IT MIGHT seem surprising for the Ministry of Labour to be talking about accelerating efforts to eradicate child labour in 2024, but it's a nuanced subject that must allow for earned and practical experience without minor exploitation. The commitment to developing a list of light and hazardous work to define what's appropriate work for children is a start.

At a consultation on May 8, the Labour Ministry promised to address any ambiguity and inconsistencies in the enforcement of child labour laws by making acceptable child work clearer. Labour Minister Stephen Mc Clashie further committed to achieving the UN's sustainable development goal 8.7 by "Securing the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour and by 2025, ending child labour in all its forms."

Creating such clarification is only a part of how this will be achieved. The ministry will also develop monitoring and evaluation systems, establish protocols for developing child labour policies and, most significantly, implement public awareness campaigns and improve training and numbers of inspectors to put teeth into the effort.

Sensibly, the Labour Ministry's PS, Natalie Willis, acknowledged "the value of introducing young people to the world of work in a safe and controlled manner."

The target year for the elimination of child labour was 2021, but the establishment and enforcement of these protocols won't be done by 2025 either. The International Labour Organization estimates that globally, 79 million children between the ages of five and 17 are working in dangerous conditions.

Light work for children under 15 is defined as work that does not endanger their health, safety or school attendance. Such work should not exceed 14 hours a week. Hazardous work defines tasks performed in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, including the handling of dangerous chemicals or heavy machinery.

So, on a scale of acceptability, helping the family sell vegetables for a few hours on a Saturday is fine. Driving the pickup to the market is not. Work that makes it difficult for a child to do homework or participate in social activities are also frowned on.

The photographer, Lewis Hine, changed labour laws in the US in 1909 with his photographs of children at work in dangerous circumstances. Children were employed not just because they were cheap labour, but because smaller machine tolerances were better served by their smaller, nimble hands in cotton mills and looms, fast-moving engines also capable of removing fingers.

Hine’s work changed some businesses, but today, children are still put to work in India's carpet industry, Afghan brick-making and US factories, among others.

Then, as now, changing social norms is essential to driving a clearer understanding of the work children should be doing in their formative years.

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