UNIVERSAL Children’s Day was observed on November 20.
It is a day established by the United Nations in 1954 geared towards improving the life of children.
Subsequently, international legally binding agreements such as the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of the Child were introduced, in which 194 countries have signed.
Trinidad and Tobago is also signatory to these international legally binding agreements, of which several ministries and organisations have developed policies to ensure that children’s best well-being are looked after.
TT has also enacted various legislation to protect children, such as, the Children Act, 2012; the Children’s Authority Act, 2000; the Children’s Authority Regulations 2014; the Children’s Community Residences, Foster Care and Nurseries Act, 2000; the Foster Care Regulations, 2014; the Children’s Community Residences Regulations 2014; the Adoption of Children Act, 2000; and the Adoption of Children Regulations 2015.
[caption id="attachment_925809" align="alignnone" width="1024"] FILE PHOTO: The head office of the Children's Authority, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. -[/caption]
Of growing concern has been the issue of child labour, especially in a pandemic where many livelihoods were lost, and in TT this was no different.
While relatively small when compared to global statistics, the Labour Inspectorate Unit of the Ministry of Labour has found that reported cases of child labour increased from three in 2019 to five in 2020 and six in 2021.
The Labour Inspectorate Unit has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring employers and employees were aware of their rights, obligations and responsibilities as well as monitoring the workplace environment in accordance with labour laws.
In response to questions sent by Newsday, the Ministry of Labour said because of the economic impact brought on by the covid19 pandemic some vulnerable families turned to their children to earn income as a survival mechanism.
It said, “Due to the pandemic, measures had to be taken by government to curb the spread of the virus. This resulted in the closure of schools, the introduction of online classes, closure of businesses, loss of jobs and reduction of income for some families.
“In addition, some children do not have portable devices or internet connectivity to join the online classes, and this may have pushed some of those children into the job market. The pandemic has the potential to increase instances of child labour as children who were unable to continue their education over the last couple of months may eventually fall out of the education system when schools fully reopen, the ministry said.
Child labour is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
It is further classified as mentally, physically, socially or morall
