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Child labour survey will guide State policy, PS says

Child labour survey will guide State policy, PS says
Labour PS Geoffrey Kaituko addresses participants at the third social protection conference at the Kenya School of Government, Kabete, yesterday. PD/JOHN OCHIENG
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The government will this year conduct a national child survey to establish the prevalence and forms of child labour in the country.

Labor Principal Secretary Geoffrey Kaituko said yesterday children face major challenges, among them child labour, a vice that keeps them from school and often exposes them to hazardous work.

While the country has made commendable strides in addressing the developmental challenge, labour market disruptions from Covid-19 and severe drought in the region are threatening to wipe away gains made so far.

“The country also lacks accurate, up-to-date and reliable data and information on child labour, which is critical for evidence-based policy and decision-making.

To address this, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, in collaboration with other key government agencies and development partners, has embarked on preparations to conduct a National Child Labour survey,” said the PS.

He made the remarks when he presided over the social protection conference at the Kenya School of Government.

President William Ruto is expected to open the conference this morning.

The last social protection conference was held in 2018.

“Child labour is therefore a social protection issue. The survey seeks to provide information on prevalence, forms and programmes on Child Labour in the country. It will inform the design and implementation of appropriate and targeted programmes to combat child labour in the country,” Kaituko said.

Social protection

He also said the survey will also inform targeting of other social protection initiatives.

“As we all know, combating child labour calls for integrated efforts from different actors hence the need for data which serves the needs of such a diverse cast of actors,” he said.

Social Protection Principal Secretary Joseph Motari said while Kenya has made significant strides in social protection, there are still significant gaps with coverage that need to be addressed to ensure effective protection and inclusion.

He said there are still noticeable gaps in effective shock-response and mitigation against various risks, which are key drivers to further poverty and vulnerability.

“Currently, only about 12 per cent of the vulnerable population in need of social protection is covered and able to access any form of social protection,” Motari said.

He said a greater percentage of the poor and vulnerable population are not effectively covered against any risk or shocks that may emanate from climate or man-made disasters and calamities.

“Experiences of Covid-19 are still fresh in our minds with respect to how weak our social protection systems were in being able to effectively and efficiently respond and mitigate against the adverse effects of such occurrences,” he stated.

The PS said equity and social inclusion is at the heart and base of social protection programming hence the need to accelerate efforts to ensure adequate protection and coverage not only to the poor and vulnerable segments of the population but also to all Kenyans.

Informal sector

According to Motari, this should be designed and implemented in a manner that guarantees minimum protection across the life-cycle risks including disability inclusion and protection against shocks.

“The need for stronger networks and collaborations, including effective networking, linkages and referral mechanisms within the social protection system for a more coordinated and integrated approach cannot be overemphasized. Working together and ‘Delivering as One’ is the spirit to embrace in moving the social protection agenda to higher heights in Kenya,” the PS said.

Informal sector workers are among the most vulnerable categories of workers, which accounts for 85 per cent of the workforce uncovered by social security.

The government has launched the Haba Haba programme, which enables workers in the informal sector to save and expand their social security coverage.

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