While the problem may not appear to be widespread, there are instances of children engaged in child labour worth highlighting.

It is estimated that approximately 3.3 per cent of our school population are working children. They may be involved in domestic work, agriculture (production and sale), garbage scavenging, commercial sexual exploitation and illicit activities including drug and armed trafficking.

As educators we are quite familiar with children who are forced to work and attend school.

Thankfully, through the ratification of key international conventions on child labour such as ILO Conventions 138 (Minimum Age) in 2004 and 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour) in 2003, our Government has indicated it is prepared to use the resources of the State to protect the rights of children in keeping with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

These conventions combined with provisions in several pieces of other legislation, such as the Trafficking in Persons Act, Sexual Offences Act, Children’s Act and the Miscellaneous Provisions (Minimum Age for Admission for Employment) Act, all aim to offer some measure of protection for the nation’s children.

Unfortunately, as the statistics would indicate, despite these efforts we cannot boast that as a country we are free of the scourge of child labour. The process of enforcing these critical pieces of legislation remains problematic. While the Children’s Authority is charged with the overall responsibility of protecting children’s rights through the Children’s Authority Act of 2000 and the Children’s Authority (Amendment) Act of 2008, recent reports would indicate that the authority is understaffed and under-resourced.

This severely hampers the work of the authority and defeats its very purpose. Here again is another example of legislative will not being translated into action.

The Miscellaneous Provisions (Minimum Age for Admission to Employment) Act stipulates the minimum age for employment is 16. However, current legislation does not establish a clear minimum age for hazardous work. The Government is yet to develop legislation on the prohibition of hazardous occupations and activities for children. This list has reportedly been in the making since 2004.

In addition, the compulsory age for education as defined in the Education Act remains six-12, despite repeated promises to have it varied to three-16.

The Child Protection Task Force ended its work in 2014 in accordance with its amended terms of reference. It is unknown whether this or a new task force will be convened in the future.

The Declaration of the Regional Initiative, Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour (2014-2020), was signed by Trinidad and Tobago at the ILO’s 18th Regional Meeting of the Americas in Lima, Peru, in 2014.

This aims to increase the regional cooperation on eradicating child labour by 2020 through signatories’ efforts to strengthen monitoring and coordination mechanisms, government programmes and South-South exchanges.

It also seeks to reaffirm commitments made in the Brasilia Declaration from the 3rd Global Conference on Child Labour in 2013, and signed by Trinidad and Tobago at the said ILO’s 18th Regional Meeting of the Americas.

It is hoped that Trinidad and Tobago will be represented at the upcoming UN Global Conference to Eradicate Child Labour in Argentina in November, where our Government will be able to reassure the world of its commitment to eradicate this social evil.

Our collective vigilance in concert with the Labour Inspectorate Unit of the Ministry of Labour and other relevant governmental agencies is a sacred duty as educators

He was answering a query by Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh in the Lower House.

“We started taking action as early as last week Monday. Some of the actions taken: Request for minor kitchen equipment, delivery effected as of this morning. Repairs to the steam generator: Parts were ordered last week and were supposed to be delivered today. Once they are delivered today, they will be installed.” Regarding a leaky roof, he said an external consultant has been engaged.

He added, “Once everything is okay, we go ahead with repairs to the roof.” Deyalsingh said blenders and meat-saws were already ordered one or two weeks ago and will arrive in a week or two. “So, we are addressing all concerns of the kitchen staff.” Replying to a supplement by Gopeesingh, the minister said talks with the hospital CEO and kitchen staff had found the staff to be very happy with the ministry’s response and that they are happy to fulfill their duties. The day before, kitchen staff beat pots in a protest at the hospital raising their concerns about the conditions under which meals for patients are prepared.

In a media release on June 23, the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) announced the Medical Outpatients, Surgical Outpatients, Dermatology and Gynaecology clinics would be closed today as it, “has become necessary to facilitate urgent infrastructural work at the facility.” NWRHA CEO Sheldon Cyrus yesterday said repairs are to be done on ceiling tiles that had fallen in the Medical Records Department.

