By John Saukira
There are over 152 million children in child labour of one form or the other and 72 million of which are in what is considered as hazardous work.
This was disclosed by World Vision Malawi’s National Director, Hazel Nyathi on Friday as Malawi joined the global village in the commemoration of World Labour Day Against Child Labour.
World Vision’s Hazel Nyathi
Nyathi defined child labour as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, which is harmful to their physical being and mental development.
She, therefore, said there is need for countries such as Malawi to guard children against this social malaise since children often suffer in silence because of their ignorance of their social rights.
Nyathi said in 2018, Malawi Parliament debated an amendment to the Employment Act that would prohibit tenancy farming, and passed the Tobacco Industry Bill of 2018, which requires tobacco growers to report on efforts to eliminate child labor in tobacco farming.
“We also note the National Children’s Policy, which began its implementation in 2019,” she said. “Reports show that over 1,000 victims of child labor were rescued and referred them to social services provided by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare.
An unaccepted practice of child labour
“These are progressive legislations and frameworks. However, more still need to be done.
“Children in Malawi continue to engage in the worst forms of child labor and exploitation, including in the harvesting cash crops such as tobacco at the expense of their education and in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes human trafficking.
“In addition, gaps continue to exist in labor law enforcement related to child labor, including financial resource allocation.”
She said the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on communities and that can push children into exploitation, including child labour.
“The crisis can push millions of vulnerable children to be subjected to more and more difficult work and for even longer working hours,” she said while calling upon Malawi to fully support its children.
Coronavirus alert
The commemorations focused on the impact of COVID-19 under the slogan: ‘COVID-19: Protect Children From Child Labour, Now More Than Ever.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic and labour market shock are having impact on people’s lives and livelihoods and children are often the first to suffer.
Speaking ahead of the day, International Labour Organisation (ILO) country office director for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, George Okutho said the National Child Labour Survey in Malawi that was conducted in 2015 found that 38% of children aged 5-17 years are involved in child labour, amounting to 2.1 million children — more than half of whom are engaged in hazardous work.
He says the prevalence of child labour increased slightly between 2002 and 2005 remaining at more than one-third of children in the country.
In his remarks, Minoru Ogasawara, chief technical advisor for ACCEL Africa project, says ILO support is accelerating action for the elimination of child labour in Africa’s supply chains.
Coronavirus alert
Ogasawara says the ACCEL Africa project is supporting the country to improve and enforce policy, legal and institutional frameworks that addresses child labour and by institutionalizing innovative and evidence based on solutions that addresses the root causes of child labour in supply chains such as the tea and tobacco industries.
The ACCEL Africa project is being supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
This year’s World Labour Day Against Child Labour was conducted as a virtual campaign and is being organized jointly with the Global March Against Child Labour and the International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture.