Child labor campaign further strengthened
Efforts to fight child labor particularly in hazardous occupations were further solidified with the recent signing of the Commitment To Action Against Child Labor.
Secretary Arturo D. Brion of the Department of Labor said that the signing highlighted the stakeholders' support to the proposed Philippine Program against child labor covering the period 2007-2015.
The DOLE press report disclosed that the signing took PLACE during the National Conference on Child Labor, and was attended by some 300 partners from labor and employers groups, the academe, government, and other sectors that supports the National Program Against Child Labor of NPACL.
With the DOLE as lead agency, the social partners include the Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare, Department of Justice, Department of Health, National Economic and Development Authority, Philippine Information Agency, Council for the Welfare of Children, National Statistics Office, National Council of National Development, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and Federation of Free Workers.
Secretary Brion said that the stakeholders HAVE committed to fully support the implementation of the Philippine program to prevent and eliminate all forms of child labor.
Under the new proposed strategic framework for 2007-2015, a national monitoring system against child labor will be installed, with all regions maintaining a regular and reliable database on child labor estimated to affect some four million Filipino children, 2.4 million of them in its worst or most hazardous forms, the DOLE press report disclosed.
(T.Villavert/PIA)