U.S. to Fund $8M to Curb Child Labor in Vietnam

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) will fund $8 million to help Vietnam hamper child labor in three cities and provinces of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the southern province of An Giang. The funding will be made through the International Labor Organization (ILO) aiming to improve people’s awareness of risks relating to child labor and expand supporting models, according to a conference held in Hanoi on May 23. The project will be conducted in garment, agriculture, seafood processing, and handicrafts sectors in the localities. It expects to benefit more than 2,000 households having child labor and 5,000 children vulnerable to child labor through providing education or improving working environment. The project, in addition, will help Vietnam achieve its commitments to International Labor Organization’s (ILO) declarations to Fundamental principles and rights at work which were endorsed at International Labor Conference on 18th June 1998. Statistics by Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the ILO showed that Vietnam has roughly 1.75 million child laborers (below 17 years old). (Vietnamplus.vn May 23)