By Tamica Garnett
DESCRIBED as a critical step towards tackling and eliminating child labour in Guyana, the Ministry of Social Protection, on Wednesday, commenced a three- day “Child Labour Inspection Training” for labour officers and other stakeholders, at the Public Service Ministry Training Division.

The event was a joint collaboration among the MoSP, United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Delivering the feature address at the event, Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, stressed the government’s zero tolerance for child labour.

“A nation can neither achieve nor sustain prosperity on the backs of its children,” Ally declared.

She added: “There is no room for children without care and protection or facing any kind of violation, or deprived of their childhood. The exploitation of children must never be tolerated under any circumstances, or for any reasons. When children are exploited for economic gains of others, everybody loses. Children lose, their family loses, the nation loses. When even one child is exploited, every one of us is diminished.”

Ally emphasised that the government is committed towards putting all necessary measures in place, wherever needed, to combat the issue. Equipping labour and other social officers with the necessary knowledge to identify and deal with child labour is an essential part of eliminating the scourge.

“An effective and efficient labour inspection system is an essential paradigm of any civilised government. In order to make labour inspection more efficient in the fight against child labour, it is imperative that labour inspectors be familiar with the problem and aware of the possible consequences for children. The appropriate training of inspectors is a critical dimension of effective enforcement.”
The ILO defines child labour as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, their dignity and is harmful to their physical and mental development. Work that does not interfere with the child’s health, personal development or schooling is not considered to be child labour.

According to a UNICEF 2016 report, the total child labour prevalence in Guyana for children five to seven years is 18.3 per cent.

UNICEF Deputy Representative, Irfan Akhtar, congratulated the government on progress made in putting focus on the fight against child labour in Guyana.
“Guyana is very committed to protect the rights of child by implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in country context. We are extremely pleased to note that the ministry continues to take proactive approach and series of initiatives to ensure that both policies and actions are implemented to protect the child’s rights. Congratulations to you honorable minister. We are very proud,” Akhtar commented.

Minister with Responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, who also made remarks at the event, impressed on the participants the important role they play in combatting child labour.
“I feel compelled to remind participants that their contribution to the end of child labour is not to be taken lightly. It is a task which this government has repeatedly embraced since our assumption to office and even before that,” Scott noted.
The training comes just a few months following the government’s launch of the National Policy on Child Labour.

Minister Ally also noted the importance of policies to protect children.
“The protection is only achievable through the development of policies that have enforcement mechanisms such as carrying out child inspections, advocacies and awareness campaigns through various forums. That is why the child labour policy, launched earlier this year, marked an important milestone in the fight against the worst forms of child labour in Guyana,” she said.

ILO Child Labour Coordinator, Resel Melville, also spoke at the event.