about 91 million (4 in 10) child labourers were younger than 12.