Samoa Holds National Consultation on Child Labour Workplan

Source: ILO NEWS

Apia, Samoa – 29 March 2023: Samoa’s efforts to eradicate child labour and street vendors in the country continue with the development of the National Workplan for Child Labour and the Launching of Samoa Follow-up Rapid Assessment on Street Vendors.

These initiatives aim to ensure compliance with ratified international conventions and to provide children with formal education and early childhood learning benefits.

Samoa, with the technical assistance of the International Labour Organization (ILO), conducted a Situational Analysis of Child Labour in Samoa in 2017.

The assessment revealed gaps in legislations, the need for a mechanism for legal proceedings of cases of child labour, and the development of a national workplan framework to strategize each sector, implementing agencies, and assistance required by Samoa with development partners from time to time.

A street vendor in the Apia bus station. Photo/Talamua Media

In 2022, Samoa conducted a follow-up survey in partnership with ILO and UNICEF, through the National University of Samoa. Despite progress made, gaps remain, prompting the Samoa Child Labour Taskforce and Samoa National Tripartite Forum to request the development of a workplan to strategize all implementing partners’ efforts. The goal is to achieve zero child labour by 2025 under Alliance 8.7.

Wednesday this week, March 29th, the Samoa National Workplan was formulated, taking into consideration, ongoing partner efforts, UN agency programs, priorities established by the Child Labour Taskforce, and recommendations from the Samoa National Tripartite Forum. Additionally, the plan seeks to uncover potential areas where child labour and exploitation may be occurring, including the use of modern technologies.

On the same day, the Samoa Rapid Assessment follow-up Survey 2022 was also officially launched. The survey, which was completed in 2022 and recently approved by the Cabinet, aims to identify any changes that may have occurred since the initial assessment.

The consultation was led by Mr. Albert Meredith, the focal point of Alliance 8.7 Pathfinder Country, and Ms. Bharati Pflug, ILO Senior Specialist. Additionally, UNICEF, ILO, and other UN agencies will remain available to offer technical assistance upon request from Samoa.