This meant patients’ files could not be accessed for their clinics. Cyrus was unable to say how many patients were affected by the clinics closure. He said the authority was seeking to have the problem fixed “hopefully” within two-days time.

The NWRHA release said all clinic appointments would be rescheduled.

It also advised that in emergency cases patients should visit their nearest health centre or the Accident and Emergency Departments at Port of Spain General Hospital or St James Medical Complex.

At last month’s opening of the Government Campus Plaza, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said Government would retrofit the aged hospital to deal with the major threat of an earthquake.

He was quoted as saying in a May 10 Newsday article that the hospital had serious engineering difficulties and should there be a major earthquake, there could be structural failure.

The acting chief magistrate is also being asked to divulge whatever other instructions or advice she received regarding the future conduct of these cases.

The urgent requests were made by attorney Anand Ramlogan, SC, on behalf of his client, a minor whose murder preliminary inquiry was affected by the appointment of Ayers-Caesar as a judge and her subsequent resignation.

In his letter dated June 21, Ramlogan pointed out to the acting chief magistrate that she herself was reported in the press as having said she received instructions to restart the cases from the beginning.

Earle-Caddle on June 1, when more than 40 of the cases came up for hearing before her, did not say from whom she received those instructions.

Ramlogan also quoted from a letter sent by attorney Ian Roach on behalf of Chief Justice Ivor Archie who admitted to having made an error when the Judiciary last month announced a consensus had been arrived at to restart all 53 cases.

Archie said “no such decision was made” at a meeting of stakeholders on May 24. Roach’s letter said the media release by the Judiciary’s Court Protocol and Information Manager Alicia Carter- Fisher on May 25, was “not properly worded as it should have been.” “The purpose of the meeting was simply to obtain the views of the persons in attendance, not to make a decision as to how the matters would or should be dealt with the relevant presiding magistrate.” Roach also indicated that “no further directives were issued to any judicial officer as to how they should deal with the matters which may come before them.” He also told Ramlogan that “no person or persons arrogated unto themselves the power to determine the future conduct” of his client’s case.

In his letter to Earle-Caddle, in which he has given her five days to respond, Ramlogan said, “This response has created grave doubt and intensified the confusion that surrounds the status and future conduct of my client’s PI. As you would no doubt appreciate, one would assume that the Honourable Chief Justice himself was the source of your instructions, which in turn arose out of a decision taken at the meeting convened at the request of the Honourable Chief Justice on Wednesday 24th May 2017. This was the clear, logical and inescapable inference conveyed by the press release from the Court Protocol and Information Unit on May 25, 2017, which stated the “consensus was reached” and the subject part-heard matters will be heard de novo,” Ramlogan wrote.

Ramlogan further noted that the denial by the Chief Justice ‘“had now called into question the veracity and integrity” of Earle-Caddle’s statement in court that she had received instructions to restart the cases de novo.

“Confusion now reigns supreme, as the Honourable Chief Justice appears to have “back peddled” from the position originally stated in his press release of May 25, 2017.

This flip-flopping has created a ridiculous and unacceptable state of affairs in the administration of criminal justice,” Ramlogan said.

“My client has a constitutionally protected fundamental right to a fair hearing before an independent and impartial court. He is entitled to know whether the court acted and/or was influenced by unauthorised instructions and/or advice in relation to his matter which was never disclosed to him. The court is not entitled to withhold such critical information from any defendant or accused person. The potential for a miscarriage of justice for the sake of administrative expediency as well as the perception of bias is obvious,’ he further noted.

Ramlogan told Earle-Caddle it would be impossible to reconcile the statements made by the CJ and herself in court and that the “untenable and unacceptable situation” will no doubt further erode public confidence in the administration of criminal justice.

He also bemoaned not having received the notes of evidence and transcripts of proceedings which were promised by the chief magistrate at the hearing on June 1.

Ramlogan said his office applied for same since June 5 but is yet to receive them.

In a recent television interview, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard also said his office was yet to receive the transcripts for the cases which are affected.

