The South African Department of Labour is on a national drive to stamp out child labour, according to the government news agency, BuaNews.
At the last count in 1999, over 4,8-million of South Africa’s 13,4-million children between the ages of five and 17 were involved in some form of economic activity, which is illegal in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
In terms of the Act it is illegal to hire anyone aged 15 or younger.
The Campaign Against Child Labour began on April 16 and ends on May 16.
”Children between the age of 15 and 17 are only allowed to work if there are protective mechanisms in the working environment,” said department spokesperson Zolisa Sigaba.
Sigaba said it was estimated that over 50-million children in sub-Saharan Africa between the ages of five and 14 were economically active.
The director of the Campaign Against Child Labour, Francesca Velaphi, said Aids, poverty and being too old for their class resulted in many children seeking jobs.
”You find that households that take care of Aids orphans require them to work excessive hours, or to do work that is inappropriate for their age,” said Velaphi.
Poverty at home also caused children to seek jobs on farms or in factories. Children who were too old for their class were also more likely to drop out of school and look for work.
”Neglect by parents also causes children to go out and look for ways to make a living, like prostitution for example,” said Velaphi.
She said if labour inspectors stopped a child from working, however, the child needed to be offered an alternative, like being helped to gain access to social grants. The justice system also needed to clamp down on adults who used children to commit crime, she added.
”These adults should be made to take responsibility. We must not let the children face the music alone,” she said. — I-Net Bridge