The Cordillera office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-CAR) will be providing livelihood assistance to the parents of identified child laborers in the region for them to increase their productivity instead of relying on their children to earn income at a very young age.
DOLE-CAR regional director Nathaniel Lacambra pointed out it is the obligation of parents to provide for the needs of their families and not force their children to be the ones to do so this practice is in violation of existing laws, rules and regulations.
He underscored that children should be in school to study and complete their education while it is the obligation of parents to provide for the needs of their families by having gainful employment or self-employed.
The DOLE-CAR official claimed the livelihood assistance to be given to the parents of identified child laborers will allow them to increase their income to help in meeting the cost of living of their families to prevent them from compelling their children to work to bring them income.
He added that the labor department, in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), is also providing skills training for the parents wanting to acquire additional skills to enhance their productivity and thus their opportunities for livelihoods to support their children’s education and prevent their children from being engaged in hazardous working environments that will pose a serious threat to their health and safety.
Director Lacambra emphasized that it is unfortunate that child labor continues to proliferate in the different parts of the region because of the parents do not have enough income to sustain the needs of a big family but what is important is for the parents to be able to be gainfully employed to prevent them from forcing their children to work to help them meet their family needs.
Earlier, the DOLE-CAR profiled child laborers in the region as the agency’s basis in the formulation of the appropriate interventions to significantly reduce child labor cases and allow parents to be the real bread winners of their respective families.
Further, DOLE-CAR joined the recent celebration of the World Day Against Child Labor where some 29 children actively participated in the various activities lined up by the agency in the efforts to curb child labor in the region.
Lacambra said that the labor department and TESDA is also providing skills training for the children victims of child labor or to those wanting to acquire additional skills to hone their talents and become productive citizens in the future aside from providing skills development among the youth.
He expressed hope that with the necessary interventions provided by the agency to the parents of the child laborers regionwide, child labor will significantly decline.
