GAWU calls for the creation of Child Labour Free Zones in Ghana

Story: Mary Mensah
The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of the Trades Union Congress has called for the creating of Child Labour Free Zones in Ghana to curb the incidence of all forms of Child Labour in the country.
Child Labour Free Zones are geographical areas where all children are systematically withdrawn from work and reintegrated into formal full time schools.
The General Secretary of GAWU, Mr Kingsley Ofei Nkansah made the call at the opening of a multi stakeholders forum towards the creation of the child Labour free zones in Accra today.
Twenty five participants drawn from civil society organisations, organised labour,  government of Ghana and Ghana Employers Association attended the forum which aims at appraising the extent of child labour in Ghana and beyond, take stock of the instruments and wide range of initiatives against all forms of child labour and reach some common understanding and roles in the creation of the CLFZ among others..
He said no distinction was made between different forms of child labour because every child has the right to education without which they become losers from the onset and cannot compete with their peers in future.
He said the right to education was as important as the right to food and adults have to share in the dream of the children by ensuring that they are provided with the basic necessities of life.
Mr Nkansah noted that adults have to earn a living in order to support the children to realise their dreams adding that the fundamental rights to a life of dignity was securing the dignity of life of adults as this will help the children in the long run.
He therefore called on stakeholders with a shared commitment to step up efforts to eradicate child labour in the country.
According to him rice farmers and livestock farmers as well as cocoa farmers have been identified as those who engage the services of the children on their farms and majority of this child workers are found in some parts of the Eastern, Northern and the Volta regions.
He said the GAWU has organised a number of interventions in those districts but the children always some return some weeks after their withdrawals.
The General Secretary said to consolidate efforts made there was the need for stakeholders to work towards the creation of Child Labour Free zones throughout the country to eliminate all forms of child labour and to ensure formal and full time education for all children at least until the age of whilst creating safe environment for children from 16 to 17 who are allowed to work by law.
On his part, Mr Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe, Head of Programmes at GAWU said contributing factors resulting in child labour was not only and mainly poverty but other factors like existing social norns, lack of workers and exclusion and discrimination of certain groups.
He said child labour was a denial of a child’s right to education and all child labour was unacceptable adding that it was the duty of governments, international organisations and corporate bodies to ensure that they do not perpetuate child labour.
According to him core labour standards must be respected and enforced to effectively eliminate child labour.
He said the process of creating child labour free zones involves all stakeholders like teachers, parents, children, unions, community groups, local authorities and employers.
Mr Addoquaye indicated that child labour free zones exists in India, Nepal, NGO’s in some African countries and Latin America adding that MV Foundation in India created 1,500 child labour free villages in the process of becoming CLFZs where no child is working and where all children up to 14 years are going to school.
Child Labour is commonly defined as work performed by a child that is likely to interfere with his or her education or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
Child Labour encompasses every non-school going child-whether engaged in wage or non-wage work, working for the family or for others, employed in hazardous or non-hazardous occupation, employed on a daily or on a contract basis or as a bonded labourer.   
 Presently there are 7, 62I,118 children aged between 5 and iI7 in the country out of which 5,070,023 are  attending school with the remaining 2,55I,095  out of school.
According to  the Population and Housing Census, 20I0  the Northern region had the highest number of children not in school (3I per cent of children ) out of school and engaged in child labour followed by Upper West 25 per cent  Upper East 23 per cent and Brong Ahafo region I3 per cent.
Statistics compiled by the Ministry of  Employment and Social  Welfare in 2003 revealed that there were 3,86I 238  children who were out of school and engaged in economic activities but the 20I0 census had showed that the number had been reduced to  2,55I,095 which meant that the various interventions put in place have achieved some positive results.
Interventions included the school feeding programme and the capitation grant which have helped to increase enrolment of children of school going age into school as well as retaining them.
Out of the two million children who are not enrolled in schools 877,954 were economically active while 696,447 of the children out of school have been fully employed.
 According to the population census I8I, 507 children were neither economically active nor fully employed but were roaming the streets either pickpocketing while some girl children were being wooed into commercial sexual trade exploitation..