Fighting child labour through social interventions
June 12 every year is observed as Child Labour Day throughout the world by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).The celebrations which began in 2002 through the initiative of ILO is meant to raise awareness of the plight of child labourers world-wide.
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It is also to seek global movement against child labour and mobilise support towards its elimination.
The campaign this year is also linked to the upcoming World Cup tournament in Brazil, to encourage everyone to show a red card to all those who exploit children.
In Ghana this year’s celebration has the theme: “Combating Child Labour in Ghana through effective social protection.”
This means there is the need to introduce national social security systems that are sensitive to children’s needs and help fight child labour as well as reach out to vulnerable groups.
Work children engage in
Over one million children between the ages of five and 17 are engaged in child labour in Ghana.
There are children in agriculture, which comprises those who work on cocoa farms, take care of cattle, work as domestic servants, children in transport, begging, mining, fishing, commercial sex, among others.
Ghana has ratified the conventions on the rights of children and because of that, during these celebrations every year, a statement is made on the floor of Parliament to bring the issues of child labour to light and advocate that steps be taken to curb it.
Government intervention programmes
In line with the National Plan of Action for Elimination of Child Labour,government has instituted a number of social protection interventions such as the Capitation Grants, Ghana School Feeding for Programmes,free uniforms and exercise books, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) as a way to reduce poverty which is believed to be the main cause of child labour.
ILO projects
The ILO has also funded a number of projects such as the Cocoa Community Project (CCP), implemented in 2011 and expected to end this year; and the Public-Private Partnership Project, started in 2011 and which will end in 2015.
The ECOWAS projects I & II aimed at eliminating the worst forms of child labour in the West African sub-region, which was started in 2011, have ended.
About 5,000 children who engage in mining, fishing and working on cocoa farms have been withdrawn from the sites and put back in school. They were given uniforms, bags and learning materials. One thousand families have been supported and given meaningful livelihoods.
Through this project, a monitoring system has been set up in 20 districts such as Bia, Ga South and Wassa Amenfi to deal with child labour issues.
Child rights clubs known as Supporting Children's Rights Through Education the Arts and Media (SCREAM), have been introduced in some schools to educate school children about their rights.
Way forward
Mr Emmanuel Kwame Mensah, a Project Officer of ILO, in an interview, said this year, in accordance with the theme, the support for vulnerable and poor families would be strengthened so that they would be able to take care of their children.
This, he said will prevent parents from sending their children to work so that they will also stay in school and be educated because they would be economically empowered.
He also tasked the media to create awareness of the plight of children and educate parents on the need to send their children to school.
Mr Mensah indicated that when this happens, more people would be aware of the negative consequences of child labour; employers would employ adults instead of children, jobs created for the youth will not be hazardous, and more children would participate in child-related programmes so that they would know their rights and fight for them.
He said government would also be encouraged to provide funds for agencies such as the police, the Trades Union Congress and the Ghana Employers Association to tackle issues that affect children.
At the community level, all those who engage children in activities that affect their health and well-being will be named, shamed and if necessary, jailed to serve as deterrent to others. Vigilante groups would also be established in communities to clamp down on such people while chiefs would be made to punish families who engage in these activities.
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Teachers would also make the school environment lively so that children would love their schools and quality education would be provided to encourage parents to appreciate the need to send their children to school.
Mr Mensah said child labour destroys the future workforce of every country because it produces unskilled labour, which results in low productivity.
"Child labour today is unemployment tomorrow; every child that is removed from child labour sites is equivalent to an adult that has been provided with skill for effective employment", he added.
Mr Mensah, therefore, called on all civil society groups, non-governmental organisations and government agencies, among others, to be actively involved in advocacy against child labour.
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