The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has reaffirmed its commitment towards protecting and

safeguarding children against all forms of labour exploitation in the agribusiness sector.

Mr Wumbei Abdulai, Northern Regional Secretary of GAWU, who stated this, said labour exploitation against children was detrimental to their well-being.

Mr Abdulai said this during a stakeholder forum in Tamale to sensitise farmers and other industry players on the repercussions and sanctions of child labour to the agribusiness sector.

The forum was aimed at helping participants to adopt the Anti-Modern Slavery Self-Assessment Index to facilitate monitoring, scoring and ranking businesses on modern day slavery and child labour in Ghana.

It was organised by GAWU - TUC in collaboration with ActionAid Ghana, under the Combating Modern Day Slavery Project with funding support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

Mr Abdulai, said the agricultural sector was considered high risk for forms of labour exploitation including modern slavery adding that 'The International Labour Organization (ILO) 2022 places agriculture alongside forestry and fishing as the sectors with the fourth highest proportion of victims of forced labour worldwide.'

He said although there was no formal data on the prevalence of slavery within the agricultural sector in Ghana, the over reliance on low-skilled seasonal labour in the sector created vulnerability to modern slavery and other forms of exploitation.

He expressed the need for stakeholders to target the informal economy with more interventions to help reduce the decent work deficit in the country.

Mrs Bashiratu Kamal, Project Officer, Combating Modern Day Slavery Project at GAWU said the index would help organisations or businesses in areas of response mechanisms, child labour, forced labour, trafficking, safety and freedom of movement.

She said, 'It is expected that agribusiness participation in the application of this Anti-Modern Slavery Self-Assessment Index pilot initiative would inspire them to conduct their operations free from modern day slavery and promote decent work for all employees.'

Dr Paschal Ajongba Kaba, Lead Consultant for the Combating Modern Day Slavery Project indicated that many unsuspecting children had fallen into the oppressive trap of child labour because, they were trying to escape poverty, insecurity, improve their lives and support their families.

Mr Ziblim Imoro, immediate past Chairperson of the Northern Regional branch of GAWU - TUC, urged stakeholders to prioritise investing towards the growth of children, saying 'When children are engaged in adult businesses, it truncates their growth, which has a long-term effect on the child and the nation.'

Source: Ghana News Agency