Hanoi (VNA) – Participants in a workshop in Hanoi onJune 25 recommended legal regulations on child labour be amended which is amongmeasures to prevent child labour for a safe and healthy generation.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and SocialAffairs Nguyen Thi Ha said “Generation Safe & Healthy” is the theme ofWorld Day Against Child Labour (June 12) in 2018. It is a practical theme whenthe whole world has committed to preventing child labour.

She noted Vietnam has promulgated a number ofregulations and carried out many solutions to prevent child labour and realisethe Sustainable Development Goals, including Target 8.7 of eradicating forcedlabour, ending modern slavery and human trafficking, and securing theprohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

However, the solving of the child labour issue,especially protecting children from strenuous, hazardous and dangerous labour,needs active participation and close coordination of all partners in society,from State agencies, businesses, trade unions, social organisations to familiesand the community, Ha added.

Minoru Ogasawara, chief advisor of the project“Technical Support for Enhancing the National Capacity to Prevent and ReduceChild Labour in Vietnam” (ENHANCE), said to eliminate child labour, it isnecessary to have a solid legal foundation, regularly update the list ofdangerous and hazardous jobs, consolidate the law enforcement mechanism withthe engagement of relevant sides, and strengthen occupational safety and healthmanagement.

Programmes to educate occupational safety andhealth at schools are also needed to educate students on occupational risks, hesaid.

Suggesting child labour prevention measures,Chief of the child protection section at UNICEF Vietnam Le Hong Loan said thecountry should improve educational quality to reduce the dropout rate amongchildren while increasing intervention measures and support for low-income familiessince poverty is one of the main causes of child labour.

She also called for a legal framework andpolicies built in line with international standards, all the worst forms ofchild labour banned, and policies with multidimensional approach made.

At the workshop, Director of the labourministry’s Department of Child Affairs Dang Hoa Nam said in the time ahead, theministry will revise the regulations on child and adolescent labour in theLabour Code, continue the national survey on child labour, and push ahead withthe Government’s programme on child labour prevention and elimination and theENHANCE project.

Child labour is currently a global issue. TheInternational Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that there are about 152million child labourers in the world at present. 

Working at an early age has been leaving seriousconsequences, including affecting children’s physical and mental developmentand preventing their access to suitable education. It also negativelyinfluences socio-economic development, especially the quality of future humanresources.

In Vietnam, the national survey of child labourin 2012 showed that there were about 1.75 million child labourers nationwide,accounting for 9.6 percent of children aged between five and 17.-VNA