The State Minister for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, Col (rtd) Charles Engola Macodowgo has said the Ministry is planning to bring together all Resident District Commissioners (RDCs),Chief Admnistrative Officers(CAOs) in order to devise strategies of strengthening Labour Officers to help them fight Child Labour.
Mr Macodwogo made the remarks during commemoration of the 2022 World Day Against Child Labour in Kabarole District. The 2022 theme was: Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour.
He revealed that Labour Officers are very critical in the fight against Child Labour and urged district authorities to make use of them.
“As the Ministry of Gender, we shall make sure that we strengthen the labour officers and they do the work especially on the elimination of Child Labour. To curb Child Labour, the role of Labour Officers is very critical.Child Labour deprives children of their childhood and the opportunity to develop their full potential. It interferes with their right to education,” Mr Macodowgo said.
He added that: “In the coming days, I will engage the RDC,the CAOs and Clerks and we shall look for how to strengthen Labour Officers in the districts. I request the Local Governments and the the political leaders to use the Labour Officers to eliminate Child Labour. The Labour Office is key in the elimination of Child Labour”
In Uganda, incidences of Child Labour increased during the COVID-19 pandemic from 21% to 36% according to the Uganda National Household Survey 2019/2020.
Busoga and Bukedi had the highest proportion of children aged 5-17 years involved in Child Labour at 29% and 28% respectively. More children in the rural (31%) than urban (20%) areas were involved in Child Labour (with household chores inclusive).
Speaking at the same event Ms Victoria Rusoke,the State Minister for Local Government and Kabarole District Woman MP, who represented the Vice President Jessica Alupo,said she is going to task district authorities to provide detailed breakdown of statistics of children who are in school.
“I am going to ask the Labour Officer and the DEO to give me the statitsics of the children who are in schol and the childen not in school and then we declare a serious war to make sure that all the Children return to school,” Ms Rusoke said.
According to figures by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), even after schools were re-opened in January 2022, 1 in 10 school children did not report back to school.
