Holland helps stop PNG child labour
By ISAAC NICHOLAS
THE Dutch government has allocated US$2.5 million ( K6.9 million) for the elimination of child labour in Papua New Guinea.
This follows the signing of a partnership agreement between the European Commission to PNG, International Labour Organisation and its implementing partners Labour and Industrial Relations and Education Ministries.
The 36-month programme that started in April last year, funded by the Netherlands government, will cover Kiribati, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Acting deputy secretary for Labour and Industrial Relations Martin Kase said that there was no adequate data to determine the extent of child labour in the country and the programme would assist in that area.
Acting Education and Correctional Service Minister Tony Aimo said at the conclusion of the partnership protocol yesterday that children are an asset.
“Education is a key element in the prevention of child labour; at the same time, child labour is one of the main obstacles to education for all,” he said.
Mr Aimo said that understanding the interplay between education and child labour is therefore critical to achieving both education for all and child labour elimination goals.
He said child labour meant employing children that harms them or exploits them in some way – physically, mentally, morally, or by blocking access to education.
But there is no universally accepted definition of “child labour”, he added.
Mr Aimo said that not all work is bad for children. “Some social scientists say that some kind of work may be completely unobjectionable – except for one thing about the work that makes it exploitative”.
“For instance, a child who delivers newspapers before school might actually benefit from learning how to work, gaining responsibility and earn a bit of money.
“But what if the child is not paid? Then he or she is being exploited,” Mr Aimo said.
He said international conventions also define “child labour” as activities such as soldiering and prostitution.
“I, as the minister responsible for education in PNG, believe that education, in particular, education of good quality up to the minimum age for entering into employment , is a key element in the prevention of child labour,” Mr Aimo said.
He said there is broad consensus that a single- most effective way to stem the flow of school age children into work is to extend and improve access to school so that families have the opportunity to invest in their children’s education.
He said the concluded partnership protocol targeted this very valued asset– our children.
“It is about time that we all must realise that child labour is a major obstacle to achieving education for all,” Mr Aimo said.
The Government of Papua New Guinea was represented by the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Community Development and the International Labour Organisation was represented by its representative in Fiji.
The European Commission was represented by its head of delegation in PNG.
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