Taking Action to meet SDG Target 8.7 to end Child Labour by 2025: Building capacity for action on the ground in Trinidad and Tobago and in Suriname.

As the global call intensifies for focused attention and action to advance towards the goal of eliminating child labour and forced labour by 2025, Caribbean countries are taking tangible steps to change the reality for vulnerable children and adolescents in their national territories. As active members supported by the ILO Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname have pressed forward with the implementation of national plans to prevent and eliminate child labour, building the capacity of the national labour inspectorates and key stakeholders to identify cases and take action to address this issue.

As part of this push, on 29-30 November 2022, the ILO Caribbean Office, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Labour of Trinidad and Tobago and the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, coordinated and hosted a two-day workshop on “Communication with Children at Risk of/ in Situations of Child Labour.” The training, which leveraged the technical expertise and experience of qualified practitioners from the Children’s Authority, was designed to sensitize and equip labour and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) inspectors and other relevant officials with information and practical knowledge on the psycho-social and legal considerations involved in communicating with children and teenagers, who may be suspected or actual victims of child labour or its worst forms. At the Opening Ceremony, Mrs. Sharon Morris-Cummings, Acting Director of the Children’s Authority urged the audience, “We must continue to build capacity to recognize, eliminate and prevent cases of child labour […] within our society. To do this, updated training is vital, collaboration among stakeholders is necessary.”

Forty-five local officials benefitted from the workshop, including representatives of the Ministries of Education and Social Development and Family Affairs, the Tobago House of Assembly, the Office of the Prime Minister (Gender and Child Affairs) and the Counter Trafficking Unit and Child Protection Services of the Ministry of National Security. Participants were given detailed information on the current situation of child labourers and children in need of protection, on the national legal and institutional frameworks in place to address these needs and on the key techniques and sensitive approaches to be taken when engaging with children in situations of risk or victims of abuse including child labour.

Delivering her remarks at the event, Ms. Kevar Williams, Permanent Secretary (Ag)/ Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Trinidad and Tobago spoke on the Ministry's ongoing work, “the Ministry of Labour is pleased to collaborate with the ILO and the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago to build the capacity of the Labour Inspectorate Unit in the effective investigation of reports of child labour”. She also emphasized that “the Ministry views this engagement with the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, and other stakeholders as a critical aspect in the fight against child labour.”

In December, the ILO Caribbean Office also partnered with the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Youth Affairs of Suriname, to carry out training for over fifty local officials on labour inspection strategies. Modern, effective and efficient labour inspection has been identified as a fundamental requirement for implementing Suriname’s Decent Work priorities, among which the eradication of child labour is an important goal. The workshop was held in Paramaribo from 13-15 December and was organized and funded through the ILO-Brazil South-South Cooperation Project for “Consolidation of Progress of the Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour.”

The training covered both theoretical concepts and practical applications of strategic compliance planning methodologies, as well as the legislative and institutional requirements that would support effective inspections, including those focused on detection and action on child labour. Technical sessions were conducted by a team of experts from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Brazil, officials of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and Specialists from the ILO’s Caribbean and Brazil Offices.

This allowed for the exchange of knowledge based on the experiences and good practices of neighbouring country Brazil, which have significant potential for adaptation to the context of Suriname. As the Hon. Minister of Labour, Steven Mac Andrew stated at the opening, “this workshop is timely as a new cohort of labour inspectors completing their training will be exposed to the labour practices of Brazil, enriching their knowledge.” He also noted that ending child labour was a key mandate which spanned both the labour and youth affairs mandates of the Ministry.

The ILO Caribbean Office, as part of the work of the ILO Regional Initiative on Child Labour and with the support of the ILO-Brazil South South Cooperation project, will continue to provide direct technical assistance in 2023 for sub-regional and national level capacity building and research interventions in the 10 Caribbean member States that are participating in the Regional Initiative.