Guyana does not have a child labour problem-Nadir

Mar 18, 2010 News

Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, and other labour officials at the press conference yesterday.

…govt. mulls providing transportation for students

Government has refuted reports that the country is faced with a major child labour problem.
Rather, according to Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, there is worry and more concern over the problem of school dropouts.
This year, authorities are hoping to drastically reduce this by fifty percent, the Minister said.
It is estimated that almost 30 per cent of students do not complete school, the official said yesterday at a press conference in his office.
The conference was to clear up recent reports that suggested that the Ministry was concerned about a serious child labour situation. At the press briefing with the Minister were other labour officials.
The problem is that many mistakenly conclude that child labour and truancy as being the same thing.
The Minister said that Guyana does not have a “problem with the worst form of child labour.”
Quoting a recent GINA report, Nadir said that it was clear that the reporter did not do the necessary background checks and as such made some inaccurate statements.
Government is serious about the protection of children and recently, legislation was passed to further promote this protection.
In 1994, it upped the working age from 14 years and six months to 15 years. Anyone found hiring persons under that age would be breaching the laws.
Reports on the child labour issue found that there was actually a low level of child labour in Guyana.
Stressing that child work and child labour are two different things, Nadir argued that figures and reports of the Ministry show clearly that it is not a big problem.
According to the International Labour Organization Convention, child labour is described as slavery, procurement of minors for prostitution and pornography and couriers of drugs.
In Guyana, while there are instances of children working for family-related businesses, the reality is that it is highly illegal to take children out of school and put them to work.
Nadir said that he is contemplating legislation that will allow teenagers to earn extra money, under certain conditions.
These would include no work during school hours and harsh, manual labour would not be allowed.
Shortly, the Child Protection Agency of the government will be moving out to its own offices with full staffers and resources to tackle some of the problems.
Very shortly also, the Ministry says that a Rapid Assessment Program will be conducted to determine, among other things, the child labour situation in Guyana.
Regarding the number of serious complaints that are engaging the Ministry’s attention, Nadir said that there are three.
In Demerara, a 15-year-old teenager was working when three of his fingers were severed in an industrial accident. The matter is in court.
In Essequibo, two grandchildren were said to be working on a family truck when they were supposed to be in school.
However, visits by the authorities found the children in school.
In Berbice, there are reports of children working in restaurants and sawmills, but recent surprise inspections found no breaches. There were even inspections by Ministry officials in a number of Berbice stores in the Rose Hall area.
The Minister admitted that inspections in the interior locations are a little more difficult since some families are always on the move.
In the Mahdia area, there is high abseentism by students and the Ministry will be working along with agencies like the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Forestry Commission and NIS to tackle the situation.
This year, workplace inspections are projected to 4,500, as compared to last year’s 4,000.
To address the truancy issues, government has taken a number of measures. This includes providing uniform, meals and there is now the possibility of transportation being provided.