THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has pleged to help stamp out child labour the world over by placing it high on its agenda.According to a release from the Ministry of Social Protection, the high incidence of child labour here was among a number of issues that were raised when subject minister, Volda Lawrence and Minister of Labour Keith Scott met Thursday with a visiting three-member delegation from the Geneva-based organisation.

Heading the delegation is Claudia Coenjaerts, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Caribbean Office. The two other members are Rainer Pritzer, Senior Specialist for Social Dialogue and Labour Administration, and Ingerlyn Caines-Frances, Programme Officer.

In response to a request from Minister Lawrence to assist the Guyana government in undertaking another child-labour survey, Coenjaerts is quoted as saying: “We will put it back as a priority.”

Besides the need to rein in child labour, Minister Lawrence is said to have raised with the ILO team the utilizing of the country’s co-operative sector as a poverty-fighting tool; the current revival of the previously dormant Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) sector; and labour inspection.

Conversely, issues raised by Coenjaerts included Decent Work Country Programmes; the importance of tripartite social dialogue; bolstering the small business sector; and protection for the country’s domestic workers.

The Guyana government and the ILO, the release says, have collaborated on a number of key initiatives, including the hosting of a Decent Work conference, and pursuing training programmes for the Ministry’s labour inspectors later this year.