Ministry of Labour trains journalists on effective reportage on elimination of child labour

To ensure effective understanding and reportage on the elimination of child labour, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has trained journalists, who are core labour correspondents on the issue of child labour.

The journalists, under the Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria (LACAN) were tutored by experts in the areas of child labour/International Labour Standard and Sustainable Development Goals 8.7 (SDG); government interventions in the elimination of child labour in Nigeria; and awareness creation, reporting and mass mobilization on child labour.

Speaking, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Yerima Tarfa, said the capacity-building workshop on reportage on the elimination of child labour has become necessary because of the need to create awareness and mobilizing the critical public in the fight against child labour.

“Child Labour and other forms of modern slavery are issues of grave concern in the global arena on account of their dire consequences, and the persistence of those consequences through generations of families. Therefore, the need to create effective awareness on the dangers of child labour and the efforts to both prevent and eliminate this hydra-headed monster is now more imperative than ever.

“The role of journalists and the mass media in the campaign to eliminate and prevent child labour is central in the strategy and the policies of elimination of child labour. Journalists have the responsibility to educate the critical stakeholders and the general public on the negative impacts of Child Labour, and at the same time enlighten the public on the safety nets, as we as the school programmes designed by the government as preventive measures against child labour, and support for survivors,” the permanent secretary said.

He said the Federal Government has created an enabling environment to combat child labour through the ratification, adoption, and domestication of relevant United Nations (UN) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) intervention conventions on child labour. He added that on the domestic level also, the government has put in place laws that criminalise Child Labour.

Dr. Tarfa said: “The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, in collaboration with other stakeholders, has the responsibility of domesticating and enforcing all Anti-Child Labour laws in Nigeria. The support of the mass media is most needed, as strategic partners, in the fight against child labour, and the elimination of its practices, so that together we can secure the prosperity of the future generation.

“Your enlistment in this noble task of creating and increasing awareness in the fight against child labour, as well as educating the critical stakeholders of its inherent evils, and informing the public of the implementation of the strategies designed to prevent child labour and support its survivors, is because of the strategic position of journalists in mass communication. The media has both the reach and the capability.

“It is our hope that knowledge from this workshop will further equip you in the advocacy against child labour, and the campaign to eliminate it. We assure you of our support in this collaboration and hope that our partnership will help Nigeria to meet the UN 2025 target of eliminating global child labour practice.

“As a Ministry and Government representative on Labour matters, both domestic and international, we consider this workshop important, and therefore solicit your effective participation and cross-fertilization of ideas through productive interaction to maximise the knowledge needed in the fight against child labour, and the implementation of strategies and policies to prevent it, and support survivors.”

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