The Ministry of Labour does not have official statistics on illegal child labour throughout the mining sector, according to Minister Nanda Gopaul, who says the expansion of the industry has made it increasingly necessary for standard issue regulations to be developed to guide employment.
“Given the large locations within the interior, the wide spaces which are available which are sometimes difficult to move through, it is difficult to monitor all the locations,” Gopaul told Stabroek News, while saying that the ministry has to do a better job, including engaging the private sector, to gather data and information.
Gopaul stated that along with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the ministry was actively working on addressing child labour
