Efforts hit by COVID

THE COVID-19 crisis has brought additional poverty to the already vulnerable population and may reverse years of progress in the fight against child labour.

These were the sentiments shared by Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa yesterday while officiating at an International Labour Organization (ILO) meeting on steps to take to eliminate child labour in Fiji.

She said school closures aggravated the situation whereby many children were labouring to support their family.

“Millions more children risk being pushed into child labour as a result of the COVID-19 crisis which could lead to the first rise in child labour after 20 years of progress according to ILO and UNICEF,” she said.

She said the report showed that children already engaged in child labour might be working longer hours or under worsening conditions.

“More of them may be

forced into the worst forms of labour, which causes significant harm to their health and safety.

“Gender inequalities may also grow more acute, with girls particularly vulnerable to exploitation in agriculture and domestic work.

“Some studies show that a one percentage point

rise in poverty leads to at least a 0.7 per cent increase in child labour in certain countries as in times of crisis, child labour becomes a coping mechanism for many families.”

She said there was a need for joint and decisive action in order to reverse the growing child labour participation.