“My client has been in custody for over three years (January 2014-present) and has therefore lost the better part of his teenage years to a system that shows no compassion, far less understanding for his right to be presumed innocent until guilty and tried within a reasonable time,” Ramlogan said.

He noted the murder inquiry was at an advanced stage and nearing completion and that any decision to restart the matter de novo would amount to “the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment by the judicial arm of the state.” “It is contrary to established international norms and conventions which require the court to give special priority and attention to cases involving young children.

The fundamental right of a child to a fair trial within a reasonable time assumes even greater significance when that child is incarcerated,” Ramlogan said.

“The well-known delays in the criminal justice system are such that if the charges against my client are not dismissed upon the completion of the PI, he may be forced to wait another seven to 10 years before he can be tried before a judge and jury in the High Court.

By that time, he would have lost his entire youth through a system that says he is innocent until proven guilty but condemned him to the worst form of punishment without trial. The effect of your decision to restart my client’s case de novo is such that it will significantly prolong the period of his incarceration and the attendant distress, misery, and agony. He has been a victim of a system that simply does not practice what it preaches,” he noted.

Submissions on whether the acting chief magistrate can order the restart of the cases de novo are expected to be advanced today when several of the 53 matters come up again for hearing.

The DPP is also expected to address the court. On June 1, he submitted that before he can exercise his powers under Section 90 of the Constitution as it relates to 53 cases, he needed to know her status.

Gaspard objected to the cases being aborted by Earle-Caddle and restarted from the beginning. He said it was important that the issue of the court’s jurisdiction be ventilated to give effect for the lawful and proper handling of the cases.

He said however before he can exercise his constitutional powers as DPP, he needed to be furnished with the “unequivocal” position of the former chief magistrate.

“That is absent and missing,” he said. “The DPP does not know as a fact that the former chief magistrate has resigned.”

When Tropical Storm Bret blew past, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad- Bissessar and her MPs wasted no time in hitting the campaign trail, never mind it was under water.

They attacked the Government for not arriving at every area of the country with mattresses, food, shovels, brooms, money etc minutes after it was safe to go out. That’s fine with me. But I hope Persad- Bissessar will be leaving some of those MPs behind in 2020. Maybe bailing out water somewhere.

J THOMAS Siparia

Hundreds of residents endured widespread flooding, some were even marooned, and incurred damage to property and crops.

In a release yesterday, Persad-Bissessar made it clear that the Opposition walked out of the House of Representatives only after the debate on the matter was completed, dismissing an editorial in the Sunday Express, which claimed the Opposition took this position when the country was going through such turmoil and hardship.

She said the Hansard recording and the audiovisual showed when Opposition MPs left the House. She said she filed the flooding motion under Standing Order 17 and the debate began at 6 pm to continue for one hour.

“I led off the debate, with a 20-minute submission as permitted by the Standing Order, and reported on the destruction of homes, livestock and farm lands, and dislocation of families, and noted the poor and slow responses of the Government.

“The Government’s main response came from the Honourable Minister of Works (Rohan Sinanan), who, in an address of about ten minutes criticised the Opposition and claimed the Government had responded to the flood in an effective and timely manner. Following that, several speakers made five-minute presentations, as permitted under the Standing Order,” she noted.

Persad-Bissessar said during his brief contribution, Princes Town MP Barry Padarath was accused by Leader of Government Business of being a “racist”, and was endorsed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

She said when the Opposition called on the Speaker (Brigid Anniestte-George) for a ruling with respect to the said statements, the Speaker proceeded to suspend the sitting of the House for ten minutes, following which, she resumed debate on the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill.

Persad-Bissessar said when the Opposition again sought to have a ruling made, and was denied, they took a decision to demit the House for the day as “we felt that such a matter warranted a ruling”.

“I wish to reiterate that the Opposition did not walk out of a debate on the floods. In fact, it was the Opposition which caused a debate to take place…The Government’s reply was the typical fare of blame-casting, stonewalling and irrelevancies.” She said the Opposition did not abandon “the people’s business” with the walkout, noting six MPs had contributed to the debate on the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill over the two days of sittings, adding the six Opposition Senators contributed when the bill was before the Senate.

