Labour activists trained to resolve community disputes
About 2,009,000 children are engaged in some form of child labour. FILE PHOTO
Community-based human rights workers have been equipped with the knowledge to mediate on cases of child labour and human trafficking in a move to resolve disputes in their respective communities.
The move seeks to develop a grassroot support mechanism to raise awareness on the law and the rights of vulnerable and marginalised workers and communities on how to handle cases reported to them.
Other labour related cases to be handled include domestic violence, property inheritance, marriage and divorce.
The executive director of labour rights body; Platform for Labour Action (PLA), Ms Grace Mukwaya, described the training as a move to empower community-based rights workers to mediate and or refer matters affecting them.
“This training will be spread countrywide with the aim of building the capacity of local leaders as well as transform them into human rights advocates, who will be in charge of sensitising communities about their rights,” said Ms Mukwaya adding; “They (trainees) will be approached with cases affecting their community members in order to handle, mediate or refer them (cases) to other responsible authorities.”
Ms Mukwaya revealed that the rights workers will be equipped with a tool kit simplifying steps to use in resolving conflicts and creating awareness on common issues affecting their society.
According to Mr Isaac Arinaitwe, a trainer, most rights workers are local leaders who lack the requisite knowledge despite being the first instance courts.
“This training seeks to equip human rights workers with the knowledge and skills to properly guide their communities and enable them decide on issues from an informed point of view. We (activists) are aiming at developing the citizenry that is able to promote peace in the country,” he said.
The National Labour Force and Child Activities survey of 2011/12 showed that a total of 2,009,000 children were engaged in some form of child labour and they are subjected to hazardous physical labour.
Labour rights activists allege that people are trafficked into commercial sex exploitation, child soldiers and agricultural farms among others and that the situation has not changed much.
