Minister of Labor and Social Security Pearnel Charles has announced that the Tackling Child Labor through Education (TACKLE) Jamaica project will be spending some $25 million to help build policies and promulgate appropriate legislation to combat the incidence of child labor in Jamaica. About 16,000 children (in the majority, boys) in Jamaica are involved in child labor and other kinds of labor related abuse. Within the overall strategy of the project, a key theme is the strengthening of formal and informal education.

Sectors that show the highest incidence of child labor are agriculture, which accounts for some 60 percent, followed by manufacturing and wholesale businesses. Charles also said that “Our children are up against it and of the number involved, studies indicate that some 7,000 are engaged in prostitution, pornography and slave labor, predominantly males.”

The Minister said Jamaica, in harmony with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, is committed to eliminating the problem, and that education is critical to the process. “The longer a child remains in school, the better he or she will be able to find gainful employment in later life,” he said. Charles also urged members of civil society, including the church and labor unions, to partner with the Government to eliminate the problem.

TACKLE is a four-year project involving the governments of 11 participating African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).

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