Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, Colin Jordan.
Government is committed to addressing all issues of child labour, that may surface in Barbados.
Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, Colin Jordan gave this assurance, as he delivered the feature address at the opening of an Educational Child Labour Seminar on the Zoom platform on Tuesday, which was jointly hosted by his Ministry and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Minister Jordan acknowledged that Barbados has had no reported cases of child labour. However, he noted that the Multiple Indicator Cluster 2012 Survey conducted by UNICEF, pointed to a very low incidence rate of 2.3%.
“The data suggests that significant proportions of Barbadian children participate in household chores. Barbados recognizes that child labour in its most basic form, that is, children working when they should be in school, has presented less of a problem, because of the efficient work of the Ministry of Education, in enforcing the Education Act,” Minister Jordaan remarked.
He added, “We have been signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child from 1990. Let me make it absolutely clear that we have no concern regarding children under the age of sixteen who are permitted to do age-appropriate work on weekends and during vacation time, that does not affect their education and development.”
“In Barbados, it has been traditional for children to assist with household chores. In addition, children often assisted with their family-owned business, for example a shop, or a bakery. I am a product of such work and such work has produced positive impacts, allowing children to gain discipline, hone their interpersonal skills, and build self-esteem, all important prerequisites for character development. Nevertheless, there is concern if the child who works after school and is too tired to function in the classroom the next morning, for example. Or worse, if that child has to miss school for periods of time, because he or she is working. This means that they are missing out on opportunities for them to gain the knowledge, life skills and competencies that would allow them to participate as active and productive members of this community,” the Labour Minister stressed.
Noting that child labour is not only wrong on moral grounds, but it is a threat to the notion of decent work since children are less likely than their adult counterparts to be aware of the legislative provisions that protects from work-related risks and their right to a healthy and safe working environment, Jordan pointed out the need for persons to report any incidence of child labour to the relevant authorities.
“All of us have a duty to protect our children. If the Labour Department in the execution of their duties finds evidence that employers are contravening ILO Convention No. 138, that is, that they are employing children under sixteen years of age or that they are in contravention of the Employment Miscellaneous Provisions Act and are employing young people to work at night, the course of action open to them is clear. They can issue the usual missives of warning and turn matters over to the relevant agencies,” he asserted.
Whilst acknowledging that a number of other countries across Latin America and the Caribbean face the challenge of eliminating the worst forms of child labour, such as commercial sexual exploitation, domestic work, slavery and child and drug trafficking amongst others, Jordan nevertheless gave the assurance that the Labour Department will be more aggressive in enforcing the laws of Barbados and the ILO Conventions. (RSM)