As part of the plans to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 8.8,the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the Ghana Fisheries Commission in collaboration with the USAID Ghana’s Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP) commemorated the ‘’2018 World Day against Child Labor’’ with a durbar and exhibition in Cape Coast.
The event, which was held on the theme ‘Resist Child Labor! Improve the Safety and Health of Young Workers towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8,’ provided an opportunity to raise awareness as well as call for action to tackle child labor.
The campaign against child labor aims to accelerate action to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 8.8 of safe and secure working environment for all workers by 2030 and SDG target 8.7 of ending all forms of child labor by 2025.
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Protecting children helps to give them an equal opportunity to fulfill their potential and live healthy, happy and productive lives.
Achieving these goals for the benefit of the next generation of the global workforce requires a concerted and integrated approach to eliminating child labor and promoting a culture of prevention on occupational safety and health to:
Promote the universal ratification and application of key International Labor Organization conventions on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and on child labor.
Promote integrated strategies at all levels to end hazardous child labor and address the specific safety and health risks faced by young workers.
Ensure quality education for all children and integrate occupational safety and health into general education and vocational training programmes.
Strengthen the evidence base for improved policies and actions to eliminate hazardous child labor and improve the safety and health of young workers.
Ensure that young workers gain access to trade union membership and are able to exercise their right to freedom of association, collective bargaining, and safety and health at work.
Address the specific vulnerabilities of young children and prevent their entry into child labor.
Build stronger tripartite action to improve occupational safety and health for young workers and eliminate hazardous child labor, drawing on the experiences of employers’ and workers’ organization.
The event was also supported by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Employers’ and Workers’ Organisation, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Private Sector and Development Partners, including the International Labor Organization (ILO), International Cocoa Initiative( ICI) and UNICEF across the country.
By: Latifa Carlos
