Statement by the Hon. Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Hon- Stephen Amoanor Kwao-MP
Source: parliament_of_ghana
Date: 2009-06-12

SUCIN. STATEMENT BY THE HON. MINISTER OF EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL WELFARE, HON. STEPHEN AMOANOR KWAOQO - MP WOLRD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR, 12" JUNE 2009 THEME: ‘GIVE GIRLS A CHANCE: END CHILD LABQUR’ Madam Speaker, | thank you for the opportunity to make a Statement on an important issue which is dear to my heart, Legislators and indeed that of many Ghanaians. The subject’ Madam Speaker, is child labour. Madam Speaker, 12" June every year is marked as the World Day Against Child Labour and celebrated around the world, including Ghana. Since the inception of the global Event in 2001 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Ghana has never been left out of the celebration. The Day is set aside to remind the world at large about the plight of millions of children of school going age, who are out of school and working in dangerous situations/ damaging to their health, morals and proper development. The Event therefore provides an opportunity to highlight the problem of child labour and stimulate the commitment of all partners; including government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, Civil Society Organizations, teachers, parents, children and International Partners, to put in place measures to eradicate its worst forms, as a matter of urger(cy and work progressively towards its total elimination. Madam Speaker, it is important to note that it is acceptable in Ghana, and indeed globally, that children work as an integral part of the socialisation process and a means of transmitting acquired skills from parents to children, Children have therefore been working throughout the ages, as a means of acquiring basic skills and knowledge and a sense of responsibility, which is beneficial to them and the society in their later life. Such activities include helping parents to care for the home and the family or performing light work such as assisting in a family business, These activities are positive and contribute to a child's development and provide the child with skills, positive attitudes and experience useful in hisfher quest to become a productive member of society. 10 It is this beautiful traditional social system that some adults across the country are unfortunately abusing, resulting in the labour exploitation of children in all kinds of activities. Madam Speaker, Child fabour on the other hand is work which is morally, physically, socially or mentally dangerous and harmful to children, It is work which deprives children of education, or prevents them from benefiting fully from schooling as a result of either combining heavy and long hours of work with schooling or dropping out of school completely to undertake such activities. The Children's Act, 1998 (Act 560), the most comprehensive law for protecting children defines exploitative labour as work that deprives the child of histher health, education or development, It sets the minimum age for admission to employment at 15 years for general employment, 13 years for light work, and 18 years for hazardous work. Section 91 of the Act prohibits the participation of children in hazardous activities, including, going to sea, mining and quarryin porterage of heavy loads, among others. It is however unfortunate that some children are engaged in such activities. In Ghana, Madam Speaker, the 2003 Ghana Child Labour Survey (GCLS 2003) and other studies have confirmed the engagement of children in various forms of work, including stone cracking/quarrying, agriculture, ‘gallamsey’, child prostitution, child domestic service, street hawking, farming, beggars’ guides, among others. The Ghana Child Labour Survey reported that, out of a population of 6.36 million children aged 5 — 17 years, over 1.27 million children, representing 20% were erigaged in child labour, with over 242, 000, engaged in activities classified as hazardous work. Over 1 million of these child labourers were younger than 13 years of age. Others are trafficked and exploited under’very dangerous conditions, contrary to the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694). Madam Speaker, this year's Event will be marked with a National Durbar at Agbogbloshie, under the theme: ‘Give Girls a Chance: End Child Labour’. All the 170 districts across the country will also celebrate the Day with various activities to drum home the negative consequences of child labour and the importance of educating our children. The choice of Aghogbloshie for this year's Event is informed by the fact that many young girls who should be in school or undergoing vocational training, have found their way into this community and caught up in various forms of child labour activities. These girls are engaged in all kinds of work, including, porterage of heavy loads, commonly referred to as ‘Kayayei’; traditional restaurant anendants) domestic servitude, street hawking, among others. HE It is believed that some of these young girls, are also engaged in child prostitution, during the night to complement their meager eamings during the day. Madam Speaker, this is unacceptable and deserves all the attention that it requires, in order to eliminate the canker from our society. Madam Speaker, this year's theme comes at an opportune time when there is increasing concern for parents and the nation to protect all children from exploitation and give equal opportunity to all children by investing in the education of both boys and girls. In line with the theme for this year's Evengb it is important to note that a lot has heen achieved in efforts to bridge the gap between boys and girls in the area of education. There is however more room for improvement to achieve the second and third Millennium Development Goals, which call for the completion of full course of primary education and the elimination of gender disparity by 2015. Madam Speaker, giobally, some 75 million children are still not enrolled in primary school. For every 100 boys in school, there are only 94 girls, and girls in rural areas are particularly disadvantaged. Gross enrolment at secondary level in developing countries is 61% for boys and 57% for girlsv In least developed countries, the figures are 32% for boys and 26% for girls. It is clear that in much of the developing world,, huge numbers of girls are failing to access education at post primary level. (Source: ILO) In Ghana, completion rate for girls is consistently lower than boys. Gender parity is highest at the fower levels, with the Kindergarten level currently at 0.98, the primary level at 0.96 and the JHS at 0.92 (Source: 2008 Ghana Education Report). The gap is however decreasing, There is therefore the need to continue the current trend to achieve our targets for gender parity, Universal Basic Education and Education for All. Madam Speaker, Government together with her social pariners, in partnership with other stakeholders are not relenting on its efforts to find appropriate solutions to this problem. Since 2000, Madam Speaker, when Ghana ratified the ILO Convention 182 and signed onto the ILONPEC Programme, a lot of interventions have been implemented in specific sectors of the economy, This has resulted in the development of policy and legislation and the implementation of small-scale direct action in identifying, withdrawing and rehabilitating children in various Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) across the country. Several government institutions, Employers’ and Workers organizations, local and international NGOs, the ILO and other international agencies such as 3|0y UNICEF and Intetnational Oranization on Migration (IOM) have contributed significantly to efforts to address the problem. One of such IPEC Programmes, the ILO/IPEC-WACAP Project, resuited in the development of the National Programme for the elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC), in response to the ‘Harkin-Engel Protocol which was signed into force in 2001, between US Senator Harkin and Congressman Engel on one snde, and the World Cocoa Foundation on the other side. The scale of the child labour problem and its multi-sectoral nature however require vigorous, broad-based and large-scale measures, within an integrated framework that enhances synergy among the relevant sectoral programmes and the development of stronger partnerships among the key actors. Madam Speaker, the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare is finalizing a 7- year National Plan of Action (NPA), to eliminate all worst forms of the child labour in Ghana by 2015, This Programme,; when finalized and adopted, will provide the necessary focus and impetus for eliminating this serious problem from our society in a timely, efficient, effective and sustainable manner. Madam Speaker, Ghana has indeed made a lot of strides in dealing with the child tabour problem,. Much more however needs to be done. | take this opportunity to wish all those working hard to help curb the problem Ayekoo. Madam Speaker, Child Labour, no matter its form is undesirable and needs to be eliminated, It is for this reason that | cali on Hon. Members of this noble House and the entire Ghanaian society to join hands to address the problem. Madam Speaker, | thank you for the opportunity. i-lo;'n'. lephen Amoanor k"wao {MP) Minister, Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare June 12, 2009