6 May 2002
Good morning
Dr. Ken Andoh, Director, International Labour Organisation (ILO) area office, Pretoria, distinguished representatives of employer organisations, representatives of labour unions, representatives of Child Labour Intersectoral Group (CLIG), Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other government departments, friends, comrades, ladies and gentlemen, children.
I am extremely proud that South Africa was chosen as one of the three regional offices within the continent in which to launch this third ILO Global Report, "A future without child labour". Without this vision in mind, many children in South Africa and beyond will continue to be deprived of a carefree and happy childhood, and one in which they can develop to their full potential.
At approximately 12:30 on 20 December 1999, an eleven-year-old girl, Waronice van Wyk from Ceres in the Western Cape, was seriously injured. The lower portion of her right leg got caught in between the wheels of the trailer on which she was being transported. The limb was later amputated. Why? Because Waronice was assisting fruit pickers during the harvesting season. She earned R25 for three days' work. She was not the only child working; in fact the employer subsequently admitted that it was common practice to employ youngsters during the school holidays.
Waronice's employer was found guilty in the Ceres Magistrate's Court in January this year for contravening section 43 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997. He was fined R25 000, R10 000 of which was suspended for five years on condition that the he does not contravene this law again during that period. For those of you who don't know, section 43 prohibits the employment of children younger than 15 years of age.
This and similar incidents are a clarion call to the Department of Labour, employers, trade unions, parents, and NGO's. We have to go all out to ensure that child labour practices are put to a stop.
The case of 11-year-old Waronice van Wyk from Ceres is, I am sure, but one of many other horrible cases, some of which receive media attention and many of which do not. And you will all agree with me that even one case is one too many.
The Department of Labour has explicitly taken responsibility for ensuring the elimination of all forms of child labour, including the worst forms of child labour. We will do this in partnership with our social partners. At the centre of the partnership is the Child Labour Intersectoral Group (CLIG), which consists of representatives of government departments, organised business, organised labour, and NGO's. The group deals with child labour as part of the broader National Programme of Action for the Child, which is co-ordinated in the Presidency. The Department of Labour convenes the CLIG and co-ordinates its meetings. UNICEF and the ILO are also part of CLIG, and provide technical assistance. Within the Department's provincial offices, we have established further provincial GLIG structures to ensure that interventions are taking place at the appropriate level.
As one of the ILOs member countries, South Africa has taken a number of steps in an effort to combat child labour, thus supporting the concept of a future without child labour, which is the theme of this launch.
The South African Government and my Department in particular took steps to ratify the various international Conventions, which are:
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 which is my area of responsibility, has the following to say about child labour:
In respect of older children, the Act states that no person may employ a child, defined as anyone under 18 years of age, if the work is inappropriate for a child of that age, or if the work places the child's well-being, education, physical or mental health, or spiritual, moral or social development at risk.
Thus, a child who is under the age of 15 years may not work at all and a child between 15 and 18 may not work in harmful circumstances.
Our third step was to develop and implement a Child Labour Action Programme. This Programme provides a policy framework, which guides the implementation of measures to eliminate child labour. It has an inter-sectoral focus and was endorsed by CLIG in March 1998.
The South African Child Labour Action Programme identified a number of key focus areas where action needs to be taken:
In partnership with the ILO, two major initiatives were undertaken, namely a survey on activities of young people in 1999 and subsequently the development of a draft White Paper on A National Child Labour Action Programme which, we hope to finalise during the second half of this year.
The 1999 survey, conducted by Statistics South Africa, provided extensive information on the scope and nature of activities of young people. This was done so that we would know as much as possible about all child work activities so that we can make informed decisions as to what constitutes "harmful" work carried out by children. All the Departmental initiatives are now guided by credible information.
The survey results have shown us that there is a range of economic activities as well as household chores that could be potentially detrimental to the development of children but may not necessarily be harmful.
In terms of the international perspective, it is only when children's involvement in work activities jeopardises their access to education or educational performance, or where the nature of the work and conditions under which they work are harmful or hazardous in some other way, that a particular activity can be regarded as child labour.
We can also use our constitution as a yardstick. The Bill of Rights provides that children should not be exploited and should not engage in work which "places at risk the child's well being, education, physical or mental health, or spiritual, moral or social development. If work does this, then it should be regarded as child labour.
The distinction between work and labour is not always easy to determine. For example, a child who works in a family business may not be at risk of being harmed if he or she works on Saturday mornings. However, if the child works every day from after school until late, his or her educational and social development can be at stake.
Therefore we need to work out in each situation what constitutes child labour or not. The survey assists us in identifying different categories of children who could be at risk as well as who are in vulnerable situations. Government policy must focus on reducing the risk to these children.
The potentially vulnerably categories of children include those that:
In addition, there are children in vulnerable situations such as:
It is clear from the listing of categories that some of these areas fall more within the scope of other government agencies than directly within the Department of Labour's scope. In recognition of this fact, we in the Department are working with other government departments to develop a comprehensive response to all children at risk. However, our focus is the worst forms of child labour and where our Basic Conditions of Employment Act is contravened.
In designing a child labour programme of action a number of critical issues need to be debated:
Enforcement of Child Labour
As noted, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 says that it is a criminal offence to employ children younger than 15 years of age. Based on this an enforcement policy was developed and is now used by my inspectors at labour centre level. The policy provides guidance on the approach of inspectors when they come across incidents of child labour, possible intervention measures, social partners that should be involved, court processes and procedures.
Training of Inspectors
As part of our training initiatives we have now included modules on child labour so that inspectors have the opportunity to specialize in child labour on a local level.
Raising awareness
The eradication of child labour is not the responsibility of the Department of Labour alone. It involves many government departments including Education, Social Development, Justice and the SAPS. We also work with the Office of the Rights of the Child in the Presidency. In addition, the social partners and NGO's have a critical role to play in raising awareness, bringing cases to the attention of the Department of Labour and being involved in rehabilitation activities.
I also want to thank the media for playing a critical role in exposing possible child labour practices in the country and alerting my Department to such cases.
The level of awareness became evident during the recent hearing on Agriculture, which was held in Jan Kemp Dorp, a rural town in the Northern Cape. Farmers reported that the Waronice van Wyk incident discouraged them from even considering using child labour.
We need to take a firm stand as a country on the eradication of child labour, including the worst forms. There is increasing international attention paid to whether countries are protecting and promoting basic human rights. The rights of children not to be exploited are critical human rights. My Department and I will continue to highlight the plight of child labour. Whenever anyone sees any child working, they must sound the bell, raise awareness and contact my Department so that we can indeed have a future without child labour.
I thank you.