By Doreen Darko
Media Practitioners have been called upon to prioritise issues of child labour to help eliminate the phenomenon which is destroying the future of about a quarter of children in the country.
According to the 2014 Ghana Labour Force Standards Survey, 1,982,553 children aged between five and 17 years out of the over eight million are engaged in child labour.
These children mostly work in dangerous and hazardous environments with little or no protection exposing them to injuries, toxic substances, physical, psychological and emotional abuse.
This came to light at the media launch of the 2018 World Day Against Child Labour in Accra on June 5. The day is observed annually on June 12 to highlight the plight of young people engaged in child labour and take actions to combat the menace.
This year’s event will be held in Cape Coast on the theme: Resist Child Labour: Improve the Safety and Health of Young Workers Towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Eight.
Mr. Suleman Braimah, Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, who made the call at the launch, described child labour as a cancerous phenomenon which is eating away the prospects for progress and possibility of development of the future leaders of the nation.
He decried the low reportage on child labour related issues and stressed the need for the media to show keen interest in such issues and also dedicate a desk to champion it.
“We need to take keen interest in the issue of child labour. And it requires that, we learn about it, study it and at least develop some expertise on the issue in order to be able to report on it quite diligently”, Mr. Braimah added.
He therefore called for the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to actively support the fight against child labour to protect children from it and secure a safe and healthy environment for young workers.
Dr. S.B Amponsah, Director of Special Duties at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), delivering the Keynote Address on behalf of the Deputy Minister of MELR, Mr. Bright Wireko-Brobby, said child labour remains a critical national issue, hence the launch of the National Plan of Action Phase Two for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour (NPA II: 2017 – 2021).
He noted that for sustainable progress to be made in the fight against child labour, there was the need for better laws and policies to address the needs of children and young workers.
President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Dr. Affail Monney, entreated media practitioners to highlight stories of child labour and also use their offices to confront the issue which imperil the growth of children, endanger their security and inhibit their development.
He urged media practitioners to expose perpetrators of child labour and referred to Article 19 of the GJA Code of Ethics which calls on Journalists to protect children.
Representatives from the International Labour Organization (ILO), International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), Ghana Employers Association, Trades Union Congress-Ghana, National Association of Small Scale Miners and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service enumerated some measures their outfits have outlined to curb child labour including sensitisation campaigns and charged the media and the citizenry to help them in that regard.
