Some employers need to be blamed for the increasing poverty and child labour in Fiji.

At a symposium organised on Social Justice and Child Labour yesterday, Fiji Trade Union Congress General Secretary, Felix Anthony stressed that poverty is one of the major reasons for increasing child labour.

Speakers at the symposium also highlighted there are major loopholes in our penal code which needs to be addressed, if we are to stop our children from being forced early into the workforce.

It has also been highlighted that there is confusion amongst the various divisions of the country on the minimum age for a child to enter the workforce.

According to ILO conventions the minimum age where a child can join the workforce is 15, but this might differ regarding the work that is required for the child to perform.