The General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) is collaborating with local and international partners to end child labour in Ghana.
GAWU in partnership with the Danish Trade Union Development Agency (DTDA) visited the North Dayi district and Kpando municipality of the Volta Region where they engaged residents on how to end child labour on the Volta Lake and prioritize education for their children.
In North Dayi, a committee, Community Child Protection Committee (CCPC) was inaugurated on Thursday, September 3, 2024, at the district assembly and supervised by the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Kudjo Atta.
The committee is made up of residents from the fishing communities in the district, and their mandate is to campaign against the menace and report suspected cases to authorities. They are also to intervene in resolving issues of child labour in their communities.
GAWU has been working in the two districts for the past years intending to record child-labour-free societies in the various fishing communities.
On his part, the DCE urged the committee members to join forces against child labour and asked them to report real situations to authorities.
“You are there to report to us issues of child labour in your communities; make sure you have the facts before reporting because a child during the weekend can be helping his father on the shores of the lake after the father had gone fishing, that is not a child labour, so it is very important to spot the actual story”.
General Secretary of GAWU, Andrews Addoquaye Taggoe urged parents to protect their children against child labour.
“In one of our engagements, the parents said they want their children to become medical doctors, pilots, engineers, and so on; and I asked them, so going to the lake to fish with you and going to school, which of these will make them become all that you said; and they [Parents] said the school. So this means that we all know our children cannot be what we want them to be in future if we continue to use them on the lake so please take your children out of child labour,” he said.
The team after the brief engagement with the stakeholders moved to Aveme-Gborhome D/A basic school in the North Dayi district where they donated a multi-purpose seesaw to the Kindergarten.
They also donated shirts with the inscription “Child labour, Away!!” to the pupils. The shirts are to be used as Friday wear.
The Head teacher of the school, Samuel Srem-Sai revealed that enrolment has increased since GAWU started the operation in the area.
However, he appealed for more aid to improve teaching and learning in the school.