A campaign to endorse 5,000 signatures on a petition to protect 5,000 children rom hazardous employment was launched yesterday, commemorating the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) on June 12.
The campaign was kicked off at a joint meeting organized by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to mark the World Day against Child Labor was held in Hanoi on June 10, aiming to improve public awareness towards ending child labor in hazardous work places in Vietnam.
Labor Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan affirmed that the labor code in Vietnam was strict so as not to allow employers to use child labor in manufacturing, mining or any other hazardous work.
Since its implementation, ten years ago, the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has rescued 43,000 child laborers from hazardous work conditions and returned them to their hometowns, sent them to schools, given access to healthcare services, pro-offered vocational training and helped families stabilise their lives and raise incomes.
However, Ngan believes there is much to be done, as the numbers of child laborers are still very high.
