22 August 2014
National Day against Child Labour will be celebrated on 22 August 2014.
The theme for this event is: “Let me be the child”. This theme is derived from the child’s right to education, playing and doing the things children must do to enhance their mental, physical and emotional well being.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) a majority of countries have adopted legislation to prohibit or place severe restrictions on the employment and work of children. In spite of these efforts, child labour continues to exist on a massive scale, sometimes in appalling conditions, particularly in the developing world.
The organisation cautions that if progress has been slow or apparently nonexistent, this is because child labour is an immensely complex issue. It cannot be made to disappear simply by the stroke of a pen.
South Africa is a signatory to the ILO Convention on the worst form of child labour. The Convention seeks to focus the international spotlight on the urgency of action to eliminate as a priority, all child labour.
South Africa has developed a road-map towards the prevention, reduction and eventual elimination of child labour called the Child Labour Programme of Action (CLPA). The CLPA was first adopted in 2003 after extensive consultation within Government and with a wide range of organisations outside Government. The programme set out specific actions to be taken and assigned responsibility for these actions.
Minister Mildred Oliphant will deliver a keynote address at the Child Labour Day commemorative event at the Robert Gunda Stadium, Upington, Northern Cape.
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