Professionals who deal with cases of child labour are now better equipped to address the issue with the launch of the Child Labour Handbook for Professionals.

The Tackling Child Labour Through Education (TACKLE) Project launched the handbook during a training workshop held at the Alhambra Inn in St Andrew last Thursday.

The publication aims to enhance the knowledge base on child labour and is designed to provide guidelines for professionals, who encounter instances of child labour in the course of their work and assist them in enforcing regulations.

Director of the Child Labour Unit in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Marva Ximinnies, said the handbook is a welcome addition as resource material on child labour is very scarce in Jamaica.

"The handbook is comprehensive and points to areas that are in need of greater exploitation ... the handbook has gone into great detail on what are some of the major issues that need to be addressed," she added.

Nasolo Thompson, International Labour Organisation (ILO) national project officer for TACKLE noted that based on ILO's estimates, there are 20,000 professionals nationally who could utilise this document. These include members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, guidance and counselling staff in the Ministry of Education, teachers, coaches and medical professionals.

Children's Advocate, Diahann Gordon-Harrison, also welcomed the publication, noting that "it represents a compendium of best practices that emphasise the Jamaican situation and therefore, allows for realistic implementation by professionals, who may encounter child labour in its several forms".

The production of the handbook was funded through support from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Secretariat, and the European Union.

The TACKLE Project, which is administered through the Labour Ministry, was launched in 2009 to address child labour through education.