The National clap for South Africa

4.5Impact of HIV/AIDS on child labour

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has made children’s situations ever more precarious, and is therefore a major influence on child labour. Children whose parents become infected and later become ill and eventually die, are affected in many ways. Educational opportunities are compromised as children are withdrawn from school to care for ill family members, to care for siblings and to help with household chores where adults cannot do so any more, or to work to supplement family income. These issues are elaborated at 7.1. The Department of Education is planning to make a major intervention in this regard through an audit, curriculum training and drafting of a policy framework.

Some stakeholders have recommended that children in households where their parents are ill, should be removed to shelters. Such an approach could create more problems that it may solve, and is presently against government policy. However, there may be circumstances where it may be best for the child to provide alternative care.

The statistics on child work on which this document and the Discussion document rely are sourced primarily from a survey conducted in 1999. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has increased significantly since that time and has almost certainly increased the incidence of many forms of child work and labour.

In addition, HIV/AIDS brings other substantial hazards to already hazardous forms of exploitation of children, such as commercial sexual exploitation (see 5.3).

4.6Focus on 'hot spots', such as ex-'homelands'

An analysis of the incidence of work-related activity by children shows that most forms are concentrated in the ex-homeland areas. Children in these areas, more than children in any other type of area, generally have to engage in many different types of work-related activity simultaneously.

For example, 12% of children in these areas did economic work for three hours or more per week, compared to 11% in commercial farming areas, and 5-6% in urban areas. A further 32% of children in ex-homeland areas collected fuel or water for three hours or more per week, compared to 18% in commercial farming areas, 11% in urban informal areas and 3% in urban formal areas. These patterns suggest that implementation of most of the policy measures proposed in this document should be focussed in the ex-homeland areas.

A concentration of children in WFCL and other priority kinds of child labour in specific geographical hot spots should be an important factor for focusing implementation of policies to alleviate difficulties faced by children engaged in such forms of work, or those at risk of being so engaged. This should include the following:

Poverty alleviation initiatives, including rollout of grants, should be targeted in child labour hot spots. This should not be interpreted as a criterion for access to the grants, but rather as how to target information campaigns and registration blitzes. Lead institution: DrSD (rollout of grants). Secondary institution: NT, NPA, DTI. New policy? Elaboration of existing policy. Once off cost: minimal. Recurrent cost: minimal. Time line: within two years of adoption of policy. Areas where children spend long hours in subsistence agriculture should be one of the criteria for targeting poverty alleviation initiatives. Lead institution: DrSD. Secondary institutions: NPA, DTI. New policy? Elaboration of existing policy. Once off cost: minimal (identification of such areas). Recurrent cost: moderate. Time line: within four years of adoption of policy. ILO funding: cover once off costs.

4.7Prevention of child labour

Preventing child labour is far better than remedying the problem, and prevention strategies form the key element of the policy. They include the following:

Poverty alleviation programmes summarised at 4.4 and elaborated as follows: income-generation at 4.4; grants at 4.10; public works at 5.5. Provision of infrastructure, see 5.5. Prevention of types of work that encourages child labour, see 7.2. Enhancing education opportunities, see 6.1

4.8Considering child labour in other policies

This document makes it clear that a large range of policies is, or should be, implicated in addressing child labour. The proposal in this regard is as follows:

The Department of Labour should, at regular intervals (for example, every three years), assess all relevant public sector policies and programmes for their impact on child labour and the contribution they could make to the elimination of child labour. This assessment should be done so as to coincide with the report on the results of the child labour module to be run by StatsSA as part of the Labour Force Survey. Lead institution: DL; Secondary institution: StatsSA, (statistical module), DSD, DJ, (each regarding their own line function). New policy? Yes. Once off cost: minimal. Recurrent cost: moderate three-yearly. Time line: first expenditure in 2004. ILO funding: to cover once off costs.

4.9General measures required from the Department of Labour

7. 
   The provisions of the BCEA on child labour are too narrowly defined. The wording of section 43(1) should be changed to ensure that all children who are given work (excluding acceptable levels of domestic chores, work directly related to study, and similar activities) are covered, similar to the provisions of section 52A of the Child Care Act. Lead institution: DL. New policy? Elaboration of existing policy. Once off cost: minimal. Recurrent cost: none. Time line: within two years of adoption of policy.
   
8. 
   Regulations in respect of children aged 15-17 should be drafted as soon as possible, to give guidance as to what kind of work is acceptable and what not. The technical workshop should consider this issue and propose a list of activities to be prohibited. Lead institution: DL. New policy? Elaboration of existing policy. Once off cost: minimal / moderate. Recurrent cost: none. Time line: within two years of adoption of policy. ILO funding: to cover once off costs.
   
9. 
   Payment of lower wages to child workers may sometimes be the reason for the use of child labour. The law should require child workers (in as far as the practice is allowed) be paid at the same rate as adults for time worked. Lead institution: DL. New policy? Yes. Once off cost: minimal. Recurrent cost: none. Time line: within two years of adoption of policy.
   
10. 
    Labour inspectors should receive training on how to address child labour. Lead institution: DL. New policy? Elaboration of existing policy. Once off cost: minimal cost to design training material. Recurrent cost: moderate. Time line: within one year of adoption of policy. ILO funding: to cover once off cost.
    
11. 
    Allocation of resources for enforcement of child labour provisions to ensure that the DL's enforcement policy on child labour can be implemented, such as the setting aside sufficient time of labour inspectors for child labour inspections and follow-up to inspections. Lead institution: DL. New policy? Elaboration of existing policy. Once off cost: nil. Recurrent cost: moderate. Time line: within one years of adoption of policy.