The Ministry of Labour in collaboration with its partner, Winrock International, successfully held a symposium on the Draft Bill to Prohibit Child Labour in Liberia. The event which was held at Hotel Buchanan in Grand Bassa County, brought together several stakeholders in the sector. Prominent amongst participants at the symposium were Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, Sr., Minister of Labour, Sen. Thomas Yaya Nimely, Senate Committee Chair on Labour. Mr. Augustine B. Chiewolo, Co-chair, House’s Committee on Labour, and Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh who introduced the Bill on the floor of plenary. Representative Quioh is the House’s Committee Chairman on Education and was accompanied by Representative Jacob C. Debee of Grand Gedeh District #3, who is Co-chair on the House of Representatives’ Education Committee and a member on the Labour Committee. Assistant Labour Minister for Planning and Manpower Development, Emmanuel K. Barnes, I., was the Chief Organizer of the symposium. Making remarks at the symposium, Assistant Minister Barnes intimated that being a former member of the Liberian Children’s Parliament, he took serious interest in ensuring that this Bill reaches a point of being a law. He further stated that the Liberian Children deserve better and he will use his office to bring the necessary transformation to the children of Liberia. Meanwhile focused points agreed upon were: Setting the minimum age for work of a child to be 14 years. This matches the International Labour Organization Regulation 138 on the internationally accepted age for a child to work; Listing of those accepted works that children are allowed to do and anything to the contrary is considered as Child Labour; Participants at the Symposium also agreed upon the accepted definition of Child Labour to be any job that stops children from getting education and deprives them from their Human Rights. For his part, Labour Minister, Cllr. Copper W. Kruah, Sr., has committed the Ministry’s commitment to implementing all agreed terms from the symposium, once enacted into law. For their part, Sen. Nimely, Representatives Quioh, Chiewolo and Debee all committed to insuring that this Bill is passed by the 55 National Legislature. Other institutions who were represented at the symposium were the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Civil Society, Winrock International and the Media.
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