UNDER the theme ‘’Progress is Clear, But There’s More To Do: Let’s Speed Up Efforts”, the Ministry of Labour lead an awareness walk in observance of World Day Against Child Labour on Thursday.

Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, in his remarks, said the theme was a reminder of progress made in the efforts.

He noted that the ministry will continue to spearhead efforts to create an environment that supports and enhances effective coordination, collaboration and co-operation among all stakeholders, in the fight to prevent and eradicate child labour.

As Guyana remains steadfast in this endeavour, to ensure that every child is allowed to thrive, grow and reach their full potential in a safe, and nurturing environment, the labour ministry has implemented several initiatives aimed at raising awareness and fostering community collaboration to prevent child labour.

According to the minister, “We have maintained a strong collaboration with our social partners and various government entities to tackle this problem.”

The ministry is closely collaborating with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security- particularly the Child Care and Protection Agency, to enhance its ability to identify, investigate and to report on child labour issues.

This collaboration, he noted, included joint workshops with probation officers, and other child protection professionals that seek to strengthen coordination and response strategies between agencies to protect children from exploitation.

This year, the ministry has planned various awareness events to highlight the detrimental, emotional and physical effects that children forced into child labour experience.

The ministry intends to visit more than 20 secondary schools across Guyana, where they will engage students on issues of child labour. This has already commenced.

“Additionally, the National Child Labour Art Competition and Awareness Walk in Regions Four and Six will be held to raise awareness of the negative effects a child can face once involved in child labour,” the minister said.

Minister Hamilton urged for work to continue to be done in the spirit of collaboration and encouraged community-driven leadership to prevent and address child labour.

He further called on everyone to reform their collective vision of a Guyana and a world where every child enjoys the promise of a safe, happy and enriching childhood.

Meanwhile, Sherwood Clarke, the Vice-President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), briefly shared that the organisation has consistently and formally advocated against child labour, and has always endorsed the effort to promote awareness, as well as to implement labour rights legislations designed to safeguard children against exploitation.

Clarke related that the theme of World Child Labour Day 2025 stresses the need to eliminate child labour by 2025.

He referenced the International Labour Organization (ILO) report: Ending Child Labour by 2025: A review of policies and programmes and highlighted the methods and corresponding outcomes outlined in the report.

These are to strengthen legal commitments to eradicate child labour and highlight the significance of social dialogue, promote legal opportunities for adults and youths, primarily through informal tackling and outreach, expand social protection systems and set minimum standards to reduce family economic vulnerability, expand access to free, quality public education as an alternative to labour, address labour in supply chains, and protect children in vulnerable situations and crises.

Meanwhile, President of the Guyana Trade Union Congress, Norris Witter, reiterated that while we have come a long way in addressing child labour, we still have quite a distance to go.

He told the students present, “You are here today, particularly the young persons, and you are the best person to take this message forward, that child labour is an abomination, it is wrong, and we need to do everything possible to ensure that, even if it is not entirely eliminated, which must be our objective, it must be minimised to a low level.”