Children 'need to know about workers' rights'

Children need to further their education but they also need to be informed about their rights when it comes to the labour market.

This was the conclusion of a consultation meeting held on Wednesday about the Children's Manifesto that is being drawn up by the Commissioner for Children Carmen Zammit.

A parent suggested that leaflets should be sent home, informing young people of their employment rights, especially when it comes to issues of health and safety.

Representatives of the major trade unions said that whenever they tried to give lectures on workers' rights, they encountered resistance since many teachers wanted to encourage children to continue studying rather than enter the work environment.

Although everyone agreed that children should advance academically, others argued that those who were seeking employment needed to be catered for.

Many 15- and 16-year-olds who look for summer work tend to end up being employed illegally and are therefore vulnerable to abuse, it was pointed out.

The Children's Commissioner argued that the penalties for violating child labour laws are minimal and do not serve as a good enough deterrent, adding that the issue of child labour needs to be researched locally to understand the reasons behind it.

Mcast was a hot topic of discussion with people congratulating the institution for filling a necessary gap in the education sector and equipping lower-achievers with the necessary skills for the labour market.

But some children do not even get their school-leaving certificate and so they are not qualified to join Mcast, a social worker argued. "What are we going to do about these children," he asked.

A guidance counsellor said that many of these children suffered social and psychological problems, and so the key was to have more youth workers to help such students overcome these issues and continue to further their education.

"At present we are in a situation where there is one school counsellor for nine schools, dealing with 30 cases simultaneously," she said.

Some children tend to become marginsalised and lose interest in school but if they are given the right support they could be encouraged to get their O levels.

It was observed that young people with disabilities are facing such difficulties in this respect. Although the law states that at least two per cent of a company's workforce should be made up of people with disability, this law is not being enforced, so young people with disabilities are finding it especially difficult to enter the labour force.

Ms Zammit argued that teachers and guidance counsellors are still gender stereotyping when it comes to helping children choose their careers. But a spokesman for ETC said job stereotyping was being phased out thanks to its programmes and counsellors.

An issue worrying teachers is the many "fraudulent" medical certificates given out by teachers to excuse students from school, an abusive practice that, they said, gave children a bad example.

Another point of contention was whether children should be allowed to be excused from school to carry out temporary work such as on film-sets. Ms Zammit argued that this can be allowed in particular situations but there should always be parental supervision.

Parents also needed to be educated on the new areas of employment available as well as their rights as workers, so that they could pass on this information and empowerment to their children.

Further consultation will take place until the manifesto is completed and published.