Ministry of Labour presents prizes for monologue competition

The Ministry of Labour hosted a prize-giving ceremony for its Child Labour Video Monologue Competition on December 10 at the CLR James Auditorium at the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies.

The competition themed Child Labour, A Child’s Worst Nightmare presented children with the opportunity to express their views on child labour, for a chance to win a myriad of prizes including laptops, tablets and book vouchers, said a media release.

The competition was funded by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and targeted students in two age categories of nine-12 years and 13-16 years within the primary and secondary schools across TT. Students were invited to submit a 60 second video dramatising how they feel about child labour in TT using the guidelines provided.

The competition formed part of the ministry’s wider public education campaign this year which the General Assembly of the United Nations marked as the International Year for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour. While this issue is not prevalent in Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry through its Labour Inspectorate Unit has responsibility to monitor, sensitize citizens and enforce the law where necessary.

In his feature address at at the prizegiving Minister of Labour Stephen Mc Clashie said, “today coincides with Human Rights Day which brings a close to 16 days of activism against gender-based-violence and while children’s rights are not always at the fore when one refers to human rights, children’s rights are equally important." The minister further stated that we all have a responsibility to protect children and their rights as child labour not only affects them in the short term but impacts them in the long term.

According to the ILO, child labour is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. The legal age for employment of persons in TT is 16 years.

National project coordinator for the ILO. Resel Melville who brought remarks on behalf of the ILO underscored that “at the national level in Trinidad and Tobago, we continue to commend the steadfast work of the Ministry of Labour and all of the participating ministries and partners of the National Steering Committee on Child Labour.”

Melville said “the covid19 crisis added a dramatic plot twist reiterating that the virus has affected lives at the individual and collective levels in ways that gravely threaten the years of progress in the fight against child labour. Based on the trends observed prior to the pandemic, and on recent simulations which take into account the poverty effects of the crisis, child labour is predicted to rise by a further 8.9 million by the end of 2022." She urged the audience that “We have to act now to end child labour.”

The competition brought a close to the ministry’s calendar of activities for the international year, and generated a high level of interest with over 30 submissions from students throughout TT and over 10,000 shares of the winning videos from the public on social media. Six winners emerged with two of them being voted as the people’s choice winner.

The winners of the competition are as follows:

Age Category: nine-12 years.

1st - Alike Cunningham, 10, Roxborough Anglican Primary School

2nd (People’s Choice) - Hermione Doyle, 12, South East Port of Spain Secondary

3rd - T'Jani Procope, 10, Lambeau Anglican Primary School

Age Category: 13-16 years.

1st - Mordecai Doyle, 15, South East Port of Spain Secondary

2nd (People’Choice) - Renatta Ramlogan, 16, St Joseph's Convent, San Fernando

3rd - Victoria McLeod, 14, Providence Girls’ Catholic School