00:00A 2022 cluster survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office in conjunction with UNICEF
00:07finds that roughly 6% of children in this country have been victims of some form of child labor.
00:14According to the 2022 survey, 6.4% of our children ages 5 to 17 were exposed to child labor or hazardous work.
00:26The youngest children, ages 5 to 11, record the highest prevalence.
00:32Adolescents, particularly boys, remain at significant risk of hazardous work, such as heavy loads, extreme temperatures, dust, fumes, and dangerous tools.
00:44Children from low-income households, children with functional difficulties, and migrant children face heightened vulnerability.
00:53Street vending and informal sector activities continue to expose children to harm.
01:01The International Labor Organization reports that the Caribbean has the highest incidence of child labor worldwide as a ratio of its total population,
01:11with children ages 15 to 17, mostly boys, being most prevalent.
01:16In the Caribbean, the figure, which I didn't necessarily type there, is that we have approximately 0.7 million children in child labor.
01:27So 700,000 children across Caribbean countries are in a situation of child labor.
01:34But the ILO notes that the true incidence is underreported, due to what it terms invisible forms of child labor.
01:41A lot of our data or statistics don't consider household chores in the measurement of child labor.
01:49And the international conventions, as well as the statistical methodologies for measuring child labor,
01:56actually count, for example, if household chores are done above a certain number of hours per week,
02:02depending on the age of the child, that could place the child into the category of being in child labor.
02:09But this isn't reflected in some of the measurements that we used.
02:13And so when we consider household chores, actually the number of girls affected increases.
02:21As a signatory to key conventions, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
02:26and in consideration of our SDG goals, Trinidad and Tobago is in the process of developing a national child labor policy.
02:36But the ILO stresses that in the absence of comprehensive support infrastructure for parents,
02:42the issue will persist.
02:43Insufficient decent work, low adult incomes.
02:47And so I know ILO has been working with Trinidad and Tobago, as well as with other countries, on productivity issues.
02:53How do we support countries to improve productivity, to increase job creation,
03:00so that adults can earn decent and living wages that will eliminate the need for children
03:08to have to offset the financial and other needs of the family?
03:12Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
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