The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, launched the National Employment Policy (2011), the National Child Labour Policy (2006) and the Second National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (NAP II 2020/21 - 2024/25) during the national commemoration of the International Labour Day.

Aligned with the National Development Plan (NDPIII), NAP II 2020/21 - 2024/25 aims to create an enabling environment for the prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reduction of the risk of children removed from work being pushed or pulled back into child labour.
Uganda's review and adoption of the NAP II, during the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour (2021), is a strong demonstration of the Government of Uganda's commitment to ending all forms of child labour by 2025. By putting in place such policy, legal and regulatory frameworks, the government aims to address child labour issues and strengthen its prevention and protection mechanisms for children at risk and engaged in child labour.

The government's commitment to ending child labour is also reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ratification of the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, Uganda has renewed its commitment by becoming a member of the 8.7 Pathfinder Countries Alliance, where Uganda has voluntarily committed to take the lead and put in extra efforts to achieve the 8.7 SDG target.

Target 8.7 calls on countries to take immediate and effective action to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment, and by 2025, end child labour in all its forms.

However, these commitments must now be reinforced by strong policy responses and direct, innovative and evidence-based actions to address the root causes of child labour and its effects on Uganda's much-needed future productive workforce. Recognizing the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable households, UN agencies, such as the International Labour Organization, are recommending policy responses that focus on economic support, health protection measures, social dialogue, and the extension of social protection for all.

These policy responses are also reflected in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Uganda 2021-2025, strategic priority III. On the other hand, the ILO intervention on accelerating action to eliminate child labour in supply chains recognizes the importance of collaborative approaches with all employers, workers and other stakeholders in the implementation of the NAP II 2020/21 - 2024/25 to eliminate all forms of child labour.

There is no doubt that job creation and labour productivity are only possible if our future workforce is educated and acquires the necessary skills for employment. As such, due to the detrimental nature of child labour on physical and/or mental development, the effect on children's innovative capacities is very likely. On the other hand, the negative effect on children's learning will lead to limited skills and therefore limited employability.

Ultimately, this has an effect on the human capital development of Uganda, where the National Development Plan 3 is particularly anchored in improving the productivity and social well-being of the population through key result areas on labour productivity, employment and education. More importantly, failure to address child labour could have negative consequences for the achievement of key sustainable development goals, including education, poverty, inequality reduction, decent work, and economic growth, among other strongly related goals.

According to the Uganda National Household Survey (2016/17) by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, over two million children are engaged in some form of child labour. Such a statistic indicates that Uganda is at risk of losing a future productive workforce. It is therefore important to note that child labour, job creation and labour productivity are strongly linked. According to the ILO, child labour is work that is mentally or morally dangerous and harmful to children; it interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to go to school, forcing them to leave school early, and forcing them to try to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy, often dangerous work.

Celebrated around the world, International Labour Day is an opportunity to recognise the immense contribution of workers around the world. In Uganda, this year's International Labour Day was commemorated under the theme "Strengthening innovation to increase job creation and labour productivity; a sustainable COVID-19 response". The question remains as to how job creation and productivity can be increased if child labour is not addressed to effectively prepare a future productive workforce.

Phillo Aryatwijuka is a National Project Officer with the ILO Accel Africa project in Uganda, and an alumni of the project ''Reporting on Child Labour'' training.