Media Release: The International Labour Organisation collaborates with the Ministry of Labour to host Virtual Training Workshop on Child Labour

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago - Thursday 03 December, 2020

The International Labour Organization (ILO) collaborated with the Ministry of Labour (MOL) to host a three (3) day Virtual Training Workshop on Child Labour. This Virtual training began on Wednesday 25 November 2020 and concluded on Friday 27 November, 2020. 

The training targeted a total of fifty-five (55) participants and included a mix of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (e-learning resources for independent review) online sessions with the live sessions facilitated via the Zoom platform. Participants of this capacity building workshop included key officials from Units/ Divisions across the Ministry of Labour including the Ministry’s Labour Inspectorate Unit, which has responsibility for the prevention and elimination of Child Labour in Trinidad and Tobago. Members of the Ministry of Labour’s National Steering Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour, comprised of representatives from across Government organizations, Civil Society and Academia were also key participants. 

Over the three (3) days, there was a rich exchange of information from local and regional countries including those from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname and Brazil, on addressing Child Labour in their respective countries. The technical sessions were led by key representatives from the ILO’s Caribbean Office located in Trinidad and from the Latin American and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour Regional Initiative.

These interactive presentationsallowed for significant sharing of information with participants acquiring a wealth of knowledge and guidancewhich has spurred a myriad of key actions and recommendations that will pave the way forward for addressing Child Labour in Trinidad and Tobago. Among these is a clear framework for the development of a National Action Plan and a National Policy to address Child Labour in Trinidad and Tobago; two (2) primary responsibilities of the National Steering Committee.

The United Nation’s General Assembly has marked 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. 

Mr. Dennis Zulu, Director, ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean addresses the participants on Day 1 of the Training Workshop

 

Left to Right: Ms. Kevar Williams, Deputy Permanent Secretary and Chair of the National Steering Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour, welcomes participants Ms. Natalie Willis, Permanent Secretary (Ag.), Ministry of Labour, brings Opening Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the three (3) day Workshop.

 

Participants of the Training Workshop on the final day of Training.