REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri has lauded the industry's effort in halting child labor, Budi Hartawan, Ministry's Director General Secretary of Labor Safety Bureau, stated in the West Java Province's Karawang District, Tuesday.

"Child labor remains a serious and complex problem for Indonesia, so every institution is responsible for resolving this issue," the minister Dhakiri declared in his statement, which was read by Hartawan at the district's Karawang International Industrial City (KIIC). 

At an event to campaign to make Indonesia free of child labor, Hartawan stated the government had committed to preventing and halting the abuse of human rights in the country's industrial zones. 

The government will make sure that all children can exercise their right to education and leisure, he added. 

"As the nation's future generation, we hope that all children have the right environment for the growth of their physical, mental, intellectual and social abilities," he emphasized. 

The minister requested business stakeholders, labor unions and non-governmental organizations to set up a joint effort in halting the crime. 

"We need to make sure the survivors have access to proper education," he stressed. 

The ministry has saved around 80,555 child workers by sending them back to school by implementing a Hope for Family Program (PPA-PKH), which was started in 2008 and has continued through 2016.

According to the International Labor Organization's official website, the global numbers for child labor has declined by a third from 246 million in 2000 to 168 million children in 2012. 

"More than half of them, 85 million, are in hazardous work," ILO stated on its website. 

The organization also noted that Asia and the Pacific countries still have the largest number of child labors. 

"Almost 78 million or 9.3 percent of the regions' child populations are involved in child labor, but Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labor with 59 million or over 21 percent," the UN agency noted, while adding that agriculture remained the predominant sector where children were being employed. 

"However, the problem is also prevalent in services and industry sectors, or mostly in the informal work sectors," ILO reiterated.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika