The Secretariat of State for Professional Training and Employment Policy (SoSPTEP) organized a training session for Labour Inspectors at a ministerial level, aiming to identify and investigate cases related to child and forced labour. The training began on Abril 28th and will be held until May 8th, at the National Training Centre – Senai, in Becora.
At the opening of the training, the Secretary of State for Professional Training and Employment Policy, Ilídio Ximenes da Costa, spoke about the content, the method and the Timorese cultural context included in the course.
“If we are referring to child labour and forced labour, we realize that, although the country has only 11 years of independence, these issues have reached a dimension which calls on our attention”, referred Ilídio Ximenes da Costa.
The Secretary of State also referred “the importance of the identification and investigation, always referring it to our culture. There are countries with 20 or 40 years of independence, which were not yet able to overcome these issues, therefore, they should be taken as a lesson for the experiences that will be faced by the country”.
Further ahead, the Director General of the SoSPTEP, Jacinto Barros Gusmão, explained, “this training helps to identify and investigate child labour and forced labour, that is, when people are forced to provide services which are not under the recognition of our labour law and the Convention of Children’s Rights”.
The training has the participation of the National Inspector of the SoSPTEP, of representatives of the Community Police, of the Immigration Police, of the Civil Society, of the KSTL, of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Timor-Leste, of the Prosecutor’s Office and the support of the United States Department of Labour (USDOL), of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (BCA) and of the International Labour Organization (ILO).