Communications on child labour prevention, reduction intensified

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), in collaboration with Save the Children International (SCI) and Ho Chi Minh City’s Association of Protection of Child Right, organised a conference on intensifying the dissemination work on child protection and child labour prevention on June 7.

According to the ministry, in recent years, the legal system and policies related to child labour have been improved, and the prevention and reduction of child labour has received increasing attention from the Party committees, authorities, ministries and sectors as well as the engagement of relevant organisations, businesses and the whole society.

The second national survey on child labour, conducted in 2018 by the MoLISA, showed the rate of child labourers from 5 to 17 years old decreased from 9.6 percent in 2012 to 5.4 percent in 2018, which was 2 percentage points lower than the average Asia-Pacific rate, and over 4 percentage points lower than the global average. This has created favourable conditions for Vietnam to participate in the signing of trade agreements and global integration, and strengthen international cooperation in the prevention and reduction of child labour.

However, Dang Hoa Nam, Director of the MoLISA’s Department for Child Affairs, said there remain child labourers in the agricultural sector and the places where it is difficult to interfere in; and the awareness of officials, employers, parents and child caretakers remains limited.

Therefore, Nam stressed the need to intensify the dissemination work, especially on the position and importance of ensuring the implementation of child rights in the community. He also emphasised the irreplaceable role and responsibility of parents and families in child labour prevention.

According to the department, Vietnam’s Programme on Prevention and Reduction of Child Labour for the 2021-2025 period, with a vision to 2030, aimed to reduce the child labour rate to 4.9 percent by 2025 and 4.5 percent by 2030. It also strives to improve the consciousness of 90 percent of officials and teachers, and provide knowledge on this issue for 70 percent of parents, caretakers and children./.