Prevent child labor

Dong A Aluminum Company Limited strictly monitors the recruitment process and only recruits workers aged 20-45.

Say no to child labor

Due to limited understanding of child labor regulations (children under 13 years old), owners of some production facilities in craft villages in the province have mobilized or hired children to do some inappropriate jobs.

Mr. NTT in Hoang Dieu commune (Gia Loc) admitted that there was a time when the order was so urgent that he immediately accepted children who came to apply for jobs. “At first, I did not understand the law, so some children from some mountainous provinces dropped out of school early to apply for jobs, and I let them spray paint and glue shoe soles. But when the commune officials reminded me and clarified the regulations, I transferred them to light, non-toxic work such as sorting products or checking for product defects before packaging,” Mr. NTT shared.

The traditional carpentry village in Dong Giao Ben village, Luong Dien commune (Cam Giang) has 137 households practicing the craft. In previous years, during the summer vacation, some children stayed home to help their parents with some carpentry-related work, sometimes carrying heavy wood. However, in recent years, this phenomenon has disappeared in Dong Giao Ben.

According to Mr. Pham Van Chuong, Party Cell Secretary and Head of Dong Giao Ben Village, in the past, due to lack of propaganda and dissemination, people did not know that using child labor, especially children under 13 years old to paint wood, is a violation of the law. In recent years, thanks to regular propaganda and reminders from the commune's cultural officers, people have seriously implemented this regulation. Owners of production households in the village do not hire or borrow laborers under 13 years old. Children in the craft village today are also better cared for in their studies, so most of them do not drop out of school to stay home and help their parents with their jobs. "In the summer, many families in the village send their children to summer camps, military semesters, and foreign language courses. Heavy work in the craft village today is replaced by machines," said Mr. Chuong.

For export enterprises, not using child labor is also a "hard" commitment to partners before signing product supply contracts. Dong A Aluminum Company Limited in Tan Dan Industrial Park (Chi Linh) is expanding its production scale and is in need of recruiting 300 more workers. However, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, the company's human resources manager, the enterprise has so far only recruited workers aged 20-45. "For export enterprises, using child labor is taboo and must be clearly committed to partners before executing the contract. We always closely monitor the recruitment process to prevent underage workers from borrowing other people's documents to get a job," Ms. Hoa said.

Thanks to regular propaganda, business owners in Dong Giao Ben carpentry village, Luong Dien commune (Cam Giang) do not use child labor against regulations.

Join hands to act

Child labor at an early age will limit opportunities and conditions for comprehensive development both physically and mentally. In many cases, children away from their families are even lured into illegal work or abused and violated by bad people. Recently, many people from the highlands have come to Hai Duong to find work, including many children, so localities have also increased supervision of the use of child labor by businesses and production facilities. The Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs coordinates with localities to organize inspections and supervision of the use of child labor. Right in the program "communes and wards suitable for children", many localities have built models to support and intervene to reduce child labor, especially in traditional craft villages. Women's Unions at all levels organize a number of thematic activities, dialogues, and propaganda to raise awareness among mothers and grandmothers about the harmful effects of letting children do heavy labor at an early age.

Ms. Pham Thi Kim in Long Xuyen commune (Binh Giang) said that because she did not understand the regulations on the use of child laborers, she let her young child go mortar work with her during the summer. Knowing this, the Women's Union of the commune promptly disseminated and reminded her. "To prevent violations of the use of child laborers, parents must first understand and implement them correctly," Ms. Kim said.

The country is deeply integrating into the global economy, having to implement many new generation free trade agreements such as CPTPP, EVFTA... Strengthening and raising awareness of international commitments in the field of labor in general and preventing and reducing child labor in particular is very important. In October 2021, the Provincial People's Committee issued a Plan to implement the program to prevent and reduce child labor in violation of the law for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030. Accordingly, Hai Duong aims to reduce the rate of child labor and juvenile labor to 1% by 2025 and below 1% by 2030. Do not let children and minors do heavy, toxic, or dangerous work.

A representative of the Department of Children and Gender Equality (Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) said that this is the basis for Hai Duong to effectively implement regulations related to the prevention of child labor. To better implement this regulation, in addition to a suitable policy framework, sectors, localities, especially parents need to pay more attention to children, and not let children work early for immediate benefits.

LONG ANH