STORY: KORYEKPOR AWLESU FREEMAN
Minister for Employment and Social, Hon. Enoch Tei-Mensah, has urged children to report any ‘hazardous’ work assigned to them by their relatives to police since these things contribute to the worst forms of child labour.
“Knowing that child labour is an offence punishable by law as stated in the Children’s Act, 1998, (Act 560),children who do not report such law breakers to the police because they are not directly involved might be in greater danger someday,” he warned.
Hon. E.T. Mensah, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram constituency in the Greater Region, made this call in an interview with Today after he addressed senior reporters and editors at a-day’s media sensitisation and training workshop on child labour in Accra recently.
The workshop was aimed at bringing the media up to speed on the current scourge of worst forms of child labour.
The participants were taken through regulatory framework of child labour which included child rights regulations, 2002; the institution and management framework for the national child labour elimination programme; human trafficking Act, 2005 ( Act 694); Ghana’s constitution and child rights chapters; convention on the right of the child; and early childhood care and development policy.
He noted eliminating child labour will require an immediate and a comprehensive action, stressing the need for the media to give wider and consistent coverage on child labour issues.
“We should accept and support the national plan of action on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and commit ourselves to raising public awareness on the matter,” he submitted.