He was speaking during the debate on the bill at Parliament. He said he would like to see the day when no fines are collected for traffic violations.

“That is what this bill aims to do not to raise fines but it aims to raise our consciousness as a society as to how to treat ourselves and how to treat fellow road users and how to behave as a civilised society. That is the purpose of the legislation and to make our highways safer,” he said. Sharing statistics from the TT Police Service for deaths by road users, Deyalsingh said pedestrians account for 21 per cent of the deaths due to road accidents and cyclists three percent. Passengers in four-wheel vehicles and light vehicles account for 34 per cent of the deaths while drivers of four-wheel cars and light vehicles account for 34 per cent. “So cars and pick up trucks and light vehicles combined account for 71 per cent of the road fatalities. That is a frightening figure and that is what this bill is about. This bill as the Opposition will have you believe is not about revenue generation it’s about life.

It’s about inculcating a culture of safety on our roads because our roads are a place of lawlessness,” he said.

Responding to points raised by Opposition members that the bill interfered with freedom of movement, Deyalsingh said it does not.

“A licence to operate a vehicle is a contract between the individual and the state. You take away that licence because they have broken the law several times it does not therefore interfere with freedom of movement. Even if you own the car and you lose your licence your freedom of movement is not impeded, simply get a driver. Hire a taxi, go by bus but let us not fool the public into thinking that your constitutional rights are being taken away, they are not.”

There is crying need for those who served the nation well to be treated with dignity and respect in their twilight years.

Over the years I have seen the elderly treated like gobar at government offices, health institutions and other public places.

Lately, I have been hearing that the elderly, who enjoy the facility of travelling free on Public Transport Service Corporation (PTS C) buses, are being told to go to the back of the bus. Is this the policy of the PTS C? This has to be overreach by some lamebrain operatives of the PTS C who like to show off on old people.

Is this the way they are getting their kicks? I will always praise the wonderful women at the Pension Division in Port of Spain, National Insurance Scheme offices and telephone operators of TSTT who always make a habit of good customer service. They deserve hugs and kisses.

KEITH ANDERSON via email

The acquiescence of the UNC, and then having the gall to pretend to oppose it, is insulting to the intelligence and the spirit.

Imam Imran Hosein — for whom I have developed a great respect (watch his videos on YouTube) — is absolutely correct, and should be commended for supporting Sat Maharaj (while also being so outspoken against the Saudi family and critical of Wahhabism).

This Act is an attack on the family, and the Indian family in particular.

It is a reprehensible attack, a total non-issue, raised gratuitously, mischievously and maliciously by the PNM.

However, I am not a strong supporter of Maharaj’s Privy Council legal action.

But if he succeeds, more power to him.

No matter what happens in Maharaj’s case, I think it is imperative we remember and reassert our cultural, spiritual and religious authority over our own community.

Just as the pre-1946 non-recognition of Hindu marriages did not prevent Hindus from marrying “under the bamboo” (my Muslim mother, for example, was officially branded “illegitimate” by the colonial State on her birth certificate), Hindus should continue to marry their few troubled, strayed young pregnant girls religiously.

This is not against the law.

It just will not be recognised by the State. And to that we should say, who cares? At 18, the State could catch up to reality by recognising it. But we would have married them off already anyway.

The State is not God, and this State in particular has no authority to tell us about God.

FATIMAH MOHAMMED Cunupia

This money was spent on goods, services, infrastructure (including roads, drains, fences and utilities), building construction (including foundation and steel structures), furniture and consultancy.

As of May the project was 82 per cent complete, he said.

However, Garcia could not say when the institute will open, but said, “We are hoping that by the end of 2018 we might have some determination”.

Garcia, in reply to a separate listed question by Karim, said that while UTT is exploring its efficiencies and seeking to balance its costs, at this time there are no concrete plans to reduce the university’s staff.

Otherwise, Garcia, in reply to another question by Karim, said that to date his ministry had funded the School Improvement Project by $1.22 million.

Only one contractor had been paid, some $510,000, even as he could not recall the names of the other contractors awaiting payment