Bicol Takes Fight vs Child Labor to the Internet

Labor officials in Bicol have taken the fight against child labor to the Internet, with a web-based system that profiles and tracks down child labor offenders.

The Child Labor Knowledge Sharing System (CLKSS) program is accessible to child labor program coordinators and the Regional Anti-Child Labor Committee.

“It is basically a regional data hub. Any member of the RACLC, or any claim holder or duty bearer may register or log on to the CLKSS portal” and gain access to its products and services, as well as participate in twits or discussions”, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Child Labor Program (CLP) Coordinator and Statistician Cyre Cabredo said.

DOLE Bicol regional head lawyer Alvin Villamor noted lack of data on child labor is a tough problem in the DOLE’s child labor prevention and elimination program.

“The CLKSS, which is being administered by the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC), contains relevant information on child labor cases, statistics on child labor, and other data that may lead to the detection, apprehension and, hopefully, putting behind bars child labor offenders,” the DOLE said.

Villamor said the CLKSS software will serve as an accessible regional data hub, which will contain organized information of child labor cases, statistics, and profiles of offenders.

“I am positive that the CLKSS will be the region’s information channel as it offers online information and education materials to heighten the consciousness of the people in the region on the DOLE’s anti-child labor advocacy,” Villamor said.

He encouraged Bicol residents to report relevant information or possible child labor case in their respective areas by logging on to the CLKSS portal (www.clkss.org.ph).

Boosting campaign vs child labor

At least two other DOLE regional offices have intensified their campaign to prevent and eliminate child labor in their respective territories.

The DOLE said its regional offices in Central Luzon and Region 12 have rolled out activities related to the campaign.

“Child labor has been one of the perennial problems that should be addressed given such proliferation of child laborers in almost all parts of the country. Hence, the DOLE calls for a strengthened and shared institutional, agency, and individual commitment and responsibility to remove children from hazardous forms of employment,” DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

She called for a strong tripartite action against child labor, saying it is one of the DOLE’s priorities in eliminating child labor across all regions.

In Central Luzon, the DOLE’s Nueva Ecija Field Office recently conducted an orientation and seminar on the rights of working children.

DOLE Regional Office 3 director Leopoldo de Jesus said the seminar educated the local government units and partners, including the province’s social and welfare development office on laws concerning child labor.

The seminar conducted at the Nueva Ecija Home for Girls in Palayan City Nueva Ecija also heightened the awareness of 27 child victims, staff of the center, and parents of former child laborers, on child labor and child abuse prevention and protection, the DOLE said.

In Region 12, the DOLE pushed its anti-child labor advocacy through a recently conducted orientation on the Compendium of Laws related to Children to members of the Municipal Council on the Protection of Children (MCPC).

At least 90 participants from the 10 towns of South Cotabato and Koronadal City attended the one-day orientation. – VVP, GMA News