Looking for solutions

THE United States Department of Labor’s recent Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor — Fiji Report raises some points that will attract attention. Gaps, it notes, exist within Fiji’s enforcement agencies to curb child labour in the country.

The report, which was released recently, acknowledged Government had established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labour in Fiji.

However, it pointed out, gaps existed within the operations of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of child labour laws.

It also stated the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations enforced laws related to child labour while the police investigated criminal violations and enforced laws on worst forms of labour.

Research, it stated, did not find information on whether labour law enforcement agencies in Fiji took action to address child labour.

The Fiji Police Force, it noted, could refer children found in cases of the worst forms of child labour on a caseby-case basis to the Department of Social Welfare.

Earlier this year, in June, we reported Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Parveen Kumar saying there was no reason for any Fijian child not to attend school. He opened the World Day Against Child Labour celebration in Nadi.

Mr Kumar revealed 249 Fijian children had been withdrawn from the child labour environment over the past 11 years.

These children, he said, were assisted through the Fijian Government program and had returned to school.

In June 2017, we learnt that 193 children had been withdrawn from the child labour environment in Fiji since 2011.

While it was encouraging to note that stakeholders were proactively engaged in fighting child labour, there was the other end of the spectrum, emphasising the fact that children were actually working.

Any effort to fight this issue is welcomed. However, in saying that, it is up to us to address issues that culminate in children being forced to work when they shouldn’t.

On the International Labour Organization website, its Director-General, Guy Ryder, in his statement for World Day Against Child Labour 2022, warned the choices made by governments now will make or break the lives of millions of children.

Social protection, he said, was one of the most powerful measures to prevent child labour, providing families with income security in difficult times.

The term “child labour”, according to the ILO, is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.

It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

We now raise the issue of children outside some supermarkets in Suva and Nasinu late at night for instance, selling food and other items such as doormats.

Clearly there has to be some thought given to understanding why this is happening in the first place.

What are the roll-on impacts, and contributing factors that are forcing families to have their children out late at night!

What are some of the deep rooted issues out there affecting families?

We have said this before, for a better Fiji, we need to understand child labour, and we need to create the level of awareness that will empower parents and guardians, and every other stakeholder, to be part of the solution.